Saving Black homes lost to tax inequity

Around the world, students borrow money to pay for college, but, in the United States, students are more likely to fall behind on loans. Australia may offer some lessons: borrowers in Australia only start paying back their loans once their earnings reach $40,000, and beyond that they pay four percent of their income until the loans are repaid. The system does not penalize borrowers when they face economic hardship.

Denver’s Women’s Homelessness Initiative (WHI) is unique because it is the only church-based shelter program in the country that offers housing for women throughout the entire year. By giving women a place to stay off the streets, they are safer and have a better chance at getting back on their feet, aided by a subsidized housing program for formerly homeless people.

Over two million baby boomers own their own companies, and with retirement looming, the government stepped in with a solution. A portion of a 2018 federal bill included language that will push the Small Business Administration to help baby boomers transition ownership of their companies to their employees if they wish. This will mitigate job loss often associated with a retiring business owner putting the company up for sale. Employee owners on average make a higher salary and have higher job stability, supporting the idea that employee ownership is beneficial for everyone involved, as well as for the econom

In London, a new initiative called Junior Roadwatch is engaging children as traffic safety enforcers. Around one particularly busy and dangerous section of road, drivers who are caught speeding have two options: get a ticket or be questioned by a group of school-aged children. While newly developed, the initiative, devised by The Met Police and Transport for London, has stopped over 90 individuals for speeding, all of whom chose to answer questions from children about the consequences of their actions.

Across New Hampshire, youth are leading the fight against substance abuse. Programs like Dover’s Youth-to-Youth, Stand Up Sachems, Youth Leadership Through Adventure, and the Making it Happen Coalition, are all youth-led, adult-supported initiatives that are empowering young adults to create and disseminate substance abuse awareness and prevention campaigns. Fundamental to each of these efforts effective communication and creating a sense of community as key to prevention.

Improving outcomes in addressing HIV requires reducing stigma. In Atlanta, Georgia, faith-based communities are embracing HIV prevention campaigns and courses. Bible Way Ministries provides HIV testing at community events and offers awareness campaigns aimed at reducing stigma. In Philadelphia, Faith in Action similarly recruits religious communities to increase HIV awareness.

Kibra Green, a grassroots organization in Kenya, mobilizes the young people in the community to clean up their neighborhood. At times, the group has as many as 500 participants for a community-wide clean up. Yet, a lack of steady funding and socioeconomic barriers for volunteers to regularly contribute to the group has made it difficult to scale the organization.

A group of volunteers in Ukraine created the Brave to Rebuild initiative to clear debris and make necessary repairs to homes that were destroyed in the war so their inhabitants can spend the winter in them.

The Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust uses conservation easements to conserve agricultural land in the state. These agreements happen when a landowner sells or donates the development rights to their land to the trust forever. They are allowed to keep farming the land, but it must remain undeveloped.

The Community Receiver Program works with real estate professionals of color to rehabilitate vacant and foreclosed properties. These properties are then resold to local homebuyers — to preserve generational wealth — or rented out at affordable rates. The program trains people to be community receivers for free, teaching them how to acquire and rehabilitate the buildings, as well as how to leverage grants and local funding programs. Since 2020, the Program has trained about 520 people, rehabilitated 16 buildings and contributed about $4.5 million in restored property value.