Articles By This Author
A Boston radio station trains teens, helps them find their voice, and gives them a chance to be heard.
Melissa Hellmann | Oct 16, 2017
In Kentucky, these health care professionals still struggle for acceptance—even in areas that need them most.
Melissa Hellmann | Sep 7, 2017
As the state’s last abortion clinic is at risk of being shut down, some religious leaders step up against Gov. Matt Bevin’s anti-abortion policies.
Melissa Hellmann | Sep 7, 2017
The walk from the parking lot, past protesters, to the embattled clinic’s front doors can be a difficult journey. Meet the escorts making sure women don’t have to face it alone.
Melissa Hellmann | Sep 7, 2017
Get outside, roll up your sleeves, and take a stand for public lands.
Melissa Hellmann | Jun 22, 2017
A new report revealed surprising results when Oakland overhauled its lunch menu at 100-plus schools by serving less meat and more fruits and vegetables.
Melissa Hellmann | May 22, 2017
In siding with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, the ruling also prevents the department from issuing cease-and-desist letters to similar organizations around the country.
Melissa Hellmann | May 18, 2017
Apple and Facebook offer egg freezing in their employee health benefits. But what about the rest of us?
Melissa Hellmann | May 12, 2017
To avoid doing business with socially irresponsible corporations, the city is willing to lose investment income—about $4.5 million a year.
Melissa Hellmann | May 5, 2017
Students learn about the front lines of global warming and how to be climate activists.
Melissa Hellmann | Apr 6, 2017
How folks in conservative states are responding—and have been responding for years—to infringements on their civil rights.
Melissa Hellmann | Mar 23, 2017
By halting a proposed $150 million police precinct, Seattle activists have made headway in redirecting funding toward services like affordable housing and education.
Melissa Hellmann | Mar 9, 2017
Here’s how to show other women you have their backs.
Melissa Hellmann | Mar 7, 2017
The parent-led effort shows how cities can empower and protect noncitizens at a time of uncertainty for many immigrant families.
Melissa Hellmann | Feb 27, 2017
“The town seemed to transform from black and white to color.”
Melissa Hellmann | Feb 22, 2017
The UC system is severing $475 million in contracts with Wells Fargo over, among other things, the bank’s ties to private prison corporations.
Melissa Hellmann | Feb 3, 2017
After 10 years without an independent grocery store, the residents of Iola, Kansas, found a way to bring one back.
Melissa Hellmann | Jan 3, 2017
If you think Trump is all talk, consider this: Research shows past presidents have accomplished about 75 percent of what they promised to do during their campaigns.
Melissa Hellmann | Nov 21, 2016
The militarized response to communities of color signals a possible double standard in law enforcement’s acceptance of civil disobedience.
Melissa Hellmann | Nov 15, 2016
If voters pass Proposition 57, it could ease some of the juvenile justice system’s worst get-tough-on-crime elements from past decades.
Melissa Hellmann | Nov 4, 2016
Thanks to an ordinance passed last month, service and retail workers will finally get reasonable shift schedules, along with their $15-an-hour minimum wage.
Melissa Hellmann | Oct 14, 2016
A member-led cooperative structure empowers Black workers as they navigate challenges like discriminatory hiring practices and high incarceration rates.
Melissa Hellmann | Oct 4, 2016
At 29 prisons, thousands of inmates have stopped work to protest unfair labor practices. So where are the unions?
Melissa Hellmann | Sep 27, 2016
Thirty percent of rural Americans have substandard housing—and it’s expensive. But these communities are finding ways to give low-income residents homes of their own.
Melissa Hellmann | Sep 22, 2016
“Conversations have changed. The structure of power has not. And that’s where we are today.”
Melissa Hellmann | Aug 24, 2016
As California reduces its prison population by tens of thousands, the TimeList Group’s unique approach to rehab keeps parolees from going back.
Melissa Hellmann | Aug 4, 2016