“Un solo empleo debería ser suficiente”. Cómo los trabajos de bajos salarios de Charlotte hacen que la vivienda sea inaccesible

RestoringVision addresses the global shortage of reading glasses by tackling supply and demand challenges. On the demand side, they partner with local NGOs and governments to provide vision screenings and free initial glasses, particularly for those in regions who either don’t know reading glasses are an option or don’t realize they’re losing their vision. On the supply side, they work to build retail networks and educate employers about productivity benefits, as workers receiving glasses show productivity increases up to 32%.

Finland’s approach to national security focuses on creating a comprehensive culture, emphasizing the idea that defending the country is a shared responsibility. Regular citizens can take volunteer courses in everything from using firearms and recognizing disinformation to surviving in the wild and interpreting maps, and the country’s men are conscripted at 18 for military or community service.

The Sun Meals Program distributes free breakfast and lunch to Connecticut children in the summer, with no registration or identification required. The program has handed out more than 1.75 million meals since June, but federal funding that helps support the distribution is being eliminated, leaving the state to shore up the gaps.

Khus (vetiver grass) curtains are a traditional, climate-friendly cooling method in India that is seeing a revival as extreme temperatures rise. Locals hang woven curtains made from dried vetiver roots in doorways or windows and spray them with water throughout the day. As hot air passes through them, evaporative cooling reduces indoor temperatures. This low-cost, low-energy solution has been implemented in homes and public areas like bus stops to combat the heat.

Some German cities have created voucher programs that subsidize the cost of taking a taxi for women who feel unsafe walking or using public transit at night. In Cologne, 1,500 vouchers were used within days of their release, and Munich has more than tripled the number of vouchers it provides due to demand.

Some colleges and universities, such as the Community College of Allegheny County, are expanding opportunities for students to earn academic credit for previous work and life experience, allowing them to bypass some courses and requirements covering skills they've already learned on the job. According to one study, these programs can result in significant tuition savings and help students cut down on the time it takes to finish a degree.

As many federal programs that supported homeownership, small businesses and community development are under threat, grassroots groups and national organizations across the country are buckling down to adapt their missions and operations to ensure they can continue supporting community members in need.

Civity brings people together for trust-building workshops that are built around storytelling, with the goal of helping people from different backgrounds find common ground with others in their communities. One study found the organization’s approach to be more effective than other strategies designed to build trust and address political discord.

Beaver restoration programs across the American West are creating fire-resistant green refuges, improving water storage and quality, and supporting wildlife recovery by partnering with the dam-building rodents rather than eliminating them, demonstrating that a nature-based approach can simultaneously address wildfire risk, drought, and ecosystem degradation.

RiverAware, an app that uses real-time data from a national network of gauges, has helped ordinary citizens, first responders, floodplain managers, scientists, and recreational users such as paddlers and anglers access river-flow data, informing or alerting communities as to when it's time to evacuate or seek higher ground. The data is aggregated from more than 13,000 stream-gauging stations around the country maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Land Management and the National Weather Service.