Fresh Roots

By Chris Burrell on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.

The textile industry used to be the economic heart of Lowell, Massachusetts. Those massive red-brick factories have long since closed. Now, nearly half the town’s residents are immigrants and refugees from South Asia, Latin America and Africa. Their teenage children face the same problems many inner-city teens face: poverty, gang violence and a high dropout rate. A project in Lowell is attempting to reach out to at-risk teens, taking them off the streets and on to farms. The goal of Fresh Roots is growth – both agricultural and personal. The World Vision Report’s Chris Burrell took a closer look.

You can listen to this piece at The Public Radio Exchange.

(Photo by ItzaFineDay via Flickr/Creative Commons)

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