The value of a teenager’s opinion is questioned almost daily. Oftentimes, it’s value matters most when it aligns with the opinions of the majority, or the person in power. However, if said opinion goes against the major opinion, it’s often criticized alongside a teenager's lack of “a true understanding of how the world works” and “ignorance.” It’s reactions like this that lead to the overall belittling of a teenager, and increases the stigma that a teenager’s opinion is nothi

Written By Preston Saunders Food insecurity is one of the foremost struggles of homeless and impoverished populations. Despite the increase in physical locations of food pantries, soup kitchens, and other distribution centers, it is still difficult to provide full daily meals for the homeless due to lack of food availability. This, coupled with the issues of insufficient nutrition and lack of manpower because of inability to compensate workers, creates a large demand for volu

We all know what “the time of the month” is, and most people have easy access to hygiene products that let that time pass by easily. It’s easy for us to walk into the nearest CVS and get a few boxes of pads, and a bit of pain medication for issues like cramps. If days get too overwhelming, we have the privilege of staying home and waiting for discomfort to subside, and we can make ourselves comfortable as we do so. We often take our easy access to feminine hygiene products fo

Andrew Stahl On one night in 2015, 31,500 people (adults and children) fleeing domestic abuse sought shelter in a domestic violence emergency center; 12,197 of those requests were denied due to lack of funding, space, or staffing. 63% of those unmet requests were for housing. They were thus faced with a choice many victims of domestic violence encounter: return to the abusive home, or be homeless for an uncertain amount of time, often with their children. The connection betwe

By: Katherine Brown Recently, I listened to a very thought-provoking podcast. The topic of the podcast was reaching out to people vs. chasing people. The speaker recounted his experiences as a church leader, struggling to learn the difference between healthily reaching out to attendees, or recklessly chasing them down with no real purpose. As I listened, I related to many of the things he said. Honestly, we’ve probably all chased a friendship at one point in our lives. Perhap

Hostile design, also known as defensive architecture, is an urban-design strategy that deters and restricts people from ‘abusing’ certain public spaces. If you’ve been in an American city-scape, you’ve probably come across something akin to this. Examples would include park benches with awkward handles in the middle of them that make laying down uncomfortable and bolts and sharp edges attached to steps of a building also to discourage sleeping and loitering. In the case of ho

By: Ava Framm Art has always been utilized as a form of expression, whether that be an escape from reality, or a release of emotion. But during these unprecedented times, people are finding different creative outlets to keep them occupied while maintaining healthy practices. For some, this including making homemade bread, painting, singing, or handmaking masks. For artists who are normally working on commissions, all of their deadlines have been put on hold. What this leaves

By Preston Saunders Eight percent of the US population are convicted felons, nearly 27 million people, with African American men making up 33% of that total. However, not all of them are guilty, and of those that are, many find that the title of felon is a far worse punishment than they deserve for their crime. Not only does a felony limit job opportunities and lead to poverty or homelessness, but a felony conviction is a major tool of disenfranchisement and disproportionatel

By Karah Lindsey Poor people do not often have a lot of resources, financial or otherwise. Combine that with healthcare providers that are often a long car or bus ride away and the result is poor people dying 10-15 years earlier than their counterparts that do not live below the poverty line. Imagine you live in Imperial, California, which is in a county with a 23.8% poverty rate. You make less than $20,000 a year, and suddenly, one day you wake up with a massive headache and

by Andrew Stahl With the 2020 census upon us, taking a look at the track record of the census for counting the homeless, and examining this year’s plan. First, however: why is the census important for the homeless population? It is easy to see it as a low-priority issue when basic needs such as food and housing are consistently failing to be met, but an accurate census count is crucial for many of the problems the homeless face. Census data on the homeless population is used