North Carolina is among the states that benefited the most from an expanded Child Tax Credit The expanded child tax credit that families received in 2021 helped reduce child poverty across the country, but particularly in the South where families lack a sufficient safety net, according to a paper released on Wednesday.
...poverty
Read their new report, “We Set People Up For Impossible Decisions: Women and Low Wage Work in NC”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: RSS
As the North Carolina General Assembly returns to Raleigh this week for the 2023 session, state educators and healthcare providers are issuing an urgent call for improved student access to mental health services. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) was recently awarded $17 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education to help student mental health needs in 15 school districts.
...Over 3.2 million North Carolinians are poor or near poor, and many more experience economic instability and challenges over time. We’ve described some of these communities and the hurdles they face, individually and collectively, in our prior research. With this report, we examine the ways that women in North Carolina are caught in the crosshairs of irreconcilable social and economic demands.
...A new study finds authorities rely on police and jails to address low-level charges that don’t threaten public safety. Drug abuse and violence are experiences commonly shared among the women detained at the Buncombe County Jail, according to a study released last week by the Vera Institute of Justice. Of the 40 women surveyed in the Buncombe County Detention Center in September 2021, all but one said they struggled with drugs or alcohol use.
...Shaletta Ryans went to court Monday afternoon without even having to leave jail. She appeared in a Guilford County courtroom via a live video feed, her image beaming onto five computer screens in front of prosecutors, a public defender and a judge. She didn’t say much, but the courtroom’s speakers rattled with the sound of chains, the cacophonous soundtrack of jail.
...The 2022 Living Income Standard soars to new heights When COVID-19 arrived, few (if any) pundits predicted inflation would become one of the most fretted-over issues in 2022, but here we are. Supply chain disruptions, pent-up demand, war in Ukraine, and myriad other factors have made it harder and harder for many working families to make ends meet.
...Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Administration, Pam Cashwell, and the Executive Director of the state’s Council for Women and Youth Involvement, Danielle Carman, discuss the newly released report: “The Status of Women in North Carolina: Poverty and Opportunity.”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: RSS
The Food Bank provided over 115 million meals to families & individuals last year. Learn how to help.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: RSS
For over four decades now, advocates at Legal Aid have provided free legal help to low-income North Carolinians in civil cases involving basic human needs like safety, shelter, income and many other issues.Toll-Free Helpline: 1-866-219-LANC
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: RSS
Read their new report: “The persistent and pervasive challenge of child poverty and hunger in North Carolina”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: RSS
Sometimes we get used to things we should never get used to. North Carolina countenances extraordinary levels of child hunger and poverty. For perspective, the United States, tragically, lets more of its citizens, especially its kids, live in wrenching poverty than almost any advanced, democratic nation. The United Nations rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights has decried the “shockingly high number of children living in poverty in the United States.” The U.S. has, by far, the highest child poverty rate among peer nations.
...