51 Percent

This week on 51%, we dive into our archives and hear from two authors; one highlights 29 difficult women, the other an immigrant who shares the stories of other immigrant women. (more…) ...

On this week’s 51%, we explore our archives and hear the extraordinary stories of two women — a dancer who spent 40 years touring internationally on behalf of U.S. presidents, and a pioneering journalist in the 1930s and 40s. ...

This week on 51% we highlight some favorites from our archives. Two comedians share their story; one is a disability advocate, the other a mental health advocate. (more…) ...

This week’s 51%, is the second part of a series on human trafficking and unhoused youth. We’ll speak with a young woman who became unhoused and sought help with a local housing program. And we’ll meet the executive director of that program. Andy Gilpin is the executive director for CAPTAIN Community Human Services based in Saratoga County, New York. Gilpin says reunification with the family is ideal. “About 85% of kids return home to their parent or guardian,” Gilpin said. “So it’s really family mediation, working through some of the issues, get supports in place, identify what were the issues that led to the housing crisis. For the remainder, it’s about trying to find what’s the next best situation for them, could be another family member could be foster care could be some other independent living situation, whatever it might be, depending on their age, you know, under circumstances, we can really try to identify what’s best for them, we’re their advocates to find out what’s best for them.” ...

On today’s 51%, we begin a two-part series on human trafficking and unhoused youth. I ride along with a street outreach coordinator for a youth shelter. And we’ll meet a woman who has walked the Underground Railroad to raise awareness about human trafficking. Bri Phillips is the street outreach program manager for CAPTAIN Community Human Services based in Saratoga County, New York. CAPTAIN has programs to address youth homelessness, poverty, hunger, family dysfunction, and human trafficking. Phillips reaches out to people on the street who are homeless or in danger of being trafficked. We met up in Clifton Park for a ride-along in one of the Street Outreach vans. The back space is stocked with labeled plastic bins and drawers full of food, clothes, and hygiene kits.   “We are known as the boots on the ground of this organization,” Phillips said. “If people say, you know, where is your street outreach team? The answer is, I may not know at this moment, because they’re meeting the needs of the community. The van that we’re riding in right now, is so important, because it actually is stocked with Wi-Fi in the back. We have clothing, we have food, we have resources and referrals. And so our goal is that by having our phones on us, we go and meet the needs of clients right where they’re at.” (more…) ...

On today’s 51%, we speak with one of the people responsible for bringing Hollywood to upstate New York. And we meet a producer of HBO’s new series “The Gilded Age,” which was filming this spring in New York’s Capital Region. Holly Rymon is a producer on HBO’s new series, “The Gilded Age.” “It’s set in 1882,” Rymon said. “It’s sort of the beginning of, you know, this sort of amazing time in history, which quite admittedly, I didn’t know a whole lot about before I got involved in this project, where, you know, industry and you know, railroads, and all of these businesses are sort of just like taking off and there became people with an enormous amount of wealth. So, there’s not a lot of checks and balances yet. And it was just like, insane wealth. So they were building mansions, and they were making homes. And there was new money and old money. Sort of a loose premise of the show is there is a family that has new money and they’re ready to be in society and do all the things and then there’s a family that’s from the old money. And they’re very, quite proud of that. And they’re not really ready to accept the new folks. So there’s a little bit of drama there.” Rymon and I are sitting in Riverfront Park in Troy, New York. They filmed just a block away, transforming storefronts into hat boutiques and cigar shops from 1800s New York City. Rymon says the scenery was her favorite part of filming. “It’s gorgeous. Oh my god, I can’t wait for people to see the show. It’s just the costumes, the sets. It’s just literally, literally stunning. It’s really, really ...