Poor on purpose: What these youth are learning by living in poverty

The sweet smells of onion and garlic filled the kitchen of an old West End rectory on a recent Thursday evening. Ana Davila and Camera Lopez Agredano had just finished making dinner for eight, and everyone was anxious to eat. Jack Delisio helped set the table while Lopez Agredano carved a baked chicken breast into thin slices for everyone to share. (Everyone except Davila, who is a vegetarian.) The housemates talked and laughed as they settled into mismatched chairs around a big, dining room table. They joked about the elbow macaroni that Lopez Adredano had to mix in with the spaghetti and the white sauce made from a mostly remembered Pinterest recipe. But before they filled their plates, they paused for grace.