The mayor who found a simple way to help the homeless: give them jobs

The scene can be found in almost every major U.S. city: a panhandler stands on a street corner holding a sign saying, “Need a job.” But one U.S. mayor decided to try something different — by taking them up on the offer and give the person a job One year ago Berry started a campaign to curb panhandling, called There’s a Better Way. Continue Reading...

Does Microfinance Help the Poor?

This week at the Institute for Faith, Work and Economics, contributor James Clark asked, “Can microfinance really help the poor?” His conclusion: yes microfinance can work, but with certain caveats. In the last decade, microfinance has become a popular strategy in poverty alleviation, yet many economists and philanthropists often call its effectiveness into question. Continue Reading...

Guatemala’s Liberty Movement and the Gospel as Social Cure

Guatemala is not known for freedom and stability, with a history colored by authoritarianism, political corruption, civil war, segregation, colonialism, post-colonial interventionism, and so on. Dire poverty and street violence remain endemic, and yet hope remains: for political and economic liberty, yes, but also for freedom of spirit. Continue Reading...

Examining Suspension Policies in the South

In Dothan, Alabama, school officials are meeting to make changes to the Dothan City Schools suspension policies because of disparities between the rates of suspensions between black and white students. Across the American South, these suspension disparities are among the greatest. Continue Reading...