In our reporting through the summer of 2009, our news team concluded that we were hearing "new voices." A voice that says, "I can't find a job;" another voice that says, "I don't know where my next meal will come from;" and yet another that says "I've just lost my home." As the numbers of the jobless, the hungry, and the homeless continued to grow, we found that the names increasingly included those that we know. As a result, we have found ourselves "one degree away" from poverty.

We are in a unique position to go beyond the statistics and trends of the recession. Instead, we propose to engage. Engage with our community. Engage with our providers. Engage with our leaders.

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SAMANTHA WRIGHT

Samantha Wright is a News Reporter and the On-Air Host for Boise State Radio's All Things Considered weekday afternoons. Her spot reporting, special projects, and audio production have been featured on Voice Of America, National Public Radio News, This American Life, National Native News, the Northwest Radio Network and on the New York Times website. Samantha along with Krisi Packer was co-producers of the Idaho Storycorps Project which won an award from the Society of Professional Journalists. She produced the musical/storytelling CD "Worker's Doxology," featuring Rosalie Sorrels and Utah Phillips which was released by Red House Records. She produced and hosted the daily radio program "Folk Trails" for five years, interviewing everyone from Christine Lavin to Gino Sky. Some of her favorite stories include a look at a summer feeding program in local parks, a profile of the Doolittle Raiders, and a ride in a C-130 Hercules Transport Aircraft. She graduated from Boise State University Cum Laude with a Major in Communication.