- Survey: 19 percent more NH children got food stamps between 2008 and 2009, By Michael Brindley, August 5, 2011, Nashua Telegraph: “The number of New Hampshire children whose families receive food stamps increased by 19 percent from 2008 to 2009, according to a study released today gauging the health of the state’s children. The annual New Hampshire Kids Count Data Survey, released by the Children’s Alliance of New Hampshire, uses 33 data points to measure the well-being of children in the state. Among the findings in this year’s report is that an average of 16.8 percent of children aged 0 to 17, or one out of every six minors, participated in the food stamp program in 2008 and 2009. During that period, overall participation increased by 19 percent, according to the study. This was attributed to factors such as rising unemployment during the recession and the rising cost of food…”
- Report tracks childhood hunger in NH, By Cara Hogan, August 5, 2011, Eagle Tribune: “A group of six children come into the Sonshine Soup Kitchen in Derry a few times a week to eat a meal. ‘I don’t know where the parents are, if they’re working or what,’ Christine Fudala, director of Sonshine Soup Kitchen said. ‘The kids are about middle-school age and they’re always thankful and respectful. School’s out so the food might not be there for them at home.’ They are some of the many children whose families are struggling to feed them and house them. The number of children in New Hampshire on food stamps increased by 19 percent from 2008 to 2009 and homeless students increased 21 percent in the same time period, according to the New Hampshire Kids Count Data Book released this week. The study tracks the well-being of New Hampshire’s children, according to Ellen Fineberg, executive director of the Children’s Alliance of New Hampshire…”
Day: August 5, 2011
Public Housing – New Orleans, LA
New Orleans unveils fresh model for housing the poor, By Rick Jervis, August 3, 2011, USA Today: “The decaying brick buildings of what was known as the Magnolia Projects are now rows of freshly painted town homes with ornate balconies and manicured lawns. Stoops where dealers once sold dope and shot at rivals have been replaced by a clubhouse featuring a flat-screen TV and a pool where neighborhood kids splash. The Magnolia Projects, once one of the city’s most notorious public housing complexes, today is Harmony Oaks Apartments, a 460-unit mix of government-subsidized and market-priced apartments. It replaces one of six public housing projects across the city recently razed to make room for new apartments and a fresh approach to housing the city’s poor.The Magnolia Projects, once one of the city’s most notorious public housing complexes, today is Harmony Oaks Apartments, a 460-unit mix of government-subsidized and market-priced apartments. It replaces one of six public housing projects across the city recently razed to make room for new apartments and a fresh approach to housing the city’s poor…”
Young Men’s Initiative – New York City
- Bloomberg to use own funds in plan to aid minority youth, By Michael Barbaro and Fernanda Santos, August 3, 2011, New York Times: “The administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, in a blunt acknowledgment that thousands of young black and Latino men are cut off from New York’s civic, educational and economic life, plans to spend nearly $130 million on far-reaching measures to improve their circumstances. The program, the most ambitious policy push of Mr. Bloomberg’s third term, would overhaul how the government interacts with a population of about 315,000 New Yorkers who are disproportionately undereducated, incarcerated and unemployed…”
- Can George Soros, Michael Bloomberg save New York’s troubled young men?, By Ron Scherer, August 4, 2011, Christian Science Monitor: “New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to improve the lives of young black and Hispanic males. On Thursday, Mr. Bloomberg announced that the city, combined with his own philanthropy and that of billionaire George Soros, would spend $127.5 million over three years to try to cut down on some of the factors that result in higher rates of poverty, incarceration, and unemployment among young minority men…”
- A hand up, not a handout, for young black and Latino men, Editorial, August 4, 2011, Christian Science Monitor: “Blacks and Latinos took the brunt of America’s Great Recession. Their wealth gap with whites is now at a record high. And with large cutbacks in government social programs, there’s a greater need than ever for private giving to help these two groups. That’s the reasoning behind a $130 million initiative in New York City by two billionaires, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and financier George Soros, to target young male minorities with innovative approaches to helping them succeed – as workers and as fathers. Each man is giving $30 million to the public-private project. (Mr. Soros already funds many such programs in other cities.) Known as the Young Men’s Initiative, the three-year project is just the latest of dozens of programs started in recent years to focus on young African-American and Latino males – groups with dreadful rates of poverty, education, and employment…”