Education and Family

Gathering accurate numbers and determining the true scope of homelessness is difficult. The people are transient, sometimes don't identify as homeless, or may be hidden as the person is couch surfing instead of sleeping on the street. Trying to track subsets, like homeless youth or LGBTQ youth homelessness is even more difficult. 

The Women to Women Giving Circle of the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation is an organization founded by women for women and children.

In the last six years, it's provided more than $200,000 in grants for local programs and projects.

This year, the focus will be programs that " inspire girls and young women to achieve their  highest potential," according to Kathi Davis, the foundation's program director.

About $40,000 in grants will be available for those programs.

Local advocates are raising funds to open a clinic in Bloomington-Normal that will address the health needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

It would be the first such clinic in central Illinois.  

One model might be the Ann and Robert H. Lurie (LURE-ee) Children's Hospital in Chicago. The hospital has what is considered  one of the most comprehensive clinics in the state for treating health issues involving gender and sexuality.

GLT correspondent and producer Judy Valente was recently honored for her journalism by the national Association for Women in Communications.

Valente received a Clarion Award in public affairs reporting for a segment she reported on "Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly," a religion news show on national PBS-TV.

The report focused on St. Benedict's Preparatory School for boys in Newark, New Jersey. The school was born out of the strife of the 1967 riots in that city, and is run by a group of Benedictine monks who have gained success with unconventional teaching methods.

Lynne Mapes-Riordan has long been active at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in the Chicago suburb of Evanston. She never thought about becoming an ordained deacon, however, until her church began praying to the Virgin Mary to help guide one the men in her parish who was training to become a deacon.

Then Mapes-Riordan had an epiphany.

"I read that prayer because part of it was to help people understand what deacons do. And it occurred to me that Mary herself could not be a deacon," Mapes-Riordan said.

That's because the Catholic diaconate, as it's known, is currently open only to men. That might change.

Heartland Community College is getting ready for a new school year.

But many things are not yet clear.

In this conversation with GLT's Charlie Schlenker, Heartland President Rob Widmer said one of the unknowns, with only a month to go before school, is enrollment.

Jeanne Hamilton is a month into her new job as the Director of the Bloomington Public Library. Hamilton replaced Georgia Bouda who retired amid concern over a bookmobile program that did not serve the west side of town. Hamilton says it's going well with a great staff.

She tells GLT's Charlie Schlenker she is getting to know members of the community. Hamilton says there are no fires to put out, but instead goals to work toward.

A sexual assault case involving the sentencing of a 20-year-old former swim team member at Stanford University has sparked a national soul-searching about the appropriate punishment for rape.

The new President of Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington says he is happily settled in the new job. Eric Jensen took over last November saying it felt right because the members of the community that he had a chance to meet were dedicated individuals and walking around campus felt like home.

Think of this as Story Corps for Strangers. Illinois State University has what's called a Human Library. It exposes students to the experiences of people who have endured adversity and stereotypes and shown perseverance in the face of discrimination or social exclusion.

School Districts are reviewing their disciplinary codes this summer to prepare for the effect of a new law going into effect with the new school year in the fall.

Jeff and Marci Pritts will spend the next year with their family in an RV they've named "Someday."

"There's one overwhelming response I think that we get and we have  kind of brought that into our trip a little bit," said Marci. "People often say 'I'd love to do that someday.' For that reason we named the RV 'Someday.' It's kind of a statement that that today can be someday. Just do it."

As many as 5 million women in the United States are abused by an intimate partner each year with more than 1,500 murdered.

Education funding and the state budget standoff continue intertwined with public events designed to ratchet up pressure on opposing sides.

It's 3:30 in the afternoon -- dismissal time at Colene Hoose Elementary School in Normal - but not for one group of fourth and fifth grade girls. These girls, though, are excited to stay after school.

"They come to school and if I see them in the hallway at 8:40 in the morning, they'll say, 'Mrs. Nelson, it's Heart & Sole Day. I can't wait!' And there's still a whole day in front of them, but they're looking forward to that time together and that means a lot," said fourth grade teacher Maggie Nelson.