An evolving role for colleges: Training former substance abusers to be part of treatment teams

Can we improve the methods we use to teach math in schools — so that everyone develops proficiency? A grade-school math program is changing how children learn based on the assumption that all children can achieve a high level of understanding.

There are many reasons why a student might leave university without graduating. Match Beyond helps students who dropped out of college finally receive their degree through personal counselors who make sure that the students are fulfilling all the necessary things in order to graduate.

Cities save money and help kids by connecting them with diploma programs. In Washington, iGrad is helping students do just this – and seeing results.

At St. John Hospital in Detroit, the principles of cultural sensitivity and collaboration—as well as lots of fundraising—have boosted previously low breastfeeding rates by black mothers.

Individualized advice and counseling, boosted by software tools, is helping hundreds more students earn degrees and certificates each year at Walla Walla Community College in Washington.

Different programs in various nations are training ordinary people and creating community groups to effectively satisfy the mental health needs of their communities. In many of these regions, "treatment gaps" – where there are little to no mental health treatment plans or resources – exist, but this new informal infrastructure helps to fill that.

Government benefits to aid the poor are frequently left unclaimed, leaving children hungry, young people unable to finish school, and opportunities for stable housing and preventative health care unused. New York City-based program Single Stop connects people to benefits for which they may be eligible. Importantly, Single Stop has served community colleges where disadvantaged students can use the assistance to help get through school.

A program in Philadelphia is pioneering new ways to treat the urban wounded. By seeing it as PTSD, and not pointing fingers, the city is using mental health tools to decrease violence and heal communities.

The best way to lose weight is to join a small group. This article looks at the case study of Saddleback Church in southern California that mixed faith and peer support to help congregates lose weight, including the pastor. Surveys found that 72% of participants lost weight as a result of the program.

While weight loss can be challenging to maintain, different structures are being created to help. Certain support groups, financial incentives, and tough love are proving to be effective.