Latest Coverage

"More than 80 percent of the Atlas students are from impoverished families, said Julian Flores, managing director. The goal is to close the achievement gap between low income and minority students and their more affluent peers in other schools."

"The cost of buying a computer to keep up with new software and demands for Internet speed and memory requires an affluent income in a recession economy. Since 2008, a flood of data has shown the growing number of schoolchildren who live in poverty. A substantial number do not have enough to eat. It should be evident to school administrators who work outside of the rich suburbs that large numbers of households lack computers and Internet connections."

"For 54 years, Meals on Wheels has provided lunches to seniors in need. And, during these challenging economic times, the needs have grown. All of the routes are full with large waiting lists for seniors who need meals,' said Sharon Fitzgerald, program manager."

"Mitt Romney wants to save Social Security and Medicare partly by cutting benefits for higher- income recipients. President Obama also sees wealthy Americans as part of the solution but suggests instead raising their premiums or payroll taxes. The fact that both presidential candidates back some form of so-called means testing' suggests that millions of future seniors will probably end up paying more, or getting fewer benefits no matter who wins the White House."

"Dr. Anderson is one of the more outspoken proponents of an idea that is gaining interest among some physicians. They are prescribing stimulants to struggling students in schools starved of extra money -- not to treat A.D.H.D., necessarily, but to boost their academic performance. It is not yet clear whether Dr. Anderson is representative of a widening trend. But some experts note that as wealthy students abuse stimulants to raise already-good grades in colleges and high schools, the medications are being used on low-income elementary school children with faltering grades and parents eager to see them succeed."

"The average Social Security retirement benefit is less than $15,000 per year. This lack of access threatens to plunge millions of people into poverty when they can no longer work. A new program emerging in California shows great promise in addressing those problems. It stands to help more than 6 million Californians who don't have a retirement plan at work, providing a means to supplement their Social Security at no cost to taxpayers."

"Antipsychotic drugs given to poor children under Kentucky's Medicaid program jumped 270 percent from 2000 to 2010, according to a report prepared by the University of Kentucky's Center for Business and Economic Research. Minority children received these drugs at three times the rate of white children, and the incidence of prescribing varies wildly from region to region, county to county."

"Beloshkurenko - who says she also wants to give something in return to people in this country who gave me an opportunity' - is director of Home Services at the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. She oversees Project Metropair, the nonprofit's free home-repair program for low-income seniors. It installs grab bars, smoke alarms, window guards, door locks, chains and peep holes."

"Last May, The Children's Hunger Project started in co-founder Sam Jordan's kitchen in Melbourne and began packing meals for 27 impoverished students at Riviera Elementary in Palm Bay. The fast-growing non-profit now feeds about 500 kids who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches at a dozen elementary schools."

"Hunger among some students has become so common that one elementary school teacher keeps a bagful of Froot Loops near her classroom door. When kids arrive with clothes too ragged or dirty -- or don't come at all because they lack clothing -- schools make sure they have something decent to wear."

"Students who go through the program will attend Montgomery College after high school. After earning an associate degree from the college, they then transfer to the Universities at Shady Grove to earn a bachelor's degree through the University System of Maryland. The coaches provide one-on-one support for students through the years, with mentoring, campus visits and tutoring help from start to finish. The program is geared toward African American, Hispanic and low-income students - groups typically underrepresented on college campuses."

"Sixteen new housing units, which are available to low-income people who are at least 62, are now open after a winter and summer of construction, said Phil Grandmaison, senior projects director for SNHS. This project means that SNHS has about 790 apartments available to seniors in 23 complexes in the Granite State and one in Berwick, Maine."