Homeless feeding bans: Well-meaning policy or war on the poor? By Matt Pearce, June 11, 2012, Los Angeles Times: “You can’t just feed the homeless outdoors in Philadelphia anymore; you now need a permit. In Dallas, you can give away food only with official permission first. Laws tightening regulations on aid to the homeless are popping up across the country, according to a recent USA Today report: “Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, Miami, Oklahoma City and more than 50 other cities have previously adopted some kind of anti-camping or anti-food-sharing laws, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty.” So the question being asked by many critics is: Are American officials trying to help the poor — or legislate them out of sight? “Starting in about 2006, several cities began arresting, fining, and otherwise oppressing private individuals and nonprofits that feed the homeless and less fortunate. . .”
Day: June 13, 2012
Ohio Kids’ Poverty and Obesity
Data sobering on Ohio kids’ poverty, obesity, By Jeb Phillips, June 13, 2012, Columbus Dispatch: “Nearly half of Ohio’s children received free or reduced-cost school lunches in 2010, and those children were 30 percent more likely to be overweight or obese than others, according to a new survey of the state’s children released yesterday. Kids Count, compiled by the Children’s Defense Fund in Ohio, offers an annual snapshot of the well-being of the state’s youth. A new section of the report called “Health Access” includes information about obesity, oral health and insurance rates. “(The report) is important for policy-makers and elected officials at the local, state and federal levels in deciding how resources should be divided,” said Renuka Mayadev, Children’s Defense Fund executive director. . .”
Child Poverty in Florida
Poverty, racial divide among Florida children is soaring, study finds, By Kate Santich, June 11, 2012, Orlando Sentinel: “The number of Florida’s children living in poverty swelled 35 percent from 2006 to 2010 — an increase that especially hurt black and Hispanic youth — a new report shows. Using the most recent statistics available, the report found that nearly one in every four Florida children, or about 924,000 collectively, now lives below the federal poverty line. Two-thirds of black children live in families classified as low-income, meaning they earn less than $44,100 a year for a family of four. “It is not new that disparities exist,” said Linda Alexionok, co-director of Voices for Florida, the nonpartisan group that issued the report, “The Well-Being of Florida’s Children.” “What is new is that disparities are more prevalent today than ever before, and growing. . .”