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March

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Meghan Keaney Anderson
Meghan Keaney Anderson
Thu, 03/27/2008

Unnatural Causes

Is inequality making us sick?
in

Tonight at 10 p.m. WGBH will debut a new seven-part documentary series, by executive producer Larry Adelman, that looks into how social and economic conditions affect health. The series begins with "In Sickness and in Wealth," an episode that compares the paths of a CEO, lab supervisor, janitor and unemployed mother in Louisville, Ky. as they attempt to access resources. You can see a preview of the series at the end of my full post.  read more »

Meghan Keaney Anderson
Meghan Keaney Anderson
Mon, 03/24/2008

The Costs of Commuting

A study on the working poor and transportation
in

Brookings just came out with three new studies on transportation and
the cost of living. One of the studies in particular caught my eye.

Commuting to Opportunity found that, compared with other workers, the working poor spend a much higher portion of their income on commuting.
The cost burden of commuting for the working poor is 6.1 percent
compared with 3.8 percent for other workers. The working poor who drive
to work spend the most: 8.4 percent...  read more »

Meghan Keaney Anderson
Meghan Keaney Anderson
Wed, 03/19/2008

CORI law reform in Mass.

How can we mantain safeguards without creating barriers?
in

Several years ago when I worked for an admissions office at a Simmons College I was assigned to run a college fair within the Suffolk County House of Correction. The women who were attending the fair were all incarcerated for short term sentences usually relating to drugs or assault charges. Most of them were close to concluding their time there, were still very young (20 to 25) and were trying to figure out what on earth they would do afterwards. Each of them came to my table. I was all idealism and promise, “We can figure out the financial aid situation, just apply and see what happens,” I remember telling them. “You can do anything.” Trouble was: they couldn’t do anything. The majority of them were interested in nursing. Simmons had a strong nursing program. But one by one, each of them informed me that it couldn’t happen, that the major would do no good because they’d never get through CORI to get a job after.

Yesterday at a hearing Governor Patrick called for CORI law reform...  read more »

Meghan Keaney Anderson
Meghan Keaney Anderson
Fri, 03/07/2008

The True de Tocqueville Story

One blogger's perspective...
in

This morning, the Boston Business Journal ran a story on United Way's Alexis de Tocqueville society (AdT). You can get the full details of AdT here, but as a summary, AdT is United Way's highest giving society. It is named after the author of the historic book Democracy in America, which highlights America's spirit of philanthropy.

The article gives a sense of the recent growth of our Alexis de Tocqueville society, due in part to a giving challenge posed by Robert Beal, president of The Beal Companies. And that of course is tremendous news. But that's not what I want to talk about today…  read more »

Meghan Keaney Anderson
Meghan Keaney Anderson
Wed, 03/05/2008

Middle School Violence

An upcoming Radio Boston segment
in

This Friday, Radio Boston will be running a segment on Middle School Violence.

"In the 2005-2006 school year, 53% of school violence reports occurred in Massachusetts MIDDLE schools...We have heard a lot about violence in high schools, but now, the focus is on middle schools. A number of school districts across the state have started middle school violence prevention programs." -- Radio Boston preview

For those who have worked on United Way's Out of Harms Way initiative, this segment should be especially pertintent. I'd love to hear from everyone on your thoughts about violence in Middle Schools, the causes, the consequences and the solutions at work today.

Listen to the segment Friday, then come back to SpeakUnited and let me know what you think. I'll compile our thoughts to send to the segments producers.

(Special thanks to Former UDubber, Gabrielle Dorsey for the heads up!)  read more »

Meghan Keaney Anderson
Meghan Keaney Anderson
Mon, 03/03/2008

Subprime Lending and Poor Communities

What are the trends in Massachusetts?
in

Bread for the World institute recently posted to their blog a study that they conducted showing how widespread subprime lending is in poor communities.

Here's how Massachusetts fared in their study, Homeownership, Subprime Loans and Poverty...  read more »

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