I had the opportunity to travel to Bolivia last week to visit several projects working to improve the lives of poor residents. Bolivia is a landlocked nation home to about 10 million people and one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere. It ranks 111th on the Human Development Index out of 179 countries. [...]
Archive for April, 2009
The other side of Bolivia
Posted in General, Poverty, tagged Bolivia, Ecuador, Latin America, Poverty on April 28, 2009 | 1 Comment »
The solution to homelessness
Posted in Homelessness, Los Angeles, tagged Homelessness, Los Angeles, mental health, Nathaniel Ayers, Steve Lopez, The Soloist on April 21, 2009 | 1 Comment »
“The Soloist” movie comes out in theaters in a couple days, and here’s hoping that it’s a great film, lots of people see it, and it generates an effective mobilization of public, private and personal resources to effectively end homelessness and provide the mentally ill with the services they need. I’d prefer that, rather than [...]
Have we hit bottom?
Posted in Economy, tagged Economy, food security, Homelessness, Housing, stimulus package on April 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Last week, the Obama administration and the media began portraying the economy is a more favorable light, asserting that we’re at or near the bottom of the recession. Today, looking for good news anywhere they can find it, the Los Angeles Times claims that “Southern California home prices may be stabilizing,” because the median home [...]
Human suffering
Posted in General, Health, tagged death, Good Friday, haiti, partners in health, Paul Farmer, Suffering on April 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing. Luke 23:34 I’ve been reading Mountains Beyond Mountains, a great book by Tracy Kidder about the work of Paul Farmer and Partners in Health recently. It tells the story of how the dedication of one talented person can mushroom into a global effort [...]
Mental health care system in crisis
Posted in Health, tagged Health, mental health on April 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
If you’ve read The Soloist, you are aware of how disabling mental illness can be to lives full of promise. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) recently released Grading the States, a report card on the U.S. public mental health care system for adults. The analysis is based on 65 specific criteria such as [...]
The economy and gender discrimination
Posted in Economy, Employment, tagged Employment, Gender on April 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Most people are well aware that unemployment continues to rise to its highest levels in 25 years, above 8% nationally and approaching 11% in California. What is less apparent is that this rise is not evenly distributed for men and women. About 14 months ago, men and women had the same level of unemployment (around [...]
