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  • How Urban Planning Keeps Cities Segregated—and Maintains White Supremacy

    Urban planning policies can lead to greater racial segregation, sometimes intentionally. While older policies could be explicitly racist, today policies such as zoning, which designates land for residential or industrial use, effectively excludes communities of color, immigrants, and households with lower incomes. Residential segregation leads to education, income, and health disparities. Minneapolis ended single-family zoning so lots can be converted to more affordable duplexes and triplexes and is working towards requiring new apartment projects to reserve units for low- to moderate-income households.

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  • This New York Program Is Getting Ahead of Homelessness

    A program that aims to help New Yorkers who are at risk of losing their homes has proven effective in keeping people housed. Studies have shown that it is difficult to transition out of homelessness so its goal is to prevent it entirely. The group operates in all five boroughs of NYC and has helped almost 30,000 people on its budget of $53 million. The program provides both cash and services: money for rent, utilities, legal aid to fight evictions and settle landlord disputes, in addition to job training.

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  • What We Can Learn from Costa Rica's Embrace of Migrants

    Despite its own troubled economy, Costa Rica has embraced a large influx of Nicaraguan refugees out of a recognition that immigration is an economic boon. The absorption of more than 28,000 migrants in one year, in a country of only 5 million people, has been aided by Costa Rica's existing population of Nicaraguans who fled earlier rounds of political and economic upheaval in their country. Those earlier migrants formed a network of aid organizations providing new arrivals with basic necessities, educational opportunity, connection to social services, and mental health support groups.

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  • For Indigenous Zapotec Families, Spinning Becomes a Lifeline

    Mark Brown has brought Ghandian economic principles of economic justice and local autonomy to the Mexican countryside to form a farm-to-garment textile business that employs villagers who once made woolen textiles until the industrial clothing era started producing cheap synthetic clothing and rendered their craft unprofitable. Khadi Oaxaca aims to regenerate the village way of life in a sustainable way and employs several hundred villagers who grow the cotton, spin the thread, design the clothing and bring it to market for tourists - bringing a previously economically depressed village out of poverty.

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  • COVID-19 Sparks a Rebirth of the Local Farm Movement

    To help small farmers stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, some organizations in California are aiding in their transition to community supported agriculture, or CSA, models that directly connect farmers to consumers. Since converting to a CSA, one restaurant supply business went from selling 90 boxes of food to 450. This collaborative effort, along with new digital marketplaces and local grassroots networks, could become a longterm business model for farmers.

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  • Appalachia's Front Porch Network Is a Lifeline

    Counties in Appalachia are meeting increased food assistance needs due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In some school districts, bus drivers continue their routes delivering free meals - and a familiar face - to any family who requests it. Kanawha County Schools provided more than 12,500 meals in the first week. Some school buses are also equipped with free wi-fi so that children without access to the internet can complete homework assignments. Traditional food banks in the area have also worked to meet increased demand and have had to adapt their practices for contactless distribution.

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  • How Birth Doulas Are Helping Parents Navigate Coronavirus

    With restrictions on visitors in hospitals, expecting mothers are bringing their doulas, via computer, into their delivery rooms. While virtual conversations may not be what new mothers were hoping for, in a strained and on-edge health care system, a voice from the computer can still be a powerful advocate for new mothers, especially African-American mothers who face more bias and obstacles in navigating the health care system.

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  • The Rescue Operation Bridging a Food Access Gap in California

    A Californian "food rescue" nonprofit called White Pony Express is shifting their usual processes to alleviate food insecurity to accomodate the change that COVID-19 has brought to their distribution systems. The group is partnering with the Palabra de Dios Community Church to distribute boxes of fresh groceries to families who need it. The work is run by volunteers—members of the community who want to pitch in during the crisis to help their neighbors.

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  • Mental Health Providers Are Struggling, Too. Here's How They're Supporting Each Other

    Many psychologists and counselors have moved their therapy sessions online due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has been received largely positively across the nation. As the pandemic continues, however, there is an increasing need for therapists who are trained to work with other therapists or first responders, so some states are now increasing online educational training, using social media to make connections, and utilizing professional organizations to "keep records of therapists available and trained to work with other first responders."

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  • 12 Ways Communities Are Taking Care of Each Other During the Pandemic

    With a crisis as ubiquitous as the COVID-19 pandemic, silver bullets simply do not exist. Fortunately, many grassroots initiatives have sprung up around the United States, like Pass the Lettuce, which encourages people to donate their stimulus checks if they are able, the Coronavirus Relief Fund, which provides relief to domestic workers forced to stay home, and the Sex Worker Relief Fund, which gives aid to sex workers who are outside of the system.

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