Erika McNamara

by Erika McNamara Detroit organizations that assist the homeless in the city report that the number of homeless individuals is on the increase and the shelters are at over capacity. The number of people requiring assistance this year is…

by Erika McNamara Sometimes I wonder if needy people in Africa get more of our attention then people right here in our own state and town. Almost a month ago a judge put a halt to the state of Michigan’s new cap on cash assistance for…

by Erika McNamara One of the very few civics lessons that high schoolers learn today is that citizens over the age of 18 may vote in U.S. elections.  It is your right and your duty as an adult citizen of the United States to vote.  Of…

by Erika McNamara If asked, the average person would probably describe a homeless person as a thirty-something male, addicted to some substance, too lazy to go out and find work. But thanks to the Great Recession, this demographic of the…

by Erika McNamara On June 11, 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported: Contending that the region's population of disabled homeless veterans has reached crisis proportions, a coalition led by the ACLU of Southern California filed a lawsuit…

by Erika McNamara In November, Hawaii will be the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. This summit has been a long time in coming since the last time the event was in the United States was in 1993. This is good for…

by Erika McNamara A quick review of the menu for Memorial Day grill extravaganza left me wondering if hotdogs, short ribs, steak, and all of the side dishes that accompanied the main meat feast this year would all be enough. Well if it…

A2PNotes: In 2010, John Hieftje and First Ward Council member Sandi Smith both ran for re-election and patted themselves on the back for "doubling beds at the homeless shelter." If you count a chair as a bed, Hieftje and Smith were telling…