Dec 4th, 2008 · More than 50 student groups across the country are performing Jonathan Larson's edgy rock opera Rent this school year. Like the Broadway show, Rent School Edition is centered on a group of friends in the 1990s dealing with AIDS, gender identity, homosexuality, drug addiction and poverty.
Dec 4th, 2008 · An increasing number of young adults are choosing to volunteer. Most organizations provide health insurance to the volunteers, who effectively live at the poverty level, but the benefits are not usually as complete as employer-provided insurance.
Nov 6th, 2008 · Now that Barack Obama has been elected president, there is hope that something can be done about poverty, jobless rate and lower performing schools in minority neighborhoods. Roger Wilkins is a civil rights activist and author. Taylor Branch is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. They discuss with Steve Inskeep how the multi-racial people who volunteered for Obama's campaign can help work to solve the problems in poor communities.
Oct 30th, 2008 · Bryan and Christina Truemper in Frohna, Mo., live on the "brink of poverty" with their two young children. They don't have health care and worry about the country falling into a depression. But they also say a new presidency could make a difference.
Oct 14th, 2008 · Charges of voter fraud have been growing in recent weeks, most notably with Republican attacks against ACORN, an anti-poverty group. But the intensity of the attacks has also raised questions about Republican motives.
Oct 13th, 2008 · Some middle-income families in Las Vegas are fighting off poverty in ways they never would have imagined. One woman recently found herself panhandling just to get her electricity turned back on.
Sep 25th, 2008 · Leaders from around the world are in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly. Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf talks about the financial crisis in the U.S., South Africa's new president and her work to stop poverty and corruption in Liberia.
Sep 25th, 2008 · There are more than nine million Roma, also known as "Gypsys," living in Europe. But their lives have been marked with poverty, lack of education and outright racism. The European Union (EU) met for the first time in its history last week to talk about the challenges faced by the Roma minority. David Mark, of the EU Roma Policy Coalition, explains the recent summit.