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  • Shortage of paid caregivers keeps family members up at night, hoping for "something sustainable"

    Michigan is struggling to retain direct care workers due to poor pay, lack of benefits, and challenging work environments and responsibilities. In Oregon, however, an organizing campaign that allowed voters to have a say in approving a new state agency, "which would train direct care workers, and negotiate contracts with their union," has helped direct care workers in the state obtain raises and benefits. Michigan is now hoping to follow their model.

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  • Clues to makes resident life work found during pandemic

    Nursing homes adapted to COVID-19 so that they could protect residents’ physical well-being while also preserving their social and emotional health. Staff at Belknap County Nursing Home modified popular activities to make them safe, like hallway bingo, where numbers were called from hallways so that residents could stay in or near their rooms. Participation jumped 30% from pre-pandemic levels. An adaptation to another popular game, “Price is Right,” had staff bringing items, like snacks and toiletries, room-to-room so that residents could guess the price, with the person coming closest winning the item.

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  • Housing nonprofit provides essential home repairs to Cuyahoga County residents

    A housing nonprofit connects contractors with homeowners in need of urgent repairs. Tax-funded grant dollars are used for crucial projects that affect a resident’s health and safety so that people are not displaced. The initiative prevents homeowners on a fixed income from losing their homes due to unexpected expenses.

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  • Crypto power: Can solar boost cheap, green homes in S.Africa?

    Watergate Estate is working on two issues in South Africa: affordable housing and renewable energy. The housing development is installing solar panels for its residents that are being bought by people all over the world using cash or bitcoin as a way to offset their own carbon costs. Not everyone agrees that gated communities like this are helping to fight social inequalities, crime, and unemployment, but about 470 people bought solar cells for the apartment complex and some residents say they feel safer in their community.

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  • How Expanding Vouchers Could Improve Housing Stability

    Housing vouchers have proven to be the most effective intervention to address housing instability in America. The vouchers provide a subsidy that covers the difference between rent and what families can afford to pay. Labeling it as one of the most effective federal housing policies, advocates are pushing for policies that expand the voucher rental assistance.

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  • Energiesprong wants every home to be net-zero

    Inspired by the Dutch concept of “Energiesprong,” or “energy jump,” a developer in France retrofitted a group of townhouses for social housing to be more environmentally friendly. They installed polyurethane facades to avoid heat loss and solar panels on the roof. Upgrading the units to be more green cost more than a conventional retrofit, but over time, energy bills were cut in half. These green retrofits are being implemented in towns around the world and could be a model for developers that want to reduce their carbon footprints.

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  • LEGO ramps could improve access for Philadelphians in wheelchairs

    An ingenious use of LEGOs has resulted in colorful wheelchair ramps around the German town of Hanau. The ramps are constructed using thousands of tiny LEGOs that are glued together and are able to withstand the weight of electric wheelchairs, strollers, and walkers. Although the ramps don’t comply with official building and safety codes, they’ve proven to be helpful and have remained in use in Hanau.

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  • The secret ingredient in Paris' green public housing

    Paris Habitat, the city’s main social housing agency, used hempcrete — a concrete-like mixture of hemp, lime, and water — as insulation in one of its apartment complexes. This material helps maintain temperature and reduces a building’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The cost of using hempcrete can be expensive but making the material is more environmentally friendly, and has shown that it can be implemented for affordable housing and not just for those who already have the means to pay for it.

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  • California job seekers found new careers with help from a rent relief program. Here's how

    Rent relief payments in California are helping public housing residents pursue full-time employment. The Jobs-Plus initiative provides payments that are conditional on enrolling in job training and placement programs. An increased income often disqualifies public housing residents from benefits and subsidies such as food stamps, childcare, and discounted rent rates which can negate the increased income from higher wages or more hours. Rent relief empowers residents to build a security net for themselves in addition to pursing full-time employment without the strain of losing much-needed benefits.

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  • The Hottest Amenity From Developers? A Power Plant Made of Batteries.

    An apartment complex in Utah includes a solar battery in every apartment allowing the resident, power utility, and building developer to save costs for generating electricity. Through a unique partnership, the power systems can provide 12.6 megawatts of power for the building, which translates into residents saving up to 40 percent on the energy bills. This setup might not be easy to scale, but the developer plans to expand the model in other states.

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