Latest from The Spokesman-Review

• Shawn Vestal: As politicians talk, the poor get poorer

  October 27, 2012 in City on Page B1 It’s been so refreshing during this political season to hear the candidates grapple seriously with one of the most pressing concerns facing America today: poverty. Just kidding! 31

• Experts identify multiple factors prevalent in less healthy areas

  September 23, 2012 in City, Health on Page A6 The Spokane Regional Health District’s report is its first attempt to measure the effects of several “social determinants of health,” and it’s meant to be the first step in a …

• Homeless teen still finds time to volunteer

  March 15, 2012 in Region MOUNT VERNON, Wash. - Kaitlyn Toomey views herself like any other teenager, except for one thing: She doesn’t have a home. 1

• Mothers, children hurt the most from painful budget cuts

  February 25, 2012 in City on Page A5 Remember the “mancession”? That dumb name for the fact that unemployment among men was extra high? Well, a few years later, it turns out to be a misnomer. Unemployment among … 6

• Shawn Vestal: West Central not his dream, but poverty now his focus

  February 17, 2012 in City on Page A5 When Brian Burrow returned to West Central – the neighborhood where he grew up, where his parents grew up, where four generations of his family now live – it wasn’t … 7

• Volunteers gather 30,000 pounds of produce for food bank

  November 6, 2011 in City on Page B1 An apple a day can help keep hunger at bay. And thousands of pounds of apples can feed a lot of hungry people. More than 200 volunteers descended on Green … 3

• Volunteers harvest food for area hungry

  November 5, 2011 in City An apple a day can help keep hunger at bay. And thousands of pounds of apples can feed a lot of hungry people. More than 200 volunteers descended on Green … 1

• Poorest poor in U.S. hits new record: 1 in 15 people

  November 3, 2011 in Nation/World The ranks of America’s poorest poor have climbed to a record high — 1 in 15 people — spread widely across metropolitan areas as the housing bust pushed many inner-city … 30

• Voiceless not friendless

  October 26, 2011 in City on Page A1 Two and a half years ago, Bridget Bradick and her children stepped off a train in Spokane as refugees from domestic violence and stumbled into poverty and homelessness. She left … 16

• Study: Worst hospitals treat larger share of poor

  October 5, 2011 in Nation/World The nation’s worst hospitals treat twice the proportion of elderly black patients and poor patients than the best hospitals, and their patients are more likely to die of heart attacks … 8

• Protesters ordered to be less ‘permanent’

  October 1, 2011 in City on Page B1 Occupy Spokane, the 2-day-old action in solidarity with the 2-week-old Occupy Wall Street protest against economic injustice, was visited Friday morning by police enforcing a city ordinance. About a dozen … 5

• In the new class war, meet America’s army of child soldiers

  September 23, 2011 in City on Page A5 Now that “class warfare” has been declared, decried and duplicated in an impressive lockstep, maybe it’s time to take a look at one of the armies. The big one, I … 82

• Census: U.S. poverty rate swells to nearly 1 in 6

  September 13, 2011 in Nation/World The ranks of the nation’s poor swelled to nearly 1 in 6 people last year, reaching a new high as long-term unemployment woes left millions of Americans struggling and out … 25

• Welfare, child support cuts hit hard

  September 8, 2011 in City on Page A5 It was hard last year for a Spokane mother of three trying to work her way off welfare. It’s much worse now. “I was trying to make the right steps, … 23

• Budget cuts thwart single mom’s effort to escape poverty

  September 7, 2011 in City It was hard last year for a Spokane mother of three trying to work her way off welfare. It’s much worse now. 55

• Shawn Vestal: Wages fall depending on where workers fall

  July 27, 2011 in City on Page A5 The story of the Spokane economy is a good news-bad news scenario. But it’s no joke. The recovery has arrived with a vengeance for some people. Everyone else is still … 64

• Face Time: SNAP coordinator has helped thousands keep warm

  May 23, 2011 in City on Page A5 Margaret Belote, energy program coordinator at SNAP, is retiring at the end of this month after 33 years of service to the community. During her time at the private, nonprofit … 4

• To those needing shelter, Spokane Valley woman’s door is open

  April 13, 2011 in City on Page A1 There is a home in a part of the Spokane Valley that has seen better days, a home where poor, forgotten people have found a safe place to rest along …

• Longtime leader Stuckart leaving helm of nonprofit SNAP

  April 5, 2011 in City on Page A5 Few people have done as much to pull Spokane residents out of poverty as Larry Stuckart, who will step down as executive director of SNAP next month after 20 years … 2

• Federal grant cuts would jeopardize North Idaho services to poor

  February 20, 2011 in City on Page B3 Proposed cuts to a 30-year-old federal grant program would mean office closures and layoffs in the Community Action Partnership offices serving North Idaho’s poorest residents. “Just because the funding goes … 2

• Obama’s budget plan would shrink nonprofit for poor SNAP

  February 15, 2011 in City on Page A10 The spending plan unveiled by the Obama administration on Monday would halve funding for two programs that provide Spokane’s most vulnerable residents with heat and shelter. It also would mean …

• Once homeless residents to plead for safety net

  February 13, 2011 in City on Page B1 At a time when both the U.S. Congress and the Washington Legislature are discussing scaling back social services to help reduce deficits, a group of formerly homeless Spokane residents and … 9

• State reduces aid for families

  February 2, 2011 in City on Page A5 Washington cut about 5,000 families off welfare Tuesday and reduced the monthly benefit to the families remaining on assistance at a time when more people are asking for help. As … 7

• State assistance terminated for 5,000 families

  February 1, 2011 in City, News Washington cut about 5,000 families off welfare Tuesday and reduced the monthly benefit to the families remaining on assistance, at a time when more people are asking for help. As … 12

• Lighthouse offers home, fresh start

  November 28, 2010 in City on Page B1 When Ashlee Erickson got out of jail a couple of weeks ago, she had only the shorts and top she wore the day she was arrested last summer. There to … 2

• Lighthouse of Hope a beacon for homeless women

  November 27, 2010 in City When Ashlee Erickson got out of jail a couple of weeks ago, she had only the shorts and top she wore the day she was arrested last summer. There to … 2

• Nationwide and close to home, poverty tightens its grip

  September 29, 2010 in City on Page A1 U.S. Census Bureau data reflect what everyone knows: The recession that persisted in 2009 bit into pay and benefits, and cut jobs. Poverty rates rose and food stamps were issued … 54

• Income down, poverty up in Idaho, Washington

  September 28, 2010 in City, Idaho Idaho families saw their take-home pay drop nearly 5 percent last year – one of the steepest declines in the nation. 16

• Director discusses St. Vincent’s clearinghouse for social services

  May 10, 2010 in City on Page A5 In July 2009, St. Vincent de Paul North Idaho opened a one-stop shop for social services needed by poor and homeless people. The H.E.L.P. Center – Helping Empower Local People … 1

• Conference to look at smarter ways to help Africa

    April 23, 2010 in City on Page A1 There came a point in Bill Roe’s life when he wanted to do more for humanity. He looked wistfully at those engaged in charitable missions to Africa and thought about … 7

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