Home › SpeakUnited, a United Way Blog › Elizabeth Curtis ›

2007

We began these blogs because we wanted to start a conversation. We wanted to provide a place where this community can come to check its own pulse. We encourage response and conversation. We just ask you to keep it respectful. We'd love to hear it. It's a conversation, after all, we hope you'll add to it.

Please review the terms & conditions of our blog.

Elizabeth Curtis
Elizabeth Curtis
Tue, 12/18/2007

How hungry are Bostonians?

How does our city fare in ensuring its citizens meet their basic needs?
in

The U.S. Conference of Mayors recently released their annual "Hunger and Homelessness Survey" that outlines responses from 23 cities across the country regarding the level of hunger and homelessness experienced by their citizens. Find out how Boston is responding...  read more »

Elizabeth Curtis
Elizabeth Curtis
Wed, 12/05/2007

Making a Difference Beyond the Holiday Season

How can we make a lasting difference?
in

With all the holiday toy drives, coat collections, and food drives,
it's easy for us to figure out how we can do something very simple to
help homeless and other low-income families. In an immediate way, we
can see that our donations of winter coats and stuffed animals can make
a difference for families who don't have the extra resources we all
need at this time of year. It makes us feel good, and it really does
mean something to those receiving the gifts. After reading an article
by Victoria Cheng in the Boston Globe last Sunday however, I was moved
to help keep people focused on the long-term goal - ending homelessness...  read more »

Elizabeth Curtis
Elizabeth Curtis
Fri, 11/30/2007

Boston's Annual Homeless Census

Understanding the scope of the problem
in

On the night of Tuesday, December 18, volunteers will brave the cold streets of Boston to help us all understand what homelessness really looks like. The City of Boston will coordinate a homeless census, as they do every year, that will provide critical information to the public about how many people are experiencing homelessness on that given night...  read more »

Elizabeth Curtis
Elizabeth Curtis
Thu, 11/15/2007

Achieving the American Dream

Are we better off than our parents?
in

On November 13, The Pew Charitable Trusts released three reports from their Economic Mobility Project. The series presents information about various aspects to economic mobility - they look at the issue from generational, racial, and gender-focused lenses. "Economic Mobility of Families Across Generations" by Julia Isaacs finds that generally adults who were in their 30s and 40s in 2000 had more income than their parents' generation. Some of this can be explained by women entering the workforce and a decrease in family size. Also, the report states that 2 out of 3 Americans have higher family incomes than their parents did, and the higher the parents' income, the higher the income of their adult children.

However, the news isn't all good...  read more »

Syndicate content