Author: Luke Waldo

“Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being.” – Mahatma Gandhi “India is the world’s oldest continuous civilization.” I heard this thought-provoking statement a number of times when I traveled to India with my wife, son, and in-laws in February. As I reflected on the significance of a people living together, building community and culture for millennia in resistance to or temporary co-existence with would-be conquerors and colonizers, I was moved by the idea of such deep connection to one another and one’s identity to make such a...

“The dignity of the individual will flourish when the decisions concerning his life are in his own hands, when he has the assurance that his income is stable and certain, and when he knows that he has the means to seek self-improvement.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Economic circumstances do not determine one’s ability to be a nurturing parent; poverty, though, can overload caregivers and families with stress and create conditions by which neglect is more likely to occur and be observed and reported. The stressors of poverty are complex and represent a constellation of challenges, from housing...

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou Children thrive when they are nurtured by caring and responsive adults who have the time and resources to be able to meet their needs. Communities strengthen caregivers’ abilities to care for their children when they provide support and remove barriers through safe spaces, good schools and jobs, and access to resources and social connections that aid in overcoming life’s inevitable hardships. But not all hardships are inevitable. This column will tell the story of families that are overloaded by adversity,...