Interviewee: Lauren May

Lauren May is one of many who is involved with smaller efforts to mitigate issues such as homelessness/poverty. She is currently working in a shelter that provides beds for 10 men, Sunday through Friday nights. The video below explains her views on the issue and how her organization is attempting to address the issue…

Title: Homeless Shelter Coordinator

Organization: The First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York

Interview begins at 0:45

Interview Questions

1. What is your position in the organization?

2. What does your organization focus on in terms of homelessness and poverty?

3. What is your definition of poverty?

4. In the last few years, which demographics have you encountered most in your line of work, including ethnicity and gender.

5. Do you agree with how the government is portraying poverty?

6. What have you and your colleagues to address the poverty issue and level?

7. Do you have any recommendations for what college students can do to address this problem?

8. How do you feel about the current anti-poverty campaigns?

9. How did the 2008 Recession affect New York City poverty levels?

10. Do you think determining who is becoming impoverished is becoming increasingly difficult? Why or why not?

11. Any last comments?

 

Music by Kevin MacLeod
incompetech.com Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Church picture from Flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/372076916/in/photostream/ Wally Gobetz’ flickr

 

Interviewee: Professor Leonard Rodberg

Professor Rodberg is the chair of Urban Studies at CUNY-Queens College. He teaches Urban Studies 101: Poverty and Affluence.

Interview begins at 0:39

Interview Questions

  1. Can you please introduce yourself briefly and tell me about the field you specialize in?
  2. What makes someone impoverished in NYC?
  3. How does the growing inequality gap contribute to poverty?
  4. What are your thoughts about putting money in the hands of the wealthy?
  5. Tell me about the 2008 recession. Who was most affected by it? Which races, ethnicities, or groups of people?
  6. What did the government do to solve the problems caused by the 2008 recession?
  7. What can a student do to raise awareness and help mitigate poverty?

Music by Kevin MacLeod
incompetech.com Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Queens College footage shot by Rebecca