Tonight on the show we have Richard Troxell from the Universal Living Wage Campaign. ULW cares that ALL workers are able to afford housing. 42% of America’s homeless work every week. However, these same workers are part of the 10.1 million in our country who make minimum wage. Even by the government’s own standards of what wages should afford for workers, minimum wage is not enough to support millions of Americans. Richard will be discussing the issue with us and the work that ULW and its allies have undertaken to make the minimum wage in the United States sufficient to afford housing, food, and the basic needs of every family.

Tonight we talked with Roger Moreno and Desiree Ledet from the DiscoverHope Fund. DiscoverHope Fund provides microloans (usually around $100) to women living in poverty in Peru. These funds are used to start micro-enterprise businesses which the recipients start themselves. In fall 2007, DHF began a strategic partnership with AFIDER, matching AFIDER’s cultural knowledge and experience in local microcredit with women with DHF’s knowledge of microcredit and development and desire to fund village banking projects in Cajamarca. We spoke with Roger and Desiree about how DiscoverHope offers Peruvian women the opportunity to experience a higher standard of living. DiscoverHope is hosting a party and silent auction on November 12th to benefit their clients.

This week on Upstream we have Randy Matthison and Cody Pruitt, two teachers from Manor High School. Randy and Cody have been working to help high school students find their voices through creative school programs such as open mike nights. We will be discussing the United States educational system and how education can be used as a vehicle for social justice.

This week on Upstream we have Randy Matthison and Cody Pruitt, two teachers from Manor High School. Randy and Cody have been working to help high school students find their voices through creative school programs such as open mike nights. We will be discussing the United States educational system and how education can be used as a vehicle for social justice.

Tonight we spoke with Nathalie Sorrell and Carol Waid, co-founders and directors of the Truth Be Told organization. Truth Be Told is a non-profit service organization that provides support to women who are or have been incarcirated. Its staff and volunteers facilitate programs within the prison system to develop skills with clients such as artisticness and public speaking. In addition, Truth Be Told provides support for inmates transitioning out of prison and former inmates who have been involved in the program before. Through these programs, Truth Be Told fosters a deeper sense of personal responsibility in its clients, helping them face the truth of their pasts and embrace the hope of their futures. You can find out more about Truth Be Told at http://www.truth-be-told.org/.