Holly Kernan

Just over 36 years ago, there was nowhere a victim of domestic violence could go for help here in the Bay Area. So a group of women banded together to start La Casa de las Madres, California’s first domestic violence shelter and the nation’s second. Today The Home of the Mothers, as it translates in English, offers a range of crisis and intervention services, including an eight-week emergency shelter and a 24-hour crisis hotline – all free of charge.

KALW’s Holly Kernan spoke with Jamie Cox, the outreach and volunteer coordinator for La Casa de las Madres. She asked her to describe the types of people who count on La Casa’s services.

The documentary “The Waiting Room” takes us into the lobby and behind the scenes with the doctors, nurses, and patients who spend their hours there.

The recent $26 billion bank settlement found that the nation’s five largest banks engaged in a pattern of unfair and deceptive practices in servicing mortgages and dealing with loan modifications. And yet, hundreds of thousands of Californians have lost their homes. 

Michael Bush is a Bay Area Native who works with small, local businesses through a nonprofit called InnerCityAdvisors. He's developed a workshop called “The 8 Factors” to help businesses succeed. KALW's Holly Kernan sat down with Bush to talk about how to make it in a tough economy.

The city of Richmond is notorious for its high crime rate and industrial pollution. And the Iron Triangle neighborhood – which is bordered on three sides by train tracks – just might be the city’s most dangerous neighborhood. But inside the Triangle, activist Tania Pulido is cultivating community and social consciousness through the Berryland Community Garden. Pulido is one of the winners of the 2011 David Brower Youth Awards, and she joined KALW’s Holly Kernan in studio to talk about how she got started with the garden, and her social activism.

TANIA PULIDO: I’m the first-born generation here in the U.S.

HOLLY KERNAN: Where are your parents from?