Up and Out of the Darkness

Ted Alcorn

November 16, 2021 |

Think Global Health |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

Several UK organizations sprang into action to combat COVID-19-related lockdown loneliness and isolation. The Cares Family connected tens of thousands of younger and older neighbors to spend time together, virtually now due to the pandemic, and Linking Lives also connected people through a telephone befriending model that has yielded deep connections. The government used “heat maps” to identify areas of need even before the pandemic and had a national strategy already in place, which facilitated a quick response as the pandemic highlighted the need for social connections.

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How a made-in-Canada distress signal may have helped save the life of a North Carolina teen

Ellen Mauro Mark Gollom

November 09, 2021 |

CBC |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada

Soaring rates of domestic violence due to coronavirus lockdowns led the Canadian Women’s Foundation to launch the “Signal for Help” campaign that created subtle hand gestures to indicate the need for help. The gestures consist of tucking your thumb into your open palm and covering it with the four other fingers, symbolizing being trapped. Videos by TikTok users showing the gestures, which can be done with one hand and are distinct from international sign languages, have gone viral. The gestures are credited with saving a missing Kentucky teenager, showing the power of social media to spread information.

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Space to Create Colorado Builds Ouray County's First Affordable Housing Project

Laura Palmisano

November 03, 2021 |

Mountain Grown Community Radio (KVNF) |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Colorado

Space to Create is a state led program to create affordable housing and work spaces for people in creative industries. To be eligible for the program, areas must be state-certified creative districts, have populations of less than 50,000 in rural areas, and strong local support and leadership, which have been crucial to moving projects forward. Projects are supported by a nonprofit developer and federal low-income tax credits provide the primary funding source. The project in Trinidad created 41-units of affordable live-work spaces downtown, including 20,000 square feet of community space.

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Heat dome hit these Vancouver neighbourhoods hardest — could planting more trees save lives?

Stefan Labbé

September 28, 2021 |

North Shore News |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia

The “Greenest City Action Plan” aimed to reduce the effects of extreme heat by planting 100,000 trees. Shade from trees acts as a thermal buffer during extreme heat and cold and a lack of trees disproportionately impacts low-income communities. The program surpassed its goal by planting trees in parks and along streets, as well as by buying small plots of land to create “pocket parks” with trees providing shade. The city subsidized trees for homeowners, who were banned from cutting down mature, healthy trees on their properties, and ran education programs to increase resident buy-in.

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House hunting apps giving agents a run for their money

Graham Kajilwa

September 16, 2021 |

The Standard |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

xPodd is a real-time service that connects tenants to landlords whose listings match their specifications. The app helps prospective tenants navigate Nairobi’s competitive and fast-moving real estate market. Tenants fill out detailed specifications about what they are looking for and xPodd aims to connect them with at least three matching landlords for a small fee. Once matched, they get photos of the houses, their respective GPS locations, and contact information for the landlord. They also receive a number for a xPodd official who can go with prospective tenants to complete the deal.

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Not the 'Devil's work': Reversing Club Foot Deformities in Children

Innocent Eteng

September 13, 2021 |

Nigeria Health Watch |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nigeria

Miraclefeet is a U.S. based nonprofit that provides free clubfoot treatment in 29 countries, including 15 in Africa. Following Ponseti, a nonsurgical treatment plan, caregivers gently manipulate a child’s feet by stretching them into the correct position and using plaster of Paris to cast the foot in that position. After 5-8 weeks, children wear braces for 23 hours every day for the first three months, then only while sleeping for 3-5 years, in order to maintain the correction. The brace is made up of a special shoe that is clipped to a bar. The treatment is less expensive and 98% effective when done early.

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For Navajo, crowded homes have always been a lifeline. The pandemic threatens that.

Hailey Sadler Darian Woehr

August 30, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Navajo Nation, Utah

Multigenerational homes allowed indigenous families to pass down culture and language for thousands of years but living in crowded homes left them more vulnerable to COVID-19. Navajo teams have built 300 8-by-15-foot “tiny homes” to provide extra space for the most vulnerable or most exposed family member to isolate. Government-sponsored hotel rooms also provide spaces for those with the virus to quarantine safely. An aggressive vaccination campaign also got nearly half of those living within the Navajo Indian Health Service Area fully vaccinated, further reducing risk in crowded households.

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Fresh start: Using agriculture to build confidence during recovery

Mia Ryder-Marks

August 29, 2021 |

Capital Press |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Oregon

Blanchet House is a nonprofit that provides food and housing for people in need. Men who are recovering from substance abuse can live at the farm and have an opportunity to work on the land and learn skills that promote self-sufficiency and confidence. Men generally stay up to 8 months with free room and board, attend daily AA and NA meetings, and are assigned jobs like tending to the animals and ground maintenance. Unlike other sobriety programs that emphasize deep self-reflection, Blanchet House focuses on the physical component of getting your hands dirty and learning responsibility.

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'A Beautiful Feeling': Refugee Women In Germany Learn The Joy Of Riding Bikes

Deborah Amos

August 22, 2021 |

NPR |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Germany

The nonprofit, Bikeygees, teaches refugee women how to ride and repair bikes. Many of the women come from countries where they weren’t allowed to ride bikes, which are a staple mode of transportation in Germany. Volunteers in 15 locations have taught 1,100 women how to ride a bike, and many more have learned to fix bikes. Bikeygees has distributed 400 ‘bike kits’ that include a bike, helmet, lock, and tools to women who learn how to ride a bike, how to fix a bike, and the German rules of the road. These skills help the women to integrate into German society and feel a sense of freedom and self-sufficiency.

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A radical plan to treat Covid's mental health fallout

Julia Hotz

August 18, 2021 |

Wired |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

“Social prescribing” is an increasingly popular approach to healthcare that addresses “social determinants” of health with non-pharmaceutical prescriptions for patients in the form of activities in their local community, such as exercise classes, gardening projects, and even help to get a job or housing. Pilots across the United Kingdom have shown the emotional and physical benefits to patients and the NHS England has committed to increasing the practice nationwide. It relies on decades of research showing people’s sense of self-worth and meaning in their lives play a big role in their physical health.

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