Posted 11:53 AM 12/11/2014 by Lee Anne Denyer, KOMU 8 Reporter
COLUMBIA - There isn't any type of family immune to the hardships of poverty.(See resources for families in need.)
KOMU 8 News asked its viewers who are poor or near poor to share how they believe the face of poverty has changed. We received 120 responses. (More)
Posted 3:17 PM 12/10/2014 by Annie Hammock, KOMU 8 Interactive Director
COLUMBIA - Many roads lead to poverty and the people who travel those roads each have a unique story to share.
Viewer responses to a KOMU 8 News poll on poverty showed there is no single, simple definition of what it means to be poor or near poor.
Respondents included single parents (More)
Posted 8:28 PM 10/21/2014 by Brittany Pieper, KOMU 8 Anchor
COLUMBIA - Natia Dennis works hard to take care of her family at home and the elderly at the nursing home where she works as a full time Certified Nursing Assistant. Insurance is offered through her job, but she says supporting a family of four on about $1,200 a month means she can't afford (More)
Posted 5:15 PM 6/19/2014 by Angie Bailey
COLUMBIA - Odds are you consider yourself a busy person, trying to take care of your own business and those around you. But I and a handful of community members who are considered "busy" by any standards got a glimpse at just how time-consuming being poor is.
In my reality, it lasted just (More)
Adv. - more news below
Posted 8:04 PM 1/23/2014 by Emily Spain, KOMU 8 Anchor
COLUMBIA - It's a statistic that might shock you, or dismay you if you're in college right now. Nearly half of recent college graduates are working in jobs that do not require a college degree, according to a 2013 study released by the (More)
Posted 7:28 PM 1/21/2014 by Brittany Pieper, KOMU 8 Anchor
COLUMBIA - Roshall Harvey spends her weekends cleaning up her house and spending time with her daughters, but just a few years ago she was living in a shelter while her girls stayed with an older sibling.
While at the shelter, a case worker gave her the number to Love INC in Columbia. She (More)
Posted 7:19 PM 9/5/2013 by Emily Spain, KOMU 8 Anchor
COLUMBIA - It seems like the obvious solution, find a job and get out of poverty, but that's not a foolproof plan. There's the challenge of actually finding a job and one that pays enough to survive.
In Columbia, there are several large, stable employers like the University of (More)
Posted 3:28 PM 8/29/2013 by Brittany Pieper, KOMU 8 Anchor
COLUMBIA - Education is often seen as a way out of poverty, but getting that education can be a struggle for both kids and adults below the poverty line.
Adrian Clifton spends as much time as she can reading to her kids and encouraging them to take school seriously. As a former teacher and (More)
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Posted 8:31 PM 8/22/2013 by Emily Spain, KOMU 8 Anchor
COLUMBIA - Public housing keeps a roof over the heads of many Columbia families in poverty, but there's not enough available for all of those in need. The Columbia Housing Authority or CHA currently serves approximately 1,950 families, but there's more than 1,000 other families waiting for (More)
Posted 6:28 AM 8/15/2013 by Megan Murphy, KOMU 8 Anchor
COLUMBIA - From January to June of this year, Central Pantry, a service of the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, has seen a 12 percent increase in clients. Food Bank officials say almost 8,000 more people have walked through the pantry doors than the same time period last year.(More)
Posted 1:20 PM 8/8/2013 by Angie Bailey, KOMU 8 Anchor
BOONE COUNTY - Some Columbia community organizations are banding together to intervene in the lives of youth and break a cycle of increasing poverty.
The latest census numbers show poverty is a prevalent problem in Mid-Missouri and affects one out of every five Columbians.
Posted 3:23 PM 7/24/2013 by Brittany Pieper, KOMU 8 Anchor
COLUMBIA - Several recent shootings in Columbia have sparked new discussions about crime in the city. Some community leaders said in order to help resolve the problem, residents may need to look at poverty, one of the root causes of crime.
Last week Calvin Marshall spent an evening at (More)
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Posted 7:47 PM 7/18/2013 by Emily Spain, KOMU 8 Anchor
COLUMBIA - Local realtors, contractors and housing authority employees say it is becoming more and more difficult for low-income families to find an affordable place to live in Columbia. For some in our community, it's a constant battle to find a roof they can afford to keep over their heads, and (More)