Do yourself a favor and spend some time with this project.
. Tens of thousands of families confront what often amounts to a daily
struggle -- if not for survival then at least for dignity. And their
troubles unfold mostly out of sight, in barren apartments, soulless
shelters or overflowing trailers. In these unseen places, hope can be
as scarce as cash and victories tend to be small, hard-won and fleeting.
Despite decades of hard work, Rosalie Higgins of Wheaton entered her retirement years desperately poor.
Sarah and Lee Neff's pursuit of a dream house ended in a dismal trailer in Murdock.
Olivia and Juan Casteneda of Rock Island are veterans of poverty on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border.
London Williams, a young mother, struggles to get by in the isolated public housing of Cairo.
Disabled by violence, Cleo Barney is facing a hard future in Waukegan.
Zachary Abdur-Rahman came home to Rockford searching for financial stability, only to find it more elusive than ever.
James Morrison, a drug addict, was trying to pilfer a living from the abandoned buildings of Rockford.
Hoping for a KidneyForgive me for the "bummer" nature of today's column, but
this piece from
The New York Times is extraordinary. It is a first-person essay from an individual who needs a kidney and turns to live donors as the best chance for a donation. Friends warm up and then cool off to the idea of donating to a friend. Total strangers consider it, then back out.
A Web site called MatchingDonors links those in need with those willing to give.
Click here to see some news stories about MatchingDonors.
Who, living near you, is waiting right now for a life-saving organ transplant? How could you tell his/her story in 2008 in a way that will teach, illuminate and inspire others to consider transplantation as a serious option
?
A Health Care Gift CardTerri Gruca, WCCO-TV consumer reporter, told me about a new kind of gift card that is a sign of the times.
It is a health care gift card.
Among the things it may be used for are: Co-pays at doctors' offices and pharmacies; dental care, including
braces and teeth whitening; vision care, including eye exams and
prescription sunglasses; memberships at health clubs; and elective
procedures, such as Lasik and cosmetic surgery.
Terri points out that there are some downsides to the card: The card itself
costs $4.95,
and $1.50 is deducted each month from the balance.
'Bupe' -- The Street Drug You Have Not heard of ... YetThe Baltimore Sun reports:
A little-known narcotic is showing up on the streets after the government spent millions to make it the centerpiece of a plan to treat opiate addicts. Nicknamed "bupe," the drug holds great promise as a medicine. But it can be a menace in the wrong hands.
The piece has some nice explanatory graphics on how this drug works -- when it is used as intended. The
Sun explains how it reported the story:
Reporters conducted dozens of interviews with physicians, patients, scientists, officials and law enforcement officers. Accompanied by a photographer, they got to know opiate addicts and the people who treat them in Baltimore and in seven cities and towns in New England. That's the region where the drug is most extensively prescribed. A reporter also interviewed addicts and doctors in France, where the drug has been used for more than a decade, and in Mauritius, a nation troubled by illegal use. Reporters also examined federal records and data from drug monitoring systems and from post-marketing surveillance conducted by a consultant for the drug's manufacturer.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and links.
Editor's
Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story
excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as
original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly
from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided
whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends on the
accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and
inaccuracies found will be corrected.
