Author: aaron

No increases since 2009: The value of minimum wage keeps decreasing

No increases since 2009: The value of minimum wage keeps decreasing

The federal minimum wage was established in 1938 as a part of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In that year, the minimum wage was $0.25/hour, which translates to $5.33/hour today.  Over the years, the federal minimum wage has been raised regularly: Since 2009, there have been no raises to minimum wage. That means that someone…

How low wages perpetuate poverty

How low wages perpetuate poverty

When someone receives a low wage for their labor, that often translates into living in poverty. Seems like common sense, right?  Yet, the belief persists that certain jobs—fast food, wait staff, childcare workers, and housekeepers, as examples—should be paid poverty wages. Often, that’s linked to the idea that these are part-time jobs performed by young…

What is a fair wage?
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What is a fair wage?

In the wage debate, you’ll hear different descriptors of wages: fair wage, minimum wage, living wage, poverty wage. Each of these has different meanings and connotations. Poverty wage is pretty easy to figure out. If you make a poverty wage, you are working full time and still fall below the poverty line.  Minimum wage is…

Good influence, great results: HCAN client story

Good influence, great results: HCAN client story

Stephanie had lost her home. She and her family were living in a hotel and didn’t have regular access to nutritious food. To complicate matters, Stephanie suffers from a chronic illness that affects her daily. She needs multiple medications to manage her condition, and when she’s sick, she can’t work. Enter Jessica Hines, Community Health…

PRESS RELEASE: Health Care Access Now granted $30,000 by PNC Charitable Trust

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Health Care Access Now (HCAN) has been awarded a grant of $30,000 from the Josephine S. Russell Family Charitable Trust of the PNC Charitable Trusts to expand its Community Health Worker (CHW) Certification Program to support maternal and child wellness in racial and ethnic minority populations. The funds will be used to…

CHWs in the community: a medical home for everybody
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CHWs in the community: a medical home for everybody

The Community Health Workers (CHWs) of Health Care Access Now (HCAN) recently got together to talk about the challenges they face connecting clients with medical homes—and the great things that can happen once clients receive regular preventive medical care. The challenges HCAN’s CHWs provide one-on-one care to vulnerable and/or marginalized community members by helping them…

Why some HCAN clients resist medical homes
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Why some HCAN clients resist medical homes

TRIGGER WARNING: References to health data and science experiments done on Black people. A recent scene in the HBO series Insecure shows Molly rushing to the hospital to meet her family. Her mother has just had a stroke. The doctor approaches them and says it’s time to say their good-byes. The family is shocked. The…