Featured article from Global Newsletter October 2026
Written by Patricia Martin-O’Meally, Chair, ICSW-US.
The United States faces increasingly complex social challenges that affect the well-being of families, children, older people, and communities. Food insecurity, rising health care costs, housing pressures, and inadequate access to essential services leave many households struggling to meet their basic needs. These challenges raise fundamental questions about the responsibilities of government, the effectiveness of social protection, and the kind of future we seek to grow and build for this country.
For the International Council on Social Welfare–United States (ICSW-US), addressing these concerns is central to our mission of advancing social development, social welfare, and social justice. As the country approaches the November 2026 midterm elections, it is particularly important to ensure that social needs remain visible in public debate and that the voices of vulnerable populations are heard by those making policy decisions.
Food Security and Health Care: Essential Foundations
Access to nutritious food is a basic condition for health and human dignity. Yet many American families continue to experience difficulties securing an adequate and reliable food supply. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides essential support to eligible households, helping parents feed their children and older adults maintain adequate nutrition has lost or reduced benefits to more than 5 million recipients. Reductions in benefits and or restrictions on eligibility places additional pressure on families already facing economic hardship.
When food assistance becomes less accessible, households must make difficult choices between groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, and medicine. Children and older people are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of inadequate nutrition. Food banks and charitable organizations play an important role in responding to immediate needs, but many say they are overwhelmed by the demand and cannot fully replace and reach the coverage of public programs.
Health care is intricately connected to food security. Changes affecting access to Affordable Care Act insurance coverage and subsidies can increase financial pressures for those households that depend on affordable health insurance. When medical or mental health services become inaccessible, people may delay treatment, potentially worsen their conditions and increase the burden on families and community-based health care institutions.
Emergency departments and community service organizations often confront the consequences of unmet health and medical needs. A family unable to afford preventive care may eventually require more expensive emergency treatment. An older person struggling to pay for medication may face a choice between protecting their health and meeting other essential expenses.
These problems demonstrate that food security and health care cannot be addressed in isolation. Poor nutrition can contribute to health difficulties, while illness can compromise an individual’s ability to work and contribute to their employment and financial stability. Effective social protection must therefore recognize the interconnected circumstances that shape lives.
Rethinking Economic Security
Economic security is often understood primarily in terms of employment and income. Having a job is important, but employment alone does not guarantee that a household can afford adequate housing, nutritious food, health insurance, or child care.
Rising housing costs can consume a substantial share of household earnings. The cost of child care may prevent parents from accepting employment or pursuing further education. Medical expenses can undermine savings and retirement plans, while caring responsibilities may limit the ability of family members to work full-time.
These pressures challenge the traditional distinction between economic policy and social policy. Access to essential services is not simply a matter of providing assistance to people living in poverty. It also influences workforce participation, family stability, educational opportunities, and the economic resilience of communities.
An essential question is how public policies can support individual motivation and drive while protecting people against circumstances they cannot manage independently. A well-designed support system should help people participate in economic life while ensuring that disability, unemployment, illness, old age, or family responsibilities do not allow for growth and prosperity.
There are differing views about how this balance should be achieved. Some emphasize personal responsibility, employment incentives, eligibility requirements, and the careful use of public resources. Others stress the need for stronger public guarantees and more reliable access to essential services. A constructive discussion should move beyond assumptions that poverty is primarily the result of individual choices. Low wages, unstable working hours, limited employment opportunities, high living costs, and inadequate services can all contribute to economic insecurity. Policies must take these structural barriers into account if they are to promote lasting independence and well-being.
Fiscal responsibility and social protection should not be treated as mutually exclusive objectives. The challenge is to ensure that public resources are used effectively while addressing genuine needs and preventing avoidable hardship.
Democratic Participation and the Voices of Vulnerable Communities
Social welfare is also connected to the quality of democratic participation. People need meaningful opportunities to communicate their concerns to elected representatives and influence decisions affecting their lives.
Yet those experiencing economic hardship may have the least time and capacity to participate in public affairs. People working multiple jobs, caring for relatives, living with disabilities, or struggling to secure necessities can face practical barriers to attending public meetings, contacting policymakers, or engaging in civic activities.
The protection of voting rights and the integrity of elections are therefore important dimensions of social justice. Free and fair elections allow citizens to hold public officials accountable and express their views on the priorities that should guide public policy.
The November 2026 midterm elections will influence the political environment in which decisions about health care, food assistance, and other social programs are made. Their importance, however, extends beyond competition between political parties. They provide an opportunity to consider whether public institutions are responding adequately to the needs of families and communities.
ICSW-US is committed to encouraging informed participation and ensuring that the experiences of people whose voices are often overlooked become part of these discussions. Our role is not simply to observe political developments, but to help connect social needs with policy choices through engaging in a democratic process.
Strengthening ICSW-US and Collective Action
ICSW-US places a strong emphasis on expanding membership and increasing member participation. New members bring valuable experience, fresh ideas, and different perspectives on the challenges facing communities. Their engagement strengthens our capacity to identify problems, share effective approaches, and advocate for constructive responses at local, national, and international levels.
Addressing today's social challenges requires cooperation among social welfare professionals, researchers, community organizations, policymakers, and concerned citizens. No single institution can resolve food insecurity, improve access to health care, or overcome the many barriers to economic security on its own.
Our organization can contribute by bringing these perspectives together, raising awareness of unmet needs, supporting evidence-informed policy discussions, and promoting approaches that respect human dignity. We must also listen to people directly affected by social problems, recognizing that they are not merely recipients of services but individuals with experience, knowledge, and the capacity to contribute to solutions.
The future of our American democracy will depend on how effectively society reconciles economic priorities with social needs, individual responsibility with collective political engagement, and developing national policies that respond to the diverse circumstances of local communities.
Food security, affordable health care, and meaningful democratic participation are intricately connected elements of a just and inclusive society. They help determine whether people can live with dignity, support their families, and contribute to their communities.
As ICSW-US continues its work, we reaffirm our commitment to giving a voice to those whose needs are too often unheard. By strengthening our membership, encouraging public engagement, and advocating for effective social protection, we can help build a society in which the well-being of all people is recognized as a shared responsibility.
