Is affordable housing in NYC affordable for locals? What is it like to be a child in a food-insecure home? Do Christians see the formerly incarcerated as people who reflect God’s image? You’ll find articles that speak to these questions and more in this installment of our Monthly Mercy & Justice Round-Up.
As always, this is a collection of content that had us thinking lately and includes a range of perspectives— some we agree with, others we might not. We hope you’ll read, listen, learn and love better with us.
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“I didn’t understand that my situation could be considered trafficking,” writes Judith Daluz. “I thought I had to follow what the employers said, no matter what, because they were my bosses.” Judith’s story, which takes place on the Upper West Side, is one of three first-person accounts written by survivors of human trafficking published in The Atlantic.
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Do Christians see the formerly incarcerated as those who reflect God’s image? That’s the question Karen Swanson asks as she writes of the Christian call to seek restorative justice, rather than supporting a retributive system. Particularly convicting: “We are happy they attend Bible study in prison, but we don’t want them living in our backyards or attending our churches.”
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Since 2014, the city has built or preserved 87,557 affordable housing units across the five boroughs. However, 62 percent of those units are unaffordable to one-person households in those neighborhoods. Check out this interactive map showing how many of these units locals can afford, broken down by building and household size.
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“It was striking how children are impacted by high levels of stress about money—long before adults can’t put food on the table, they’re aware of it,” remarks one researcher in this Civil Eats piece that asks: How does family food insecurity affect kids? It’s a question researchers are starting to explore, given the lasting impact food insecurity has on children.
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A piece in The Wall Street Journal argues the importance of the work of preventive services—like those offered by Safe Families for Children, one of our affiliates— when it comes to preventing crises or loss of custody. Read more about the impact this organization has, including that 93 percent of families involved are reunited.