Victoria Beede writes, “1 in 3 college students do not know where their next meal is coming from. Because of an inability to access typical forms of help for the food insecure, college students are left without resources and government benefits. It is imperative that Christians come alongside struggling college students by providing them with a voice and advocating for policy changes that will help them be heard.”

Each year approximately 12 million Americans take out a payday loan. Payday loans are small dollar, short-term loans that have extraordinarily high interest rates attached to them. On average, payday loans have annual interest of 390 percent (APR) and are expected to be repaid in two weeks. As comparison, in 2016, the average annual interest rate for a credit card was approximately 13 percent. Borrowers are often unaware of these exorbitant interest rates and, as a result, are frequently unable to repay the cost of the loan plus interest and fees two weeks after taking out the original loan. According to […]

The Hatfield Prize is named in honor of the late Senator Mark O. Hatfield of Oregon, who left a lasting legacy as a man of vibrant Christian faith and principled policy commitments. Shared Justice sat down with Multnomah University’s Joe Slavens, who interned with Hatfield, to get behind-the-scenes look at Senator Hatfield’s work and life. Hear surprising anecdotes and funny memories from Slavens in Shared Justice’s recent article — read more on our site!

Access to food assistance for 40 million people could be in jeopardy this year. The farm bill, a large piece of legislation that authorizes funding for several food assistance programs every five years, will be up for reauthorization at the end of September, but early debates about the bill have been plagued by partisan disagreements. In the midst of this polarization, Christians can serve others by advocating for strong food assistance programs and fighting food insecurity in their own communities.

Predatory lending can create dangerous cycles of debt — and for one in five young adults, it already has. To change the trajectory of this youth debt crisis, we should advocate for proper responsibility and accountability between government, the financial industry and consumers.