President Donald Trump’s proposed 2018 budget strips $3.9 billion from federal Pell Grants — or debt-free federal assistance to needy students. The proposed cuts would have a widespread impact on the Three Rivers region.
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Posted inEquity, HEALTH, On the beat, posts
Pennsylvania wants more housing for the homeless, aging and poor. Here’s the state’s plan.
Overlooked communities Homelessness is expensive. In Pennsylvania, it’s become more common.
To combat this and to increase housing for Pennsylvanians who can’t afford average market-rate rent and residents in government-assisted nursing homes, the state’s Department of Human Services [DHS] today announced a five-year plan to make affordable housing easier to find.
Posted inEquity, IN-DEPTH, SALARIES DATA
Minimum-wage debate heats up in Pennsylvania
Many believe the minimum wage hasn’t kept up with the times, and movements to raise it are being led by grassroots groups and governments in communities across the nation. In June, Los Angeles became the biggest city in the country to raise its minimum wage to $15 by 2020.
Nineteen U.S. cities and counties experienced mandated wage increases this year; 29 states and Washington, D.C., already require employers to pay workers more than $7.25.
Pennsylvania isn’t part of this group – yet.
Posted inOn the beat, posts
Report: Nursing home workers paid ‘poverty wages’ by profitable industry
Pennsylvania nursing homes are double-dipping in taxpayers’ pockets, according to a new report by a Harrisburg policy research organization.
Posted inHEALTH, IN-DEPTH, Single moms
Going it alone: Low-income single moms struggle to find help, escape judgment
Rochelle Jackson had three kids and was pregnant with a son. She was also scared. Her boyfriend, the father of her children, had grown increasingly abusive during her pregnancy.
It was 1998 when she decided to press charges for physical and sexual assault, and her boyfriend went to jail. She was finally free, but now she was on her own with a growing family.
Posted inDEVELOP PGH, ECONOMY & HOUSING, On the beat, posts
Housing costs strain budgets for low-income workers in PA
A one-bedroom apartment may not seem like much, but in many cases it’s too much to afford for a worker earning minimum wage in Pennsylvania.
Posted inDATA, DEVELOP PGH, ECONOMY & HOUSING, EDUCATION, Equity, IN-DEPTH
Thousands of disabled workers in PA paid far below minimum wage
About 13,000 disabled Pennsylvanians are earning an average of $2.40 an hour in a legal use of subminimum wages.
Since 1986, there has been no limit to how little they can be paid.
Does this practice provide opportunities for people who wouldn’t otherwise have a job? Or does it exploit those who could work for minimum wage if given the chance?
Posted inDATA, DEVELOP PGH, ECONOMY & HOUSING, EDUCATION, Equity, HEALTH, IN-DEPTH
Racial disparities in PA increased in 50 years
Jomonna Smith, a 30-year-old woman, held her last job in 2008 as a store cashier.
She is a single mother of three children, making ends meet with government assistance, styling hair on the side and a bit of family help.
