Posts by Ashley Thornton
Art Without Barriers
by Jenuine Poetess “The first move from chaos isn’t order—it’s creativity. In murals, music, theaters, cafes, and poetry. It comes from within people, within families, within community. It rises from the hunger people have for knowledge, ideas, and stories.” ~ Luis J. Rodriguez There is a need, within all of us, to be known. A…
Read MorePay Day Lending: Joining hands to Insist on Good Business Practice
by Phil York Football season is here. As an Aggie transplant to Waco, I have a new struggle: competing loyalties as I slowly learn to cheer for my new home team, Baylor University. On August 28th, the Family Health Center auditorium was buzzing with the energy of a packed football stadium on the Brazos. But,…
Read MoreThe Worthy Poor
By Liz Ligawa The previous month had closed its doors, taking along with it the security of minor accomplishments. Rent: paid. She had grown to appreciate such victories as they were hard won; however, they rarely lingered long. This life still felt odd to her- the newly poor. She was not yet adept at balancing the…
Read MoreLinking People to Jobs: How Transit Works
by Julie Talbert After being laid off from her first job, Doll Wilkerson spent time caring for her sick mother until she passed away. Earlier this year, she decided it was time to find a new job. Doll has a disability and thanks MHMR for helping her get hired at Big Lots. The final challenge…
Read MorePractice mindfulness, choose optimism, act out of love.
by Kari Tingle Before you continue reading this blog post, I’m going to ask you to do something out of the ordinary: I want you to go grab a piece of food. It can be anything you like, though I suggest you grab a whole food of some sort, like a piece of fruit or…
Read MoreMeetings! Meetings! Meetings!
by Ashley Bean Thornton For the last few years I’ve enjoyed the privilege, aggravation, exhilaration and frustration of being involved in some of the on-going, city-wide conversations about how to reduce the rate of poverty in Waco. I would not trade this work for anything! What I WOULD trade is the amount of time I’ve…
Read MoreHey! What are these Legos doing at the Library?
by James Karney When I was a little boy in Bristol, Connecticut, one of my favorite toys was a well-worn set of Lincoln Logs that belonged to my older brothers. I would spend hours building cabins and forts out of the pieces; I can still feel the smooth texture of the logs and green roof…
Read MoreA Virtual Ride-Along: Waco P.D. Opens a Window with a View into Our Police World
by Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton, Waco Police Department On August 1, we conducted our first “virtual ride-along” at the Waco Police Department, giving citizens a bird’s eye view of our world. The goal was to let you, our community, into our profession from the comfort of your home or wherever else you access your Facebook…
Read MoreI’m curious — Why aren’t more Wacoans recycling?
by Anna Dunbar I often wonder why we don’t have more people participating in curbside recycling in Waco. We have about one-third of our Waco households participating in the blue cart recycling program now, but why don’t more households participate? After all, participation is pretty easy and it is available with no extra fee! We…
Read MoreExamining Ourselves in the Face of Racism Today
by Alexis Christensen I’m starting this post knowing you might disagree with me, which makes it hard for me to express my thoughts on racism. I actually wrote an entirely different blog post to avoid writing this one. But, this cannot be avoided. Not if we are to move forward in our world, our city,…
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