The issues

What brings you up? What keeps you down?

It's easy to take for granted life's most basic necessities, the factors that determine success in our daily lives. The things that can make the difference between success and struggle impact us all in different ways. What would happen if you had no place to live? Didn't earn enough to pay your bills? Lacked the education to get the job you sought? Here we examine the basic levers that can bring us up and can push us down and the impact they can have on people's lives and our communities.

The majority of people profiled on this Web site make enough money to provide ample food, shelter, clothing, etc., for themselves and their families. However, in today's fragile economy, a person can be gainfully employed one day and looking for work the next. The federal government saw needs arise as the population continued to grow and change. The same was true for the state of California. As Los Angeles and its surrounding cities began to grow, so too did the area's need for social services to help those who might need a little extra help.

Sometimes the forgotten stepchild of the state's public education system, California's community colleges are caught in a long-lasting state budget crunch. How did the stepping stone to meaningful trades and even a four-year degree get off track?

Over the past decade, a movement advocating a living wage for all Americans has been spreading through cities and universities. Within Los Angeles County, one of the country's most expensive metropolises, cities are now grappling with the issue that can pit business against employee, as each struggles to agree on the critical question - how much pay is enough?

Big concessions from supermarket employees illustrate the risks of regional strikes against national corporations. Are unions still the force that helps to level the playing field between workers and employers?

Housing dominates a family's basic needs. It is the single most costly item. The fundamental element of economic and social stability. Home ownership has become the benchmark of achievement in this country. In California, a housing crisis grows.

It's easy to take social networks for granted. The tacit support of friends and family that provides childcare, a little extra money or a Sunday dinner can make all the difference to many Angelenos. However, across America such familial and community ties are weakening, and can be strained to the breaking point in communities that need them the most - people trying to make ends meet.