Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 307 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

Sponsor Circle opens hearts and homes to Afghan refugees

Cathryn J. Prince

April 11, 2022 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Milford, Connecticut

The Sponsor Circle program mobilizes local community members to raise money and provide technical and cultural support to Afghan refugees resettling in the United States. One such refugee is Mohammad Agha Mohammadi, who has been able to enroll in benefits, get his driving learner's permit, and sign up for college courses with the help of his circle since arriving in Connecticut.

Read More
Go to Original Story
How expanded child tax credit aided these moms, changed economy

Nick Roll

January 19, 2022 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

As part of a COVID-19 pandemic relief bill, the federal government expanded the child tax credit and distributed the money in monthly cash payments rather than a lump sum when filing taxes. The expansion, which expired in 2022, also increased the per-child amount up to $3,600 annually. The concept of cash-payments trusts families to decide where the money is most needed. Data shows that many families were able to catch up on bills and take away the urgency of financial struggles, opening up space to tend to other physical and emotional needs involved in raising children.

Read More
Go to Original Story
To clean up East Baltimore, this mentor shores up buildings – and youths

Dwight A. Weingarten

December 13, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

A community organization focuses on the wellbeing of young people in order to prevent violence. Members are mentored and taught martial arts by founder, Munir Bahar. Young residents also help clean up their neighborhood, hold food drives, and lead anti-violence marches.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Room for everyone: Tribal college expands its reach

Marisa Agha

December 13, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Tohono O'odham Nation Reservation, United States, Arizona

Tohono O’odham Community College in Arizona shifted its courses online during the pandemic and offered them for free to any Native student, expanding the tribal college's reach beyond the Tohono O’odham Nation for the first time. The college saw its enrollment jump by 96 percent — the largest increase of any tribal college in 2020 — and now serves students representing 55 tribal nations.

Read More
Go to Original Story
On wildfire patrol: Volunteers gauge success by blazes that don't start

Roy Rivenburg

December 06, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

In Orange County, a group of more than 300 volunteers patrol public spaces and remote highways when there's the threat of a fire. They are called the Orange County Fire Watch. Some of the things they do include educating the public, preventing blazes from growing into larger fires, and discouraging arsonists. The group patrols the area up to 20 days a year.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Why Albuquerque's latest experiment in policing doesn't involve officers

Henry Gass

November 12, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque established a new city department, Albuquerque Community Safety, that handles some of the 200,000 calls to 911 every year for a range of low-level, non-violent problems that don't require a police response. Since its launch in August 2021, the department has fielded just two teams of behavioral health specialists on call during the day. The city plans to expand the team's hours and responsibilities, though some are uneasy about exposing the unarmed workers to the potential for violence. The city has a long history of police shootings of mentally ill people, and ACS is meant to curb that threat.

Read More
Go to Original Story
For Afghan arrivals, a taste of the US at an air base in Germany

Anna Mulrine Grobe

October 26, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban were given a warm welcome at the American Air Base in Germany despite logistical challenges. The new arrivals have stepped up to help one another with everything from teaching to haircuts.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Why a Swedish city with a violent crime problem looked to US for solutions

Erika Page

September 08, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Sweden, Malmö

Malmö's Sluta Skjut (Stop Shooting) program adopts a group violence intervention approach that has been used widely in the U.S. Gang members and others believed to be involved in street violence are summoned to "call-ins" to hear messages from law enforcement officials, community members, and social services providers. The overarching message: stop the violence, or go to prison; if you do stop, help is available to change your life. About 300 men have been called in, 49 of whom have accepted the offered help. Violence in the city has dropped since the program started.

Read More
Go to Original Story
A couch is not a home: Where the hidden homeless get housing vouchers

Jingnan Peng

June 04, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

Boston used vouchers to help "doubled-up families" – those with school-age children sharing crowded apartments with other families – jump the line of people waiting for subsidized housing and get their own homes. Schools identify children living in this limbo status that often isn't visible or recognized as homelessness. They referred families to FamilyAid Boston, which put about 300 families into their own homes. Doubling up, which often violates leases and can quickly put families on the streets, is the most common homeless status of public-school students.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Sew it goes: The Sewing Machine Project stitches lives back together

Richard Mertens

June 03, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Madison, Wisconsin

The Sewing Machine Project has helped thousands of people who rely on sewing as a livelihood. The organization refurbishes used sewing machines and sends them across the world. For some recipients, access to their own sewing machine can result in economic mobility and an improved quality of life.

Read More
Go to Original Story