Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 1113 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

For Black Voters Matter, the goal is greater community power

Haleluya Hadero

June 02, 2021 |

Associated Press |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Georgia

Black Voters Matter raises money to support organizations and initiatives that are often too small for institutional funders to notice. The group has given millions to community-based groups in 15 states—mostly in the South—to register voters, canvass neighborhoods with voting-related information, run phone banks, and even rent buses to drive people to the polls. They’ve raised tens of millions of dollars, mostly in small donations from about 90,000 unique donors. The group, who seeks to strengthen organizations for the long run, also funds activities like free grocery distribution for those in need.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Black Women Come Up Short On Funds And Food In COVID-19 Pandemic

Marissa Evans

June 01, 2021 |

Fierce for Black Women |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Village Minds was started by Natia Simone as a Facebook page to connect people in need of food and assistance, due to COVID-19 and grocery store closures after the protests following the murder of George Floyd. However, a broader issue of food insecurity led her to expand into a formal organization that has made more than 3,650 grocery deliveries. A partnership with a local produce store helps fill bags with fresh food and a food pantry provides other staples. With the help of friends and family, Simone uses a rented U-Haul to deliver the groceries to seniors throughout Chicago.

Read More
Go to Original Story
A Mexico Housing Community With No Police

Mayu Ruiz Rull

May 31, 2021 |

What's Next Magazine |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Mexico City

On the outskirts of Mexico City, the self-governed Acapatzingo Housing Community prevents crime and resolves disputes without any involvement by the police. The community, founded at an abandoned mine to provide housing to people living in poverty, sits adjacent to a neighborhood that suffers thousands of violent crimes per year. But the housing community and its citizen-guard patrols, mediators, and network of walls and fences manage to limit the number of crimes and conflicts to about 60 per year. The police are viewed as unresponsive and corrupt, while the community's security is rooted in trust.

Read More
Go to Original Story
This Nonprofit Eliminated a Simple Barrier Keeping New Orleans Teens From Their Summer Internships

Emily Nonko

May 27, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

Onerous paperwork and required legal documents keep many youth - especially those not living with legal guardians - from taking part in city internships, so YouthForce NOLA worked with the city to pilot an internship program with fewer barriers. The streamlined application included workarounds for common issues, like allowing public school records to certify residency, accepting approval from non-legal guardians, and providing a checklist with exactly what records they need and how they can get them. The added support reduced anxiety among the youth and significantly increased retention in the internships.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Bogota crowdsources a green transport future to cut emissions

Anastasia Moloney

May 26, 2021 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Colombia, Bogotá

Citizen participation in meetings, door-to-door surveys, and via an open-source online platform where residents could edit and add to draft plans resulted in 7,000 citizen proposals to redesign one of Bogota’s major, car-choked, 23-km thoroughfares. Residents as young as 10 years old contributed to design plans that will cut climate-changing emissions and pollution by adding more bike lanes, pedestrian paths, and electric buses and cable cars. City officials spent substantial time listening to residents’ ideas and concerns, including talking with populations that are often ignored by those in power.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Okemos Public Schools is changing its mascot. Belding already did and says they have no regrets.

Mikayla Temple

May 25, 2021 |

WSYM-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, East Lansing, Michigan

Many parents and community members lobbied the Okemos School Board, which approved a name change for the public school's mascot from one that objectifies and stereotypes Native Americans to one that promotes a positive imagery for students of all races and backgrounds. Belding area schools also approved a name change after parents protested an interim solution that allowed the use of the mascot’s name without imagery as not going far enough. The Native American Heritage Fund provided grants to schools wanting to change their mascots to help mitigate the obstacle of the high costs of rebranding.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Online Town Halls Likely to Survive Beyond the Pandemic

Brooke Staggs

May 25, 2021 |

Orange County Register |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Orange County, California

Orange County congressional members increased the number of town halls they hold since the coronavirus pandemic forced them to from in-person to virtual events. Going virtual increased the frequency of citizen’s access to hear from their representatives and also allowed many more people to tune in, especially those unable to attend town halls due to work or physical ability. A virtual event held by Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) was attended by 100,000 people, whereas in-person events pre-pandemic drew about 400 people. Live-streamed virtual events are faster to arrange and less expensive to host.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Reimagining a Better World After George Floyd's Death

Anoa Changa Laura Rosbrow-Telem

May 24, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Two ways that communities affected by police violence and racial injustice responded to the uprising after George Floyd's murder were block-by-block organizing and participatory budgeting. The first, used in Minneapolis, provided public safety and mutual aid when neighbors formed networks to guard buildings, put out fires, mediate disputes, and deliver aid to people living through a period of unrest. In participatory budgeting, 30 cities turned over control of $400 million in public spending to communities, which set policy based on communal decisions and directed financial priorities.

Read More
Go to Original Story
In New Hampshire, young adults are finding their voice

Evan Edmonds

May 22, 2021 |

Concord Monitor |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Hampshire

Barriers to participation are keeping millennials from civic engagement in New Hampshire. Unaffordable housing, a lack of childcare, uncompensated civic engagement, office and voting hours that conflict with work schedules, and convoluted processes all prevent both the young and diverse populations from participating.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Baltimore's top cop in demand as cities seek consent decree advice; some locally criticize cost, pace of reform here

Jessica Anderson

May 20, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

The Baltimore Police Department was the last agency to enter into a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice during the Trump administration. This is a process by which a troubled police department submits to federal oversight as a way to reform its practices and culture. Now that the Biden administration has signaled a willingness to use this tool more, police are looking to Baltimore as a model. A federal monitor cites multiple signs of progress in Baltimore. But local activists are frustrated with the slow pace of change and high costs of federal monitoring.

Read More
Go to Original Story