by K. Frank I line up with about twenty others in the waiting room. Each one of us is holding a white envelope containing information and forms to fill out to apply for food stamps. We’re escorted by a uniformed police officer through the door, down a hallway, past cubicles where workers have photos of [...]
by Leslie Basden I got a job interview yesterday and was offered a position. It’s the first interview I’ve had in about a year. I can blanket my field with resumes and not receive a single call. My job consists of counseling others to help them locate tools to remain sober outside of locked facilities, [...]
by J.D. Berman Now that we’re officially in the 2012 election cycle, candidates for office may want to take note of a new poll on voter attitudes toward poverty and opportunity. According to a survey commissioned by Spotlight on Poverty, an astounding 88 percent of voters think a candidate’s position on poverty is important in deciding their [...]
by Erika K. “To be shelterless and alone in the open country, hearing the wind moan and watching for day through the whole long weary night; to listen to the falling rain, and crouch for warmth beneath the lee of some old barn or rick, or in the hollow of a tree; are dismal things—but [...]
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by Erika McNamara Sometimes I wonder if needy people in Africa get more of our attention then people right here in our own state and town. Almost a month ago a judge put a halt to the state of Michigan’s new cap on cash assistance for individuals who’ve been on assistance for 48-months. The decision [...]
by Erika McNamara Being homeless, once again, is the evil that lurks in every shadow ready to destroy all that is good and right. This is obviously true after homeless individuals were blamed, in a recent piece posted to AnnArbor.com, for the shutdown of Poshh boutique in downtown Ann Arbor. There is a subtle irony [...]
by P.D. Lesko Barbara Levin Bergman (left) is retiring from the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners at the end of her present term. As is the case in Washtenaw County politics, Andy LaBarre has been identified as the next District 8 lama by a group of local Tibetan monks. LaBarre is a perfectly genial young [...]
by Erika McNamara One of the very few civics lessons that high schoolers learn today is that citizens over the age of 18 may vote in U.S. elections. It is your right and your duty as an adult citizen of the United States to vote. Of course we all learned as well that, at first, [...]
by Erika McNamara Now. Replace “puppies” with “children,” and “shelters” with “public assistance.” One morning last week while I made coffee and semi-listened, Good Morning America announced its exclusive new series HUNGER AT HOME: CRISIS IN AMERICA (best if said with a big voice as if in an echo chamber). Apparently, they found out there is [...]
