poverty

Wash. Supreme Court Rejects Legal Fees, Hurdles For Poor

Amy Radil — Fri, 24 May 2013 05:41:52 +0000

Washington’s judicial system abolished court fees for poor people in 2010, but county courts sought ways around the rule. Now in a unanimous decision, the Washington State Supreme Court has reaffirmed that if someone qualifies as indigent, courts need to give them access for free.

Economic Wisdom The Developing World Can Teach The Developed World

Rachel Solomon — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 03:00:00 +0000

A handful of third-world countries have turned themselves around from numerous hardships in the past 30 years: China rose from seemingly hopeless poverty, Mexico bounced back from the Third World Debt Crisis, Brazil overcame hyperinflation.

Sequestration Suspends King County Housing Vouchers

Patricia Murphy — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 00:05:56 +0000

The King County Housing Authority has stopped issuing new Section 8 vouchers. The program is federally subsidized through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The move is a result of the impending reduction in those funds due to sequestration.

Scam Websites Target Applicants To Seattle’s Low-Income Housing

Liz Jones — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 03:44:57 +0000

Watch out for scammers. That’s Seattle Housing Authority’s warning to people who are going online this week to apply for the city’s Section 8 housing lottery. Agency officials caution that some misleading sites have been set up to trick people into submitting their personal information to the wrong place.

Annual Homeless Count Focuses Beyond The Numbers

Liz Jones — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:25:47 +0000

In the pre-dawn hours this Friday, hundreds of volunteers will fan out across King County to look for people sleeping in alleys, parks, shopping centers and city busses. The effort is part of the county’s annual One Night Count, which aims to get an annual head-count of people who are homeless.

More Seattle Churches To Offer “Safe Parking” For Homeless

Liz Jones — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 01:23:24 +0000

On Sunday nights, you can find Graham Pruss under the Ballard Bridge, serving up a hot meal. A recent menu included ham and potato soup, locally baked bread and apple cobbler. He calls this weekly dinner a bridge to connect with people who live in their cars. They’re often referred to as car campers or mobile homeless, but Pruss prefers the term, vehicle residents.

Pruss is one of many homeless advocates who’s pushed Seattle to provide more services to this group of people. In response, last year the city launched the “safe parking” program, which opens up church lots where people can park and connect to housing services. The pilot program is modestly increasing this year, in a step toward what advocates hope will be a citywide expansion.

Washington "Driving While Poor" Law Prompts Changes

Liz Jones — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 23:11:03 +0000

In 2012 the Washington state Legislature passed a law that sponsors called the “driving while poor” bill. The law aims to help people who end up with suspended licenses because they failed to pay traffic tickets.

From Tuna Helper To Organic Tomatoes: Behind The Scenes Of American Food Production

Rachel Solomon — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 04:00:00 +0000

As a kid, Tracie McMillan's favorite food was Hamburger Helper. Until she got to college, she considered people who ate "good food," snobs. She became interested in how food and class relate in America while reporting on poverty.

Even With Universal Health Care, The Poor Suffer

Ross Reynolds — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 03:31:58 +0000

The United Kingdom already has a universal health care system. So you might expect that the health gap between rich and poor is smaller in England than it is the United States — but you’d be wrong!

Melissa Martinson is a professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Washington and she talks with Ross Reynolds about the differences in health between citizens of the United States and the United Kingdom.