This blog is a place for journalists to discuss their experiences covering poverty. It works in tandem with onpoverty.org, a site run by Washington and Lee University's American Poverty Journalism Center.
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Maryland church ministers to homeless in woods, libraries, shelters
Members of Lifehouse West church are reaching out to homeless people in unconventional locations. The members of the church often ask what the homeless need and then provide it. The mission is called Soul Food Ministries also offers prayer. Interaction with the homeless in unusual places allows Soul Food Ministries members to begin conversations with those they are serving. Some of the recipients of bagged lunches provided by the church have also attended Sunday services.
Original story
Labels: Hagerstown, homeless, Lifehouse West church, Soul Food Ministries
In Cash-Strapped Detroit, Salvation Army Lowers Expectations
This holiday season, Salvation Army workers in Detroit are scaling back their goal for their familiar Red Kettle Campaign. Instead of last year’s missed $8.5 million target, Detroit’s bell ringers will try to collect a more realistic $7.8 million through their largest annual fundraiser. This reduction comes at a time when demands for their services are on the rise; the Salvation Army reports a 60 percent increase in need since January.
Original story
Labels: bell ringers, Detroit, Red Kettle Campaign, Salvation Army
New York storeowners get creative amid recession
New York commercial landlords who have been dealing with empty storefronts due to the recession are trying to use these vacant spaces in creative ways by leasing them, usually for a few weeks or months at a time, to artists. The artist uses the empty space as a canvas, while the landlord gets a colorful attraction that may lure potential tenants and deter crime.
Original story
Labels: artists, landlords, New York City, vacant spaces
Economists Caution Long, Slow Road to Recovery
Some 80 percent of economists agree that the latest recession, America’s worst since the 1930s, is over. However, because of tremendous federal debt and fear of unemployment, recovery is expected to be slow; the jobless rate, currently 9.8 percent, is forecast to rise to over 10 percent before falling, and cautious industries are continuing to cut jobs nationwide.
Original story
Labels: jobless, recession, unemployment
Economists agree recession has ended
Over 80 percent of economists say that the recession is over and expansion has begun. The National Association for Business Economics released a survey that predicted that recovery will be slow since unemployment and federal deficit are still major problems in the U.S. economy, which experts say will persist through next year. Forecasters expect unemployment rates to continue to rise despite the end of the recession, until 2010.
Original story
Labels: National Association for Business Economics, recession
National jobless claims down 33,000
The Labor Department reports that claims filed for state unemployment benefits have dropped 33,000 to a seasonally adjusted 521,000 in the week ended Oct. 3. Economists say that the fall in jobless claims may mean that employers are more willing to hire, or it could mean that more people were exhausting their benefits and moving into the extended federal benefits program.
Original story
Labels: jobless, jobless claims, Labor Department
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