"Rosa Lara, a Richmond resident who delivered 900 signatures to the council opposing the measure, said an economic downturn is not the time to introduce new taxes, particularly in a city with a high poverty rate. Nearly 20 percent of Richmond residents live below the poverty line, according to federal data."
"With more than 300,000 residents age 85 and over, Pennsylvania's senior population is the largest it has ever been, and it is increasing at 10 times the rate of the rest of the population. Yet a proposed cut to the state budget would take away 4 percent of the funding -- $100 million -- for low-income seniors who receive at-home nursing care."
"In 2009, a year into the Great Recession, I started hearing complaints from community organizers about ever more aggressive levels of law enforcement in low-income areas. Flick a cigarette butt and get arrested for littering; empty your pockets for an officer conducting a stop and frisk operation and get cuffed for a few flakes of marijuana. Each of these offenses can result, at a minimum, in a three-figure fine."
"The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP (formerly food stamps) is targeted at our most vulnerable: 76 percent of SNAP households include a child, senior or disabled person, and 85 percent have gross income at or below 100 percent of the poverty line."
"The Big Bend Homeless Coalition released details today from its 2012 Report on Homelessness in Leon County and it shows overall homelessness has increased compared to last year. In addition, advocates are serving more homeless children and African Americans compared to 2011."
"As St. Matthew's House representatives work to get their development order approved for a homeless shelter in Bonita Springs, city residents and officials remain vigilant and concerned about the potential impact on the community."
"The Hand Up Cooperative seeks to help Larimer County's low-income residents and homeless find their way off the streets and into a self-sufficient lifestyle by empowering them with a personalized pathway to not only gain but maintain employment."
"An ideological battle about abortion is being waged in the Ohio Statehouse as lawmakers consider a bill that would essentially take away federal family planning grants from Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Ohio."
"Senate Finance Committee members removed the proposed two-year, three-county pilot program that would test participants in the Ohio Works First program, which provides cash benefits to Ohioans earning no more than 50 percent of the federal poverty level for up to 36 months. However, the plan is expected to return, just not in the budget."
"Getting a discounted monthly bus pass in Palm Beach County requires proving you're legally in the United States. But a transportation advocate for the disadvantaged says the Palm Tran policy puts a significant burden on undocumented workers who are often living at the poverty level."
"Roosevelt Darby Jr. knew about addiction and homelessness because he had lived through both himself. He had emerged from that dark night of the soul determined to help others like him find the light that would lead back to the land of the living."
"In Texas, $125 million went straight to the general fund. Missouri will use its $40 million to soften cuts to higher education. Indiana is spending more than half its allotment to pay energy bills for low-income families, while Virginia will use most of its $67 million to help revenue-starved local governments."
"The data also demonstrate that almost every state experienced a significant drop, and that birthrates declined for teens of all races and ethnicities. But for those of us who have long known that teens who give birth are consigning themselves in most instances to low educational attainment and a life of poverty, it's much too early to break out the Champagne. "
"With House Republicans having no intention to listen to the voices of people living in poverty, and even Senate Democrats in the Agriculture Committee voting to cut SNAP by $4.5 billion over ten years, thousands of low-income people are determined to organize and be heard on May 20 in their own communities. That’s the day of the Equal Voice Online National Convention. Tens of thousands of low-income families from across the country are expected to turn out to create a national platform that reflects their views."
"As a dentist who treats primarily Medicaid, low-income and indigent patients in his private practice and who founded and built the N.C. Missions of Mercy free dental-care program, I am very attuned to the dental access crisis we have in this state."
"I have long admired Gifford’s resolve. This former public relations executive seems impervious to naysayers. She is doing what many say could not be done: getting fresh, organic food that sells at a premium at local farmers markets to low-income families who are struggling to put food on the table."
"The total in the KnoxHMIS database indicates a 3 percent increase in homelessness over 2010. Twenty-one to 25 percent cite job loss as the reason they were without a home."
"“It would be irresponsible to mandate ... if it does cost $2 million, when we don’t know where that (money) is coming from,” said school board member John Tedesco. Administrators estimated that 80 percent of those students are from low-performing areas, which also tend to be low income."
"The proposed two-year, three-county pilot program would test participants in the Ohio Works First program, which provides cash benefits to Ohioans who earn no more than 50 percent of the federal poverty level for up to 36 months."
"'Corporations are getting a free ride, not paying what they owe while more and more families slip into poverty,' he said. 'Whenever they need to cut, once again, they're choosing to cut health and human service programs.'"
"Some homeless advocates worry that the ban could have broader implications beyond keeping the protesters from returning. Others say the ordinance is redundant because overnight camping is already banned in city parks."
"The Senate’s version keeps Corbett’s most damaging cuts to social services, including the elimination of the General Assistance cash-grant program, some of which goes to very low-income children and domestic-violence victims. It restores some money to social services but retains a new block-grant structure, and keeps an $8 million cut to child care."
"About 200 Wake County employees – who handle tasks such as working with drug-addicted homeless people and children with mental illness – are finding their jobs in limbo because of a proposed restructuring of county services by the UNC Health Care System."
"...[F]reedom is what CCP provided for Lopez and Joyner, who graduated with associate’s degrees last week. Lopez, 26, earned a full ride to Bryn Mawr, and Joyner, 45, has been accepted to the University of Pennsylvania."
"Everything from poverty to stress to the lack of medical insurance to inadequate health care long before pregnancy seemed to play a role, said Dr. Paul H. Wise, coauthor of the paper.
Health workers launched programs to connect pregnant mothers with prenatal care and housing. They roped teaching hospitals into better partnerships with community clinics. They put up billboards in black neighborhoods to raise awareness about health."
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