The End of Gangs

Huge numbers of students lack the chance to go to college because of financial problems. Recently, Kalamazoo schools received more funding allowing them to have the chance to help and pay for students to then go to college and receive a higher education.

One-third to half of those killed by police are disabled, a recent report says. “Our problem isn’t with police,” one mental health advocate says, but both sides say officers need more training.

An ambitious plan for the 69-acre Regent Park neighborhood is disrupting entrenched notions of class, race and religion, at a time when concerns over income inequality and immigration are growing.

Many young Latina women live their lives in fear of gang violence. The Montgomery County Street Outreach Network rescues girls in danger and offers services to them in order to help them change their chances of success.

In Jackson, Mississippi, a series of community-led cooperatives are creating opportunities for affordable home ownership. This is part of a trend across the country to create community land trusts. They are financed through donations, other community businesses, or commissions. Though each land trust faces hurdles, they are collectively allowing more access to wealth and ownership in historically low-income neighborhoods.

Across the country, projects that mine landfills for reusable metals and soils are underway. Can such mining prove profitable enough to spur similar efforts on a grand scale? So far, some projects have seen profits while others have not. But as society increasingly values pollution and greenhouse gas reduction, incentives for refuse mining can only grow.

Innovative mine reclamation projects across five states in the Appalachian region allow local organizations, schools, and businesses to clean up and utilize abandoned mine land. From a school that's transforming abandoned mine land into a field of solar panels to a housing development project that uses abandoned mine federal grant money to build affordable and energy efficient housing, the Appalachian region is using a comprehensive approach to renew blighted mines.

Incremental investment is gaining momentum in South Bend as an alternative to big developers. Residents are given the network and knowledge to become micro-developers so that ownership and money stay within the local economy. The project aims to cultivate community and strengthen the local economy.

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.

The elder abuse task force is a specialized unit of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department that provides critical services to older residents and issues abuse-related warrants. Since its founding in 2018, the unit has served nearly 2,000 elderly residents and issued over 275 warrants; now, this abuse-prevention model is being scaled statewide.