Photo credit: khteWisconsin/Flickr

Young and Poor in America

Some 46 million people (a number representing more than 15 percent of the population) in the nation now live below the poverty line. Dismal figures released by the Census Bureau last week not only brought news of a record number of poor living in poverty in the United States, they also revealed that young people have suffered more than any other group during the nation’s economic downturn. Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 saw their family’s income fall 15.3 percent between 2007 and 2010, the most precipitous decline of any group. They were followed by those aged 45 to 54, who witnessed a fall off of 9.2 percent, while those 65 and older saw incomes rise by more than 5 percent, according to the Census. Poverty experts have good reasons why the young have absorbed much of the pain.

A Minnesota School District’s Struggle over Bullying and Gay Rights

In a front page story, the New York Times explores the problem of bullying and a controversial school policy concerning sexual orientation in a school district in suburban Minneapolis. The piece details a long struggle between advocates for homosexual students and Christian conservatives over how sexual orientation should be taught in schools. It also reports on a lawsuit filed against the Anoka-Hennepin School District claiming, in part, that district policy requiring teachers to be “neutral” on the question of sexual orientation has helped to bring about a hostile environment for gay and lesbian students and therefore increasing the number of incidents of bullying. The suit was brought on behalf of the students by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. News of the suit comes after reports that the Department of Justice is in the midst of a civil rights investigation of on-going harassment of gay and lesbian students in the the district of some 38,000.

Do you Have Addiction and Recovery Questions? JJIE Wants You to Ask the Expert

It’s always good to have someone to turn to when you are going through a tough time. And life, as we all know, can be full of those bumpy patches. That’s especially true of the teen years. Toss yourself for a moment back into that tumult of peer relationships, galloping hormones, bad judgment and all the temptations on God’s green Earth. Not so easy for a kid, you’ll remember.

Summer’s End — Joy and Danger at the Jumping Rock

You will break your neck. That jumping rock you did the perfect gainer off of yesterday, into the swirl of dark river water below? Well, today the sandbar has shifted so the water is four-feet deep, not 12. Or a log has drifted into that hole, or maybe a stump has rolled into it, or some piece of manmade debris now clogs it up. Doesn’t matter, you are going to break your neck and chances are, if you don’t kill yourself, you won’t walk for the rest of your life.

Slaves to the Needle – Read our Heroin Series

Heroin may be about to get a mean on. That’s what JJIE’s Ryan Schill writes in a three-part series this week. Though statistics don’t show an enormous surge in heroin arrests, both current and former users, as well as counselors report an upsurge in use among teens, mostly white, mostly suburban. Increased supply, its relative low cost and the prevalence of opiate-based prescription medications all play a role in what seems to be going on. These aren’t happy stories Schill tells, and these aren’t pretty pictures photographer Clay Duda offers.

Thanks to You the Spot.Us Experiment Worked

Aren’t experiments cool? Well, OK, not always. Sometimes the chemistry set blows up, but most of the time you learn something at least. We just finished up an experiment here at JJIE, and thanks to you it was successful. Bill Sanders, a former features writer at the Atlanta Journal Constitution brought us a story idea a few weeks ago about a program designed to warn kids about the dangers of activities that could lead to brain and neck injuries.

From the Editor: Caution, Graphic Material Ahead — Our Heroin Series Contains Some Ugly Reality

Drugs in this country come in and out of style. Some of them leave the scene pretty quickly, thank goodness.

Then there are the ones that always seem to linger unwelcomed, sometimes quiet in the background, sometimes bursting into the open.

That’s heroin. Like a drunk at an otherwise pleasant gathering, it’s there around the fringes, making people uncomfortable. But then the party goes into a real funk when the drunk gets a mean on and proceeds to ruin everyone’s evening.

Heroin may be about to get a mean on. That’s what JJIE’s Ryan Schill writes in a three-part series this week. Though statistics don’t show an enormous surge in heroin arrests, both current and former users, as well as counselors report an upsurge in use among teens, mostly white, mostly suburban. Increased supply, its relative low cost and the prevalence of opiate-based prescription medications all play a role in what seems to be going on.

These aren’t happy stories Schill tells, and these aren’t pretty pictures photographer Clay Duda offers. So, you should know, this series may not be suitable for all readers. It is sometimes difficult to stomach. It is rife with profanity and disturbing details. Some of the images are graphic. But it is, quite simply, the brutal reality of a life with heroin.

For the most part, it’s a sad story. Yet even in this nightmarish place, there is some hope and in this case it is recovery. One character, hopeless in the shackles of heroin for years, found a way to claw his way to sobriety.

He offers something, not only to others still struggling with addiction, but to all of us. With the help of society, friends, family and loved ones, souls long thought to be lost, can be salvaged.

Will you Help us With a Story?

Bill Sanders, one of our freelancers, has an interesting story he wants to write. But we need your help to get it done. Here is his story proposal and the place where you can go to help with it. Here's the thing. Gone are the days when an editor can throw an AP Stylebook across a newsroom and hit half a dozen beat reporters.

Charting the Path of the Rail Kids

Back in early March, our colleague Pete Colbenson came by for a visit as he is prone to do. Pete is our ‘network weaver,’ our advisor on all matters concerning juvenile justice. He spent decades working in the field, most recently as the director of Georgia’s Children and Youth Coordinating Council. He’s been invaluable to our efforts here at the JJIE in connecting with people within the system and understanding many of the issues. He is never so happy, though, as when he dishing out story ideas.

A joint. JJIE file photo. Ryan Schill / JJIE.org

More Straight Dope

This week’s story on synthetic marijuana, The Straight Dope on Fake Dope, shook out some thoughtful comments from JJIE.Org readers, Facebook and Twitter followers. We’ve also gotten some responses thanks to American Public Media’s Public Insight Network (PIN), more than 100,000 people across the country who have agreed to share their expertise to inform news coverage. Have at look at what they are saying, and if you have any thoughts, please send them our way. Also, it seems the adults are eager to talk. Anyone out there still in their teens want to contribute?