In the poorest housing projects in the District, per capita income is in the $6,000 range; schools are the lowest performers in a low-performing system; and hunger, inadequate clothing, lack of medical care, and violence are serious problems every day of the year. It's hard to believe, amidst the affluence of this very prosperous part of the world, that there are

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neighborhoods in which conditions rival those of some third world countries. The problems are daunting, both in the District and in poor communities in neighboring Virginia and Maryland where pockets of poverty have grown up in the middle of suburban comfort. Everyone is feeling the pinch this year as the economy struggles - but the need in some communities is almost unimaginably great. So we call your attention to the good work being done by our new and also our re-featured charities (see our icon ) to help low-income children with early intervention, teach life and parenting skills to adolescents who have become parents before their time, reduce infant mortality rates in at-risk populations (at 5 per 1,000, the US has the second worst newborn mortality rate in the developed world - only Latvia is worse - but rates are twice that in some parts of our region), and provide homeless youth and homeless adults with the services they need to turn their lives around. Programs for at-risk teens, medical care for families without insurance, assistance for victims of domestic violence, and aid for the elderly - who benefit from group meals, trips to the doctor, and home-delivered groceries that allow them to "age in place" - are all critical to the vibrant community that we hope to inhabit together.