Harvard medical student knocks down a big barrier to COVID-19 info

It turns out the old adage of knowing your neighbor really can help make your neighborhood safer. A study of more than 250 cities found that a key factor behind a drop in crime in the last 20 years was the mobilizing of citizens by nonprofit organizations like block clubs. In Milwaukee these “urban guardians” have helped bring communities together and foster safer spaces that also address urban blight.

Thirteen years ago the Wayuu tribe, located in Colombia, removed it’s male chiefdom and instead asked women to be their leaders. According to the Wayuu tribe they are the only indigenous tribe in Colombia that exclusively has women leaders. ”We wanted women to use their way of dialogue to resolve our conflicts, and we wanted to transform our culture.”

Paul Sinton-Hewitt, founder of the charity Parkrun, never set out to create a revolution. All he wanted was a low-pressure space to run. Now, his organization supports over 1,600 community running events around the globe, with an expected one million participants by 2023. This is part of a trend of “people’s innovation,” or the idea that innovation can come from users rather than just executives. Parkrun exemplifies the inclusive spirit of people’s innovation and the positive impacts it can spread all around the world.

Deep canvassing goes beyond talking points, encouraging empathetic dialogue. The New York-based organization, Changing the Conversation Together, trains volunteers in the practice of deep canvassing. Instead of just focusing on a candidate’s talking points in an effort to mobilize potential voters, deep canvassing promotes conversation, listening, and empathy. Canvassers are taught to relay a personal story, a message of love, as a way to connect with the people they meet.

Upon seeing a need for educational resources to support the out of school transition due to the COVID-19 outbreak, two high school seniors in the San Jose area stepped up to fill that gap. Sarika Sriram and Uditha Velidandla coordinated 90 volunteers to offer free tutoring in a range of school subjects. So far, over 350 students have benefitted from these comprehensive online learning sessions.

Activists in Berkeley, California, are filling in what they say is a gap in homeless services during the coronavirus outbreak. Volunteers are safely delivering food and other supplies to those without shelter.

Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes share land, and despite previous disagreements, they collaborated to create one of the state's most effective coronavirus testing clinics. 3,000 people from both tribes have been tested, about 30% of all tests done in Wyoming. The two nations have also helped residents, impacted by casino closures and sharp drops in oil and gas revenues, with special hunting seasons, food supply distributions, and providing quarantine housing. More testing has meant higher cases identified, which has led some to create a narrative blaming Native people for the spread of the virus.

In an effort to help get accurate information to the communities who are being disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, a program called Live Chair Health has started to train barbers "on chronic issues that disproportionately affect Black communities" and teach them "how to have conversations with their clients about the diseases." Aside from providing COVID-19 information, the initiative has helped patrons access primary care and address other medical issues such as high blood pressure.

Montana's Indian Education for All program ensures that both Native and non-Native students have the opportunity to learn the history and culture of local Indigenous peoples, such as through an experiential bison harvest.

Volunteer citizen seismologists in Haiti are collecting data on earthquakes and aftershocks with equipment provided by researchers to better understand seismic hazards and fault locations in the country.