The Next Wireless Revolution, in Electricity

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/the-next-wireless-revolution-in-light

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

11 September 2013

Text / 1500-3000 Words

Phone lines in Africa and South Asia would never have gotten to the poor - but these places have leapfrogged over last-century technology and gone straight to mobile phones. Now the same thing is happening with off-grid solar power: the fastest -- perhaps the only – way to power the poor.

The Benefits of Mobile Health, on Hold

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/the-benefits-of-mobile-health-on-hold

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

13 March 2013

Text / 1500-3000 Words

The mobile phone is doing more than revolutionizing communication. It has the potential to improve many aspects of life in poor countries: commerce, health, agriculture, education - public health, especially, is being revolutionized by governments taking advantage of the mobile revolution by texting advice or sending voice messages to pregnant women, texting reminders to AIDS patients to take their meds, tracking the spread of diseases, allowing community health workers to keep records electronically and variations on all these themes.

Crisis Text Line has counseled teens through nearly 2 million problems. Here's how this idea got its start.

http://blog.ted.com/crisis-text-line-nears-2-million-messages-answered

Kate Torgovnick May

TED Blog

6 May 2014

Text / 1500-3000 Words

Crisis Text Line provides counseling services via text, a medium with which teens are sometimes more comfortable. The approach complements the work of counselors and collects data for research purposes.

Foreclosure Is Not an Option

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/06/foreclosure-is-not-an-option

David Bornstein

The New York Times

6 December 2010

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Foreclosure affects millions of homeowners and millions more owe more on their mortgages than what their homes are worth, but Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People (ESOP), offers assistance. As a free service to borrowers, ESOP holds lenders accountable with fair lending agreements, creates constructive communication, and ultimately saves homes.

Guiding Families to a Fair Day in Court

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/29/guiding-poor-families-to-a-fair-day-in-court

David Bornstein

The New York Times

29 May 2015

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Millions of families of arrested individuals do not know what to do to help, how to obtain a lawyer, or what the process entails in the court system. Created by Albert Cobarrubius Justice Project, participatory defense is a type of community organizing that teaches and empowers people who face criminal charges. Individuals know how to work with attorneys in order to navigate the system and ultimately feel equipped to become drivers of their own change.

When Lenders Won't Listen

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/10/when-lenders-wont-listen

David Bornstein

The New York Times

10 December 2010

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In part, miscommunication between bankers, brokers and homeowners created the 2008 economic crisis. Protection laws mandating better labeling and trusted third-party intermediaries could improve communication and help prevent another crisis.

Mothers-to-Be Are Getting the Message

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/pregnant-mothers-are-getting-the-message

David Bornstein

The New York Times

7 February 2011

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An average of 28,000 children born in the U.S. each year die before their first birthday – and many more face disabilities and serious life-long health problems, often because they are born prematurely or at low birth weights. A free service, text4baby, delivers crucial health advice via text message to pregnant women and new mothers.

How Former Prisoners are Set up to Fail, Especially if They're Women

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/news/a36907/prisoners-reentry-programs

Jean Friedman-Rudovsky

Cosmopolitan

25 February 2015

Text / Over 3000 Words

A Department of Justice study reported that about 75 percent of those released in 2005 were rearrested, and women prisoners often have a harder time re-entering society after release. A New Way of Life (ANWOL) is a Los Angeles transitional living facility that has helped more than 750 women stay out of prison by offering housing, case management, mental health and substance treatment, and job training.

In Aleppo, cell phones are helping some desperate Syrians find clean water

http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-08-26/aleppo-cell-phones-are-helping-some-desperate-syrians-find-clean-water

Joyce Hackel

Public Radio International (PRI)

26 August 2015

Radio / 5-15 Minutes

In war zones, people have a difficult time finding clean water and safe areas to inhabit. Social media, smart phones, and technology applications are aiding in people’s survival. In Aleppo, Syria, the International Committee of the Red Cross posted a map on Facebook to show alternative sources of clean drinking water that reached approximately 140,000 people.

Berlin's New Rent Control Laws Are Already Working

http://www.citylab.com/housing/2015/07/berlins-brand-new-rent-control-laws-are-already-working/398087

Feargus O'Sullivan

CityLab

9 July 2015

Text / Under 800 Words

To address the increasing unaffordability of housing in Berlin, the city introduced a new rent control law to prevent rates from exponential growth. The city has also outlawed vacation rentals in certain zones of the city and created a program that aims to have 30,000 new rental properties available over the next decade.