Low Income

May 1 2013

California health council can help

With just a few clicks of a mouse, kids as young as 12 can have free condoms delivered to their doors in California.

News of the program’s expansion to two new counties comes as the federal government approves the “morning-after pill” without a prescription for girls as young as 15.

The development has garnered mixed reactions.

Apr 4 2013

People of color, low income most at risk

One of the worst ironies of the nagging economic recession is that consumers with the fewest financial resources have lost the most.

Now, a new report finds that payday loans not only strip much-needed income from low-income families but also harm the economic viability of the communities where they operate, draining nearly $1 billion a year.

Mar 22 2013

Rex Parris sees profit in Earth’s most renewable resource

Owners of single-family homes in Lancaster may be required by January 2014 to have solar power systems in operation. It is a unique proposition posed by Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris to position the city as the nation’s foremost “green” community. This motion will be taken up for debate at the March 26 meeting of the Lancaster City Council.

Jan 3 2013

Prepaid debit card usage rising

According to a new report by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), in 2011 more than 37 million American households were either unbanked or under-banked. African American households represent 34 percent of all under-banked consumers, the highest percentage among demographics surveyed. When under-banked African American and Latino households are combined, these two communities of color comprise more than 60 percent of the nation’s under-banked households.

Lavenia Stewart  |   OW Contributor
Dec 6 2012

To help, city offers free tax preparation for residents

In the spirt of giving, Inglewood’s city treasurer is offering free tax preparation to low and moderate-income families and putting tax dollars back in their pockets by helping them take advantage of the federal government’s largest resource for low-income working Americans, the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

“If you can’t afford tax preparation we are offering them to a limited number of Inglewood residents. And for those families earning less than $51,000 you can apply for a EITC,” said Treasurer Wanda Brown.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”