Benham may not be the first city to come to mind when thinking about clean energy advancements, but the small Kentucky city has made great strides in recent years to switch to solar energy. Hoping to reduce the cost of electric bills and simultaneously keep the lights on at the local coal museum, this transition could act as a learning opportunity for similar towns and regions.

A program piloted in Seattle and now replicated in several cities nationwide aims to redirect low-level drug offenders into a case management system that can help them change their lives by connecting them with social services and advocating for their wellbeing. The program is called Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, or LEAD, and police officers can direct people into it if they are suspected of having committed a drug crime.

Islamic organizations focused on prison reform are asking the observant to make their zakat—a charitable donation made during Ramadan—go towards helping to pay the bail of an incarcerated Muslims. Through this push, these organizations are also raising awareness about the impact of cash bail and inequities in the prison system.

To navigate conflict, researchers at Difficult Conversations Laboratories suggest “looping for understanding” and priming participants by sharing information showing the complexity of controversial issues. These strategies can build goodwill and the willingness to continue conversing.

U.S. Surgen General Jerome Adams speaks out about the significance of reducing stigma around substance abuse and mental health to normalize the illnesses and open doors for sufferers to seek help. Dispensation of Naloxone, an overdose reversing drug, went up 40% since he issued a Surgeon General's advisory on its use.

Inspired by the documentary 13th, which explores race and mass incarceration in the U.S., and frustrated by the amount of youth getting caught in criminal court, four black female judges decided to create a youth prevention program. The four month program is called “Pipeline to Possibilities,” and accepts about a hundred students who get to experience mock trials, and meet with the judges.“Knowledge is power, and maybe if they knew more about the criminal justice system, they wouldn’t find themselves on that side of the bench.”

Buffalo uses its historic architecture to attract international visitors. The city offers tax credits to developers who remodel and renovate old buildings. The effort also helps attract young people back to the city.

Emergency medical response systems are facing challenges in meeting the needs of clients and financial limits. This has left the system unable to effectively serve their communities. Now, responders in Portland, Oregon, and Reno, Nevada, are creating new solutions to make this system more efficient.

Reverend Welch moved to Montgomery in 1985 and sparked a decades-long fight to revitalize the neighborhood surrounding his church in an affordable and inclusive manner. Since then, the Greater Washington Park neighborhood has been transformed. Families are moving back, and people who previously couldn’t own a home now have the chance to achieve that milestone. Though there’s still work to be done, the neighborhood achieved what many others can’t: rebuilding without displacement.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is transforming educational systems in Oakland by forming mentor relationships between adults and students. Unlike other models, though, the adults are the ones held accountable.

Beyond the Shop is training barbers to serve as mental health advocates and "first responders" for the black male community in southern states. The programming and training encourages and allows men to open up about vulnerabilities and stresses in an environment they trust and are already comfortable in - one survey found that 58 percent of barbershop-goers would be more likely to seek treatment if a therapist was based in the barbershop.

In San Antonio, career-themed schools are at the center “of a growing push to more closely match the skills students gather in high school with workforce needs.” The Center for Applied Science and Technology (CAST), described as akin to “an outpost of Google,” works with industry partners to connect students with local jobs and ensure lessons are up to date, all while emphasizing socioeconomic integration through an approach called “diversity by design.”

Untold RVA, a project developed by ‘tactical urbanist’ Free Egunfemi, intervenes in public space to foreground the history of slavery and the lives of the enslaved in Richmond. While work is being done to dismantle Richmond’s commemorations of the Confederacy, Egunfemi and other activists are working to ensure the people survived unimaginably oppression are not forgotten.

Housing is one of the major hurdles former prisoners have to tackle when they get out of prison. Two judges know this, that’s why they created a re-entry program that offers prisoners numerous services. The results? “Over the past 10 years, only 13 percent of graduates and 21 percent of all participants were arrested or had their parole revoked — compared to a 41 percent revocation rate for other returning citizens in the Philadelphia area.”

Comprehensive User Engagement Sites (CUES) are currently primarily open to opiate addicts and are equipped to deal with opioid related overdoses and safe administration of the drugs. Some sites are now beginning to distribute materials for safe crack/cocaine use including clean pipes, alcohol swabs, lip balms, and condoms to promote safe sex.

In India, 15 farmers are piloting a program that utilizes greenhouses to grow crops that would otherwise perish in the unpredictable climate. The income generated from this capability is allowing families to pay for their children's education. In addition, women are being given opportunities to play a part in the agricultural success through training and networking.

While many areas in Kentucky become increasingly less dependent on the coal industry, the state is looking for new ways to add jobs to the economy. SOAR, or Shaping Our Appalachian Region, is working to create jobs locally by partnering with organizations that provide training in areas such as coding and app development. This is part of a broader push to connect Kentucky to jobs, technology, and capital.

After Nepal's 2015 earthquake, many village women were left in financial devastation and struggled to support their families. The earthquake destroyed up to 90% of small enterprises and markets, so the United Nations Development Programme trained women how to weave. As a mode of recovery, the weaving industry has helped rebuild the economic and social structures through the Panchakanya group.

According to the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission, there are fewer than 180 panthers left in the state due to high rates of animal-vehicle collision. Now, the state is trying to prevent further harming the species by introducing specially designed technology, including highway underpasses and roadside animal detection systems.

Ohio has more than 50 land banks, which are best known for reducing blight by demolishing old buildings, but several land banks are trying creative ways to enhance their land on a budget. Successful projects include a program for locals to redevelop old lots, a pop-up art gallery in a condemned house, and urban forests to make communities more welcoming. The collective effect of these projects is to revitalize cities all across the state.

Researchers from Yale and MIT conducted a poverty study across various countries and found that aid can relieve poverty if it is comprehensive and gives people a productive asset.

Most people are unaware of how much food they waste. Food waste campaigns across the world are using creative marketing to raise awareness and encourage behavior change.

Environmental impact bonds allow cities, sometimes even community members, to share the risk and rewards with investors that are backing innovative possible solutions to big problems. This plan allows for large-scale green infrastructure to be piloted in areas across the U.S. where it is most needed.

A public-private initiative has successfully increased graduation rates and decreased teen pregnancies in West Virginia's opioid-ridden hills. Reconnecting McDowell brings together nonprofits, government representatives, teachers, coal businesses, and others to provide mental health services, high speed internet, expanded dental care in schools, and other offerings. But, still in its early stages and working to establish a unified voice, the collaboration is threatened by the Trump administration's plans to cut relevant federal funding.