Washington Area Women's Foundation

Weekly Round-Up: News and Analysis on Women and Poverty (Week ending April 2, 2010)

Pregnant Woman_WSJThe latest news, analysis and opinion on the state of low-income women and their families from Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity.  This week: Why extreme poverty can lead to pregnancy problems…. Plus, cuts could be made to a monthly stipend that former Florida foster children depend on.

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with The Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.  Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

Here’s this week’s news:

  • The Wall Street Journal reports that women facing difficult circumstances and stress, including extreme poverty, have a higher risk of problems during pregnancy.
  • The Los Angeles Times interviews several low-income immigrant women who miscarried or gave birth to children with birth defects, problems that they attribute to a nearby polluted dump in rural Kettlemen City.
  • The South Florida Sun-Sentinel profiles 21-year-old student Tamarra Lestage.  Lestage would be homeless if not for a monthly stipend given to former foster children, a program which may be cut due to Florida’s budget crunch.
  • The Portland Press Herald highlights the opening of Florence House, a $7.9 million facility that will house 40 homeless women in apartments or semi-private bedrooms.
  • Seven months after being fired from the Hyatt in Boston, Lucine Williams and almost 60 other mostly female former housekeepers still struggle to find work, according to the Boston Globe.

For daily updates and links to past articles, check out “Women and Poverty.”  It’s a section of the Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity site with a comprehensive collection of recent news and analysis on women and poverty.  Along with these daily updates, continue to visit Washington Area Women’s Foundation for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty every Friday.  To learn more about Spotlight visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org.  To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity Team

Photo credit: Stephen Maturen for the Wall Street Journal