Weekly Reader May 31, 2019

By: Hannah Rabalais, Program Officer

1. Former Inmates Are Getting Jobs As Employers Ignore Stigma In Bright Economy

By: NPR, Jasmine Garsd

"In 1998, Ichard Oden committed a crime that got him sent away for two decades. He was 19.

He got out of prison in February. Today, he's a 40-year-old man with very little job experience.

As it turns out, Oden is coming back into society at a time when the economy is booming and attitudes toward people with criminal records are changing.

Unemployment in the Detroit metro area has fallen dramatically, to 4.4% from more than 17% just 10 years ago. Nationwide, it's dropped to a 50-year low of 3.6%. Many employers say they can't find enough workers. And for Oden and 20 million or so Americans with a felony record, that might mean a much better shot at getting a job and reintegrating into society."

Read full article here: https://www.npr.org/2019/05/23/718737833/former-inmates-are-getting-jobs-as-employers-ignore-stigma-in-bright-economy?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=national&fbclid=IwAR3wpI7Whq409WCY8f-aNniZXSp9sXXKq0NlP1TFBUGQrJC4FY16HW-ejjc

2. No Background Check, Drug Test or Credit Check. You’re Hired!

By: The New York Times, Tina Rosenberg

"Greyston was founded in 1982 by Bernie Glassman, a Buddhist Zen master from Brooklyn. He had opened a small bakery and cafe to support a community of Zen students. The mayor of Yonkers — which at the time claimed to have the highest rate of homelessness in America — invited Mr. Glassman to move there. Following the Buddhist principle of non-judgment, the bakery hired local residents who wanted work, no questions asked. Greyston Foundation, which owns the bakery, also runs community programs, such as supportive housing, job training and community gardens."

Read full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/29/opinion/greyston-bakery-open-hiring.html?fbclid=IwAR2JT9unsAQHM0S8n5fQdShe4Af8-JmXUw5NtsjzvDBZ2sijrnrSfbR1Ix4

3. New Non-Profit Swan Strings Brings Free Music Lessons to Dallas Kids

By: D Magazine, Micah Flores

"Swan Strings is really just the beginning. Garland imagines it expanding to other locations, and maybe even other cities, in the future. For now, though, Garland is satisfied in knowing she is fulfilling a need for children in her community.

“Being able to offer music education in general, not even just for free, is really great. I know I’m providing something important,” says Garland. “I’m really just trying to inspire people. To me, music is medicine.”

Read full article here: https://www.dmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2019/05/new-non-profit-swan-strings-brings-free-music-lessons-to-dallas-kids/?fbclid=IwAR3VQC-rmyHiV47HrA8JJ2iaUEtHMv0cxSLa2AIzxJO64teokmeUgy2OEh0

4. “Trying to Find a Way to Survive”: Why Some Minors Are Vulnerable to Sex Traffickers

By: PBS Frontline, Catherine Trautwein

"The full extent of the problem in the U.S. is largely unknown — traffickers operate underground and estimates vary widely. However, the National Human Trafficking hotline has dealt with more than 11,200 cases referencing minor sex trafficking between 2007 and 2018.

Although survivors come from a wide set of backgrounds, experts say they have one commonality: a vulnerability to exploit, according to Megan Cutter, associate director of the National Human Trafficking Hotline."

Read full article here: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/sex-trafficking-risk-minors/?fbclid=IwAR2TnecyLkBN_PxKY9dVJBgVBl8fdNsQ9hzZp43GFT2I8VJcGf43ZszaZW8

5. Commentary: Nation needs stable, affordable housing to improve health and well-being in low-income communities

By: The Kresge Foundation, David Fukuzawa

"Where you live should not determine how long you live.

But for too many people of color living in cities across the country, decades of discriminatory housing, transportation, land-use policy and economic disinvestment have resulted in neighborhoods segregated by income, race and ethnicity, creating disparities that have had a lasting negative impact on their health and well-being."

Read full article here: https://kresge.org/news/commentary-nation-needs-stable-affordable-housing-improve-health-and-well-being-low-income?fbclid=IwAR2JvQcapdiVu6jP0_YHy9U43bEGI-cWR0MngpafJL-nr9OOOg86oWVxXHw

6. Here's How Dallas Ranks For Student Homelessness

By: Patch, Fernando Alfonso III

"Dallas ranked 66th in the country out of 98 cities analyzed by the addiction support service RiverOaksTreatment.com. Here's the breakdown:

Count of homeless students: 4,209

Homeless students per 100,000 people: 314"

Read full article here: https://patch.com/texas/dallas-ftworth/here-s-how-dallas-ranks-student-homelessness?fbclid=IwAR1tp9ij9SkOZ1WTuChNlF20rgmRXEYTDNCsZJ6ASPWPjPNUytLDl2pWGL4