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Convention Center Helps Build Sanitation Stations to Combat COVID-19

Cheryl Rodewig

April 02, 2020 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Athens, Georgia

In Athens, Georgia, 70 miles east of the capital Atlanta, one empty convention center put its space to good use by producing sanitation stations to combat COVID-19. After losing $1.2 million dollars of business in a single day, the convention center leadership found a way to leverage their forklifts, exhibit hall, and loading docks.

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First to Feel COVID-19's Impact, Chinatown is First to Deliver Aid for Small Business

Oscar Perry Abello

April 02, 2020 |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Renaissance Economic Development Corporation, a nonprofit loan fund in New York City, has helped Chinatown small businesses recover through 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy, and COVID-19 is the newest crisis it needs to navigate. It has been able to rely on its larger than standard loan loss reserve to have room for emergency loans to provide swift and integral support to Chinatown businesses.

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Baltimore Social Enterprises Turn Abandoned Homes into High-End Furniture and So Much More

Scott Kirkwood

April 02, 2020 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

In Baltimore, a successful social enterprise collaboration involves employing formerly incarcerated people to deconstruct valuable old wood from abandoned homes, preparing the wood for production, then turning the wood into high-end furniture. The initiative has expanded by working with the U.S. Forest Service to repurpose fallen wood from around the country, and it has already found a new life for wood for at least 90 homes.

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California's Streamlined SNAP App Pivots to Meet COVID-19 Demand

Emily Nonko

April 01, 2020 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

A state’s digital portals can be ways to reach residents’ needs as well as collect data on the real-time effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In California, the state’s SNAP assistance tool, GetCalFresh, emerged as a vital resources in the COVID-19 pandemic. Code for America originally developed the app to simplify access to federal supplemental nutritional assistance programs and is now relaying the needs of citizens as well as providing additional data on economic trends during the crisis.

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Minneapolis Offers People Experiencing Homelessness a Simple Gift: A Safe Place for Their Stuff

Cinnamon Janzer

March 31, 2020 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

A pilot program in Minneapolis is providing a safe place for unhoused residents to store their belongings for free and without any time limits. People experiencing homelessness can often be easily identified as such when lugging around baggage, an indicator that can affect their ability to find employment or negatively impact the quality of healthcare they receive. Although the pilot project was cut short by the shelter-in-place order, the city is looking to continue and expand the program due to the positive response from those experiencing homelessness.

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Seattle Turns Soda Tax Revenue into Emergency Grocery Vouchers During Pandemic

Gregory Scruggs

March 30, 2020 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

When Seattle passed its tax on sugar-sweetened beverages like soda in 2018, the program met a lot of resistance. But now, amid the coronavirus pandemic, the city is drawing on this tax revenue to provide $800 emergency grocery vouchers to families in need.

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Mission-Driven Lenders Already Providing Assistance to Vulnerable Businesses During COVID-19

Oscar Perry Abello

March 26, 2020 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

The Business Center for New Americans, a nonprofit that offers loans with a focus on immigrant-run businesses, is going above and beyond to make sure its lenders get through the COVID-19 economic crisis. They are offering tailored support on how to apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans, sharing other grant and loan opportunities, and using its status part of the SBA’s Microloan Program to offer new loans.

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Why More Homeless Shelters Are Welcoming Their Clients' Pets

Jill Kestler-D'Amours

March 25, 2020 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Studies show that between 5-10 percent of people living in homelessness are believed to have a pet, which could be a barrier to folks looking to spend the night in shelters that do not allow animals. Springs Rescue Mission in Colorado Springs is one of a number of shelters that are beginning to allow pets to board along with their owners in an effort to bring more people in. Animal companionship is a very important relationship and source of comfort and stability for someone experiencing homelessness. Some barriers still exist, however, like shelters that have little funding for sheltering pets.

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Coronavirus Closures Are Wiping Out Artists' Income. These Cities Want to Help

Rebecca Greenwald

March 25, 2020 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

In the state of Massachusetts, both Boston and Cambridge are offering financial relief to artists who have lost their source of income due to the social distancing guidelines mandated by the coronavirus pandemic. Boston established their artist relief fund on March 12, 2020, offering no-strings-attached allocations of $1,000. The city of Cambridge is matching funds with donations from the Cambridge Community Foundation, New England Development, and other donors. Both immediately received hundreds of applications and are acting now to secure more funding. The city of Denver, CO is also following their lead.

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San Antonio Food Bank on Front Lines of Coronavirus Preparation

Darcy Sprague

March 25, 2020 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Antonio, Texas

As the novel coronavirus outbreak continues to spread, the San Antonio Food Bank is working with other organizations to get more food out into the community. Although volunteer turnout has decreased, the Texas food bank has partnered with groups like Pre-K 4 SA to hand out food to students and their families. Every day, the food bank says it is sending $500,000 worth of food into the community.

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