Washington Area Women's Foundation

Weekly Round-Up: News and Analysis on Women and Poverty (Week ending May 8, 2009)

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with the Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.

Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

For daily updates and links to past articles, check out “Women and Poverty.”  It’s a new section of our site with a comprehensive collection of recent news and analysis on women and poverty.

Along with these daily updates, continue to visit TheWomensFoundation.org for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty every Friday.

Here’s this week’s news:

• In an op-ed in the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof brings attention to the plight of poor, minority teen girls who become trapped in prostitution.

• According to a study reported by the Miami Herald, black women are more likely to die of breast cancer, in part because of poverty.

• As noted by the Kansas City Star, the recession has increased reports of domestic violence, with a local shelter reporting that most victims are low-income.

• The Los Angeles Times highlights a rise in the increase in child support modifications, as parents losing income during the recession often find themselves unable to provide money owed to their children and former spouses, now often single mothers.

• The St. Louis Post Dispatch covers a Habitat for Humanity project that brought together 650 women to build houses for people with low incomes.

• A New York Times piece on the expanding role of community colleges notes that three-quarters of students at a school profiled in the article are women.

• The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on a local organization that provides a variety of education and support services to low-income mothers.

• In a report appearing in the Charlotte Observer, a free program brings nurses to low-income mothers.

• The New Jersey Home News Tribune reports on a local community action program offering job training to women who have lost income from a spouse.

• A Kansas City Star article focuses on a local woman who, herself having grown up in poverty, has founded and operates a community services organization.

To learn more about Spotlight, visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org.  To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity Team

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.