Brighton's holistic approach to housing aims to break the cycle for the next generation

By partnering with cities across America, the 100,000 Homes campaign is going directly to the streets to end homelessness - and it’s working. With roughly 700,000 people in the United States experiencing homelessness, this organization seeks to address that using a tiered system that considers individual health needs as well.

Children across the U.S. experience gender confusion, causing emotional stress in themselves and their family. Gender identity counselors and gender youth clinics are being created in multiple states to help families find peace in their situation.

Through creative financing and new technology, a non-profit in San Francisco is making farmers markets more accessible to residents who rely on federal nutrition benefits.

In Vermont, a judge and a family services organization created RapidReferal – a process which offers addicts treatment immediately and has lowered recidivism. Funded by Medicaid, the program has had demonstrable impact, namely, a decrease in recidivism.

Individuals who have Aspergers Syndrome and autism experience difficulty in conforming to workplace norms and find themselves unemployed. Specialisterne, a Danish company, has opened employment opportunities for them. Sixty countries around the world have sought to adopt the company model.

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.

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.

In Houston, TX, many individuals with mental illnesses cycled in and out of emergency care while arrested or incarcerated. Houston’s police department has decreased the number of incarcerated who have mental illness by opening a division to mental health called the Chronic Consumer Stabilization Unit. Now Milwaukee seeks to replicate Houston’s results.

In Clayton County, Georgia, the Second Chance Court is using a different tactic to give offenders the opportunity to move forward. The program, started in 2010, allows selected teens to attend counseling and classes – often with their parents – centered around self improvement and appropriate behavior. Collaborating with a community organization, the Second Chance Court has been able to reduce recidivism in youth.

Science suggests that having a secure relationship with a caregiver can help protect a child’s brain and body from the effects of adversity. A Connecticut program for young children who have experienced trauma or other challenges has gotten results by focusing on that relationship – and the things that can interfere, including depression, family violence, and a parent’s own history of trauma.