Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 1125 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • Inside the secret food bank that keeps farmworkers from going hungry

    In Santa Cruz County, California, Dr. Ann López, of the Center for Farmworker Families, organizes a secret monthly food bank for marginalized farmworkers who are mostly indigenous and undocumented. Organized completely by word of mouth to avoid deportation threats from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, the food bank helps defray farmworkers' costs, which include about 75% to 80% of their typical salaries in rent.

    Read More

  • Chicago Leads the Fight for Food Justice by Building Innovative Local Food Ecosystems

    To fight food insecurity—especially with those experiencing homelessness—Chicago has created a network of programs and organizations across the city to support those who need it in many different ways. One example is the Homeless Outreach Luncheon at Marillac St. Vincent Family Services, offering a meal, sleeping bag, a coat/clothing, a doctor, podiatrist, lawyer, and more. This article takes a look at a few of these responses and details how they work.

    Read More

  • Reporting for Work Where You Once Reported for Probation

    Since 2012, the New York City Department of Probation’s Arches program has integrated “credible messengers” into its mission, diverting some energies toward helping instead of punishing. The term refers to people, often formerly incarcerated or on probation themselves, who apply their street knowledge to mentoring youth caught up in the criminal justice system. The movement has spread to a variety of government agencies, but usually is used in street-outreach crime prevention work by community organizations. A large body of research shows the effectiveness of the approach in lowered crime and recidivism.

    Read More

  • The Green Jobs That Could Help Save the Amazon

    Bia Saldanha works with community members in Brazil to tap trees in the Amazon for rubber as a way to create sustainable income and discourage other practices like cattle farming and logging that has led to deforestation. While the locals were hesitant at first, she worked with the shoe company Veja to pay them more than the market rate. Now, Veja uses about 340 tons of natural rubber annually and works with 10 rubber tapper groups in eight municipalities. "We are not just buying rubber," she says. "We are also paying for forest conservation."

    Read More

  • 'Big Sisters' ride to rescue of Nepali child brides

    Support and counseling from trusted volunteers empowers young women to stay in school and out of child marriage. In Nepal, the Sisters for Sisters program was the result of a governmental effort to reduce child marriages. Volunteers, many of whom were child brides themselves, help fight stigma and cultural pressures by leading discussions with young women on topics like sexual health and life choices.

    Read More

  • Philly wants to bring back a version of an old strategy to fight gun violence. Specifics are pending.

    Starting in 2013, Philadelphia's focused deterrence program was credited with 35% fewer shootings in its targeted neighborhoods. The program featured "call-ins" where law-enforcement agencies would threaten potentially violent people with prosecution. On the flip side, they could receive services that help them establish a different lifestyle. As the program shifted away from the services "carrots," and was left only with the "stick," the program foundered. In 2019, the city sought to revive it as a "group violence intervention" program with a greater emphasis on services over law enforcement.

    Read More

  • This senior center is helping Mexico's ‘invisible' LGBTQ seniors

    Vida Alegre, Spanish for "Happy Life," is a nonprofit in Mexico City that was founded by Samantha Flores, a transgender woman in her eighties. It's primary purpose is to serve as a source of community for transgender and LGBTQ senior citizens, many of whom have no other social contact. The center is an "oasis" that relieve many mental health issues for LGBTQ seniors that stem from lonliness, but the founder's next project is to create a residential home where "LGBTQ seniors can live together and have access to medical treatment and counseling."

    Read More

  • One Bay Area organization found a radical and surprisingly simple approach to helping former prisoners start over

    The Homecoming Project pays homeowners to rent their spare bedrooms to people just released from long prison sentences, providing welcoming, free, stable housing option to people whose re-entry is often hamstrung by housing instability and grim, restrictive halfway houses. Only 12 formerly incarcerated people were served in the project’s first year, but the service providing its clients with six months of housing hopes to serve as a pilot for other organizations outside the Bay Area. All 12 have jobs and six have gone on to live independently.

    Read More

  • In Addressing HIV, the U.S. Has a Lot to Learn From Namibia

    There are over one million people in the United States living with HIV, reaching a crisis level in states such as Georgia; however, countries like Namibia are offering lessons for how to tackle the problem. By offering a community-centered approach that addresses underlying issues like poverty and lack of access to education, the country has seen a significant decrease in new diagnoses.

    Read More

  • Can Peer Support Programs Help Those Living With HIV Thrive?

    An organization aimed at providing peer support for gay black men living with HIV that started in Atlanta, Georgia has now gained an international following. Because the program is not federally funded, data can be difficult to gather; however, "self-reported data from its members including medication type and adherence, CD4 cell count, and demographic information" shows a significant increase in members adhering to their medical regimen.

    Read More