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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Record numbers of Americans struggle to get food
Last year, nearly 50 million Americans, or one person out of every six, struggled to get food. This is the highest number of people who are finding difficulty in affording food since the government has been keeping track. A Department of Agriculture report blamed the flagging economy. The numbers indicate that access to dependable sources of adequate amounts of food is deteriorating, especially among families with children.
Original story
Labels: food, Georgia Department of Agriculture, hunger
Veterans returning from Iraq, Afghanistan Struggle to Readjust
Returning veterans are finding new programs to help ease them back into civilian life, but the transition isn’t easy. The vets face an unemployment rate of 11.3 percent, significantly higher than the national rate of 9.7 percent. Homelessness is a problem. Suicide rates among veterans surpass those of the civilian population; to combat this, medical centers are focusing on understanding and treating post-traumatic stress disorder.
Original story
Labels: homelessness, medical centers, unemployment, veterans
Unemployment Anxiety Affects Children
Some devastating side effects of the recession cannot be measured, such as its impact on home life. Studies find parental unemployment can hurt children’s school performance, with children in families where the head of the household was jobless were 15 percent more likely to repeat a grade. The stress also takes its toll on marriages and family dynamics. While some unemployed parents take advantage of extra time with their children, many feel the strain of insecurity has created anxiety at home.
Original story
Labels: family dynamics, recession, school performance, unemployment
Ohio restaurant caters to homeless
My Brother’s Place, a Toledo restaurant, is serving lunch again after an eight-year break. In addition to serving weekday lunches to downtown workers, My Brother’s Place provides meals to the needy and homeless, jobs and job training to the unemployed and homeless on Monday evenings. This is the third incarnation of My Brother’s Place. The restaurant has hired three full-time and six part-time employees, and is working with job-training agencies to teach people a trade.
Original story
Labels: My Brother's Place, Ohio, restaurant, Toledo
Homelessness Moves Wisconsin Families from Suburbs to Cities
In today’s dire economy, more suburban Wisconsin families are finding themselves on the streets, victims of random chance and bad timing. With nowhere else to go, they are leaving comfortable communities outside Milwaukee and making their way downtown, hoping to take advantage of services offered there. Homeless shelters turn away dozens—up to 100—people a day. “Homelessness doesn’t discriminate,” a shelter director said. “There is no face to homelessness.”
Original story
Labels: homeless shelters, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
New fund will help Colorado homeless vets find housing
The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless will announce the establishment of a new Homeless Veterans Housing Fund to support the 1,800 homeless veterans on the streets of Denver. The money will help them find housing quickly and access support services, including treatment for war-related trauma. The coalition’s president believes the fund will help the coalition reach its goal of serving double the number of veterans served last year.
Original story
Labels: Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, Denver, homeless veterans
New York salon helps unemployed style their futures
As a public service to job-seekers, Cristiano Cora studio, a high-end hair salon that normally charges $300 a cut, promised free haircuts to anyone who brought proof of unemployment. Some of the unemployed who visited the salon had not gotten a professional haircut in years. They said they hope to refurbish their images in hopes of getting an interview and landing a job.
Original story
Labels: Cristiano Cora, haircuts, unemployment
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