New Strategies To Tackle Poverty In Boston

By Kara Miller
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Local networks and communities, like the Mattapan Library, where two young men are seen job-searching last year, are considered an important tool in fighting poverty. (Jess Bidgood/WGBH)

In a tough economic climate, the gap between the haves and the have-nots has gotten wider. In Boston where the cost of living has risen 70% over the past two decades, poverty is on the rise too. In some areas of the city, 42 percent of children are impoverished.

We talk to innovators aiming to break that cycle, organizations that are taking homeless people off the streets and investing in families. Each organization has a different mission, but they share the tactic of helping the poor by empowering them.

Guests:

• Tiziana Dearing, CEO, Boston Rising

• Jesus Gerena, director, Family Independence Initative, Boston

• Lyndia Downie, president and executive director, Pine Street Inn

Click the players above to hear the conversation.