How Nashville is training a new generation of local leaders from its immigrant communities

With homicides up 50 percent last year, the D.C. Council is backing a controversial new crime bill aimed at stopping the violence. It’s modeled in part on a 9-year-old program in Richmond, California. Each year, 50 young men at risk for violence are paid to put down their guns. (1st of a 3 part series)

A program called Grandma’s Hands has begun hosting virtual dinner parties as a means of connecting and engaging with Black grandmothers during the coronavirus pandemic. Funded by a grant from the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the program also helps connect participants with fresh produce from Black- and Indigenous-run farms in the Portland area.

School districts can help students qualify for high-tech careers, regardless of their zip code, through investments in networking and mentoring. Coded by Kids was founded in Philadelphia in 2014 to teach underprivileged students computer skills, such as programming and design. Within five years, Coded by Kids has expanded into New Jersey and Delaware, reaching hundreds of kids. The organization has also launched a student-led design firm, Draft Studios.

By relying more heavily on data analysis, New Orleans officials decreased ambulance response time in many parts of the city from 12 minutes to 8 minutes. This is just one successful project of many from the non-profit group Results for America. The group works with local governments to use data and evidence to solve urban issues, and it has seen successes in New Orleans, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.

Stop underestimating yourself. That’s the call of Sam Daley-Harris to the many everyday Americans who feel that they cannot effect change in their country. He’s the founder of Results, a grassroots network that has spent decades teaching people how to build relationships with their congressional representatives and advocate for legislation.

For years, campaigns to clean Nepal's polluted Bagmati River resulted in failure. Now with police and government backing, the organization Safai Abhiyaan is in its third year, attracting hundreds of volunteers who are willing to brave the polluted waters to collect trash. The program's unique approach to organizing community volunteers has been a success, but the problem will not subside until greater perceptions about litter and water pollution are tackled.

Hundreds of immigrants in Houston often have no access to any social aid. One community, East Aldine, exemplifies this. It lacks sewers, water, or trash collection. But, with the help of one nonprofit residents are bypassing the city, and getting the help they need.

Bologna is demonstrating the utility of allowing citizens to help with projects in cash-strapped cities. A new policy makes it easier for citizens to head city projects and to participate in guiding the future of the municipality.

Turnup Jigawa is a leadership program that provides mentorship around advocacy and communication with the goal of training young people to engage with lawmakers and community stakeholders. Students go on to spearhead projects in their own communities, such as one participant’s awareness campaign around environmental hygiene and another’s initiative to provide college and career counseling to secondary students.

The Viequense Women’s Alliance combines the knowledge from community youth and experienced advocacy mentors to develop community leaders who are educated on current issues and technology. Women of all ages join together to advocate for their human rights.