THE RECESSION: THE SMALLEST VICTIMS

Thursday, May 28 2009 -THE RECESSION: THE SMALLEST VICTIMS

LaWanda and JuJuan Tanniehill

School authorities in Birmingham have a couple of numbers that underline the effects of this recession in very stark terms. Officials estimate that there are more than 3,000 homeless children who attend city schools. That would mean that more than twenty percent of the children who attend Birmingham city schools are living in shelters, in hotels or with relatives.

That's what happened to LaWanda Tanniehill and her two boys, eight-year-old JuJuan and four year old Mythais. The family lived with relatives for a while, and earlier this year they were at a shelter for three months.

LaWanda and JuJuan join Dick to talk about their search for a home.

Listen Now!

Download

GRADUATING RIGHT ON TIME!

Thursday, May 21, 2009 - GRADUATING RIGHT ON TIME!

Roscoe Dillard Griffin >>Larger

Last week, 92-year-old Roscoe Dillard Griffin graduated from the University of North Carolina after leaving school seven decades earlier. At the very end of his senior year, Dillard says he left college to manage his family's shoe store. He also met a girl and fell in love. Gail Clower, Dillard's daughter, says she never knew her father didn't have a degree. The two talk with Dick Gordon about how Dillard managed to complete his final university credits, and what finishing his degree means to their family.

See Dillard's yearbook picture, and a photo of the woman who stole his heart.

Listen Now!

Download

Teamwork in THE TRAILER PARK

Monday, May 11 2009-Teamwork in THE TRAILER PARK

Theresa Phillips

All this week, American Public Media is running a special series on a number of shows: Marketplace, Speaking of Faith, American RadioWorks. The idea is to explore The Next American Dream.

Theresa Phillips' vision of the American Dream for her children is that they are safe, regardless of the path they take in life. Her work within a trailer park women's co-op in Battle Creek, Mich., shaped that vision. Theresa says she moved to the community to escape an abusive past. To her surprise, she found many women in the same boat. So Theresa invited all the women in the trailer park to her lot to figure out how they could change their lives. Dick Gordon talks with Theresa about how helping out with childcare and food turned into a vibrant, home-grown support network, a new kind of American Dream.

Listen Now!

Download

WHEN CAN MY WIFE COME HOME?

Thursday, May 07 2009 -

WHEN CAN MY WIFE COME HOME?

John and Lourdes >> more photos

John Adams found himself in the thick of the nation's immigration troubles after falling in love with a woman named Lourdes from Guatemala. A year after their marriage, John and Lourdes were at the final meeting with an immigration officer to adjust her status from illegal to resident when the officer learned that Lourdes had once been picked up on an immigration violation and had not shown up in court. Lourdes was deported.

John is now raising their two children, Alexa and Orlando, alone. John tells Dick Gordon about his plans for the future and how this experience has altered his view of America.

Listen Now!

Download