In Stanislaus County, most tested private wells exceed safe limits for nitrate and other toxins. With little regulation, rural families rely on bottled water as long-term fixes lag.
Poverty and Class
On Cape Cod, soaring housing costs and seasonal jobs leave workers and seniors food insecure. Pantries are serving record demand as unemployment spikes in winter despite summer tourism wealth.
Cesar Vasquez, who has supported families of undocumented immigrants since age 14, has become a community lifeline — and a known ICE target.
Detroit residents face major health care barriers due to unreliable transport, causing stress, missed care and costs; community engagement helped uncover lived experiences and gaps in solutions.
Rising housing costs in Massachusetts are forcing working families to sacrifice food, lose SNAP benefits, and face impossible tradeoffs, pushing many toward food pantries or leaving the state.
In one of New Jersey’s poorest school neighborhoods, chronic absenteeism is more than a statistic — it reflects generational poverty, classroom chaos and a fragile public system.
A Black parenting program is federally approved but underfunded, as strict evidence rules and bureaucracy block access to prevention dollars meant to reduce foster care disparities.
Adult literacy challenges deepen health inequities, limit opportunity and are linked to incarceration. Even so, efforts to boost literacy remain underfunded and underreported.
An entire gambling ecosystem operates with virtually no federal guardrails, and a generation is growing up with casinos on their phones.
Deep research, human-centered reporting and "maniacal" organization helped a reporter tell a pivotal story about thwarted change in the child welfare system.