Cooking classes for families with very young children Feeding America, the nationwide network of food banks, recently produced a commercial sung by a little six-year-old boy as he scours an empty refrigerator. I want to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas I need to eat,...
Progress in Rochester When a first-time, low-income mother encounters the Nurse-Family Partnership, she benefits from parent education and support through home visits in the first year of her child’s life. But what then? With a low-wage job, uncertain childcare,...
Help for homeless pregnant girls and women When you’re 16 or 18 years old, alone, homeless, and pregnant, it’s hard to believe there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. But in Chicago there is. It’s called Bright Endeavors, a candle-making operation. But before that,...
At Cara, motivation is a mighty force Four mornings a week, joy and determination break out in a loft space just west of Chicago’s Loop. Some 60 men and women form an exuberant circle to share their stories, cheer each other on, sing, dance, applaud, and address...
The first step: imagine life as it could be People arrive at Crossroads, a supportive living program for men and women transitioning out of homelessness, from every stage of life and also loss—loss of family, friends, home, job, health. But they also arrive with...
Countering high homelessness rates with pathways to self-sufficiency With Denver’s beautiful Rocky Mountain backdrop and booming job market, one might think the city has just the right ingredients for success. But Denver has a homelessness problem. The city has one of...
