skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Debunking Myths on the Flood of Central American Children

play audio
Play

Thursday, July 17, 2014   

DAYTON, Ohio – The large migration of Central American children has made headlines, sparked debate and ignited a political firestorm in recent weeks, but one young woman now living in the Midwest hopes her experience can shine some light on why this is happening and what can be done to help.

Kenia Calderon made the journey from El Salvador to the United States nine years ago, when she was just 11.

She says her native country was on a downward spiral of economic despair, crime and gang violence, which has only gotten worse.

"The violence was horrible,” she adds. “You know, you just didn't feel safe, and gang members would kidnap girls and force them into their gangs and make them be sex slaves."

Calderon received a work permit under an Obama administration program created in 2012 called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

She currently works as an administrative assistant for the American Friends Service Committee while attending Drake University in Iowa.

Calderon says she doesn't know if the Deferred Action program or something similar is the right answer for the current flood of immigrants, but she says it's time to look for solutions rather than playing the blame game.

"I feel like for once we need to stop worrying about the whole political aspect of this and just think about what these human beings are going through,” she stresses. “What is making them come here?"

Calderon hopes her success story will give hope to other immigrant children, and to help put a face on the current situation for many who might not have connections to that part of the world.

"Everything that I went through in El Salvador, and when I was making the journey to this country helped me mature a lot,” she relates. “I appreciate being given a work permit. It has changed my life for the better and it has opened up so many doors for me."

The American Friends Service Committee in Ohio supports programs working with refugees, advocating for basic human needs, justice and peace.

More information is at AFSC.org.

This story was made possible in part by the Voqal Fund.







get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021