A Chance to Go From Hard Lives to Healing

Twenty high school students enrolled in Territory, an urban design nonprofit, produced a zine and their own quality of life report for West Austin, where many of the students live. The students conducted interviews, surveys, and gathered community input to create the report. It includes sections on public safety, youth empowerment, and mental health.

The Brazilian city of Recife is tackling violence prevention by focusing on early-childhood education through a program called Urban95. In addition to painting the streets and buildings bright colors, Urban95 offers accessible services like pre- and post-natal services to caregivers and storytelling & play opportunities for young children. The program was rolled out in two communities, and one proved more successful than the other because it partnered with a preexisting organization within the community.

Green City Force has expanded to many of New York City's public housing projects with a two-pronged approach. Not only does this program help develop professional skills of and job opportunities for young adult residents with high school diplomas, but also simultaneously promotes environmentally sustainable living.

Dorchester, the Boston neighborhood with the highest poverty levels, struggles to keep kids in school from engaging with gangs and crime. But College Bound Dorchester (CBD) is fast rewriting the solution to high drop out and recidivism rates, paying ex-offenders a weekly stipend to enroll in and complete a diploma program and proceed to (and through) college. With "core influencers" -- ex-gang members who have "left behind their troubled pasts" -- as role models in the community, CBD emulates similar programs in Chicago and Baltimore, and studies show the initiative is working.

In Scotland, the Navigators program performs violence interruption work in seven hospitals, at the bedside of victims of violence, with counseling and connections to social services to nudge people into safer lifestyles. Because Navigators act independently of the police and other authority figures, and because their service follows clients into the community, they are able to win the cooperation of 65-90% of those they approach. A survey of 100 clients showed 23% fewer emergency room visits in the year after cooperating with the program. Navigators started after violence in Scotland raged in 2005.

To help address the shortage of personal protective equipment in hospitals, companies and individuals in the fashion industry are turning from clothing production to face mask production. This approach, which is being implemented across the U.S. and Europe, not only helps the medical industry, but also helps to keep those in the fashion industry employed during the pandemic.

New Haven Nonprofit group ConnCAT provides free job training for low-income and disadvantaged individuals to help them find a stable income. The program has created positive partnerships with businesses and entities around New Haven in the medical, coding, and culinary arts fields and offers 6-month classes as well as 40-hour externships in members' field of interest.

Las Animas County in Colorado is a large rural and remote area which makes it difficult for emergency responders to access people in a timely manner. To address this, emergency medical responder (EMR) classes are being taught in high schools in order to relieve the burden and offer a possibility for a career path to students in the area.

Gunshot victims are often treated at hospitals only to be sent back into the community, where 1/3 will end up back in the hospital again. With a new emphasis on prevention and addressing the underlying issues, Ohio is now using federal assistance to create a Trauma Recovery Network that helps with crisis intervention, counseling, and even providing safe emergency housing for gunshot victims.

In San Jose, manufacturing jobs can help reduce the economic inequalities in the region. Youth from marginalized communities are being recruited to join a high tech manufacturing job with the potential for career advancement.