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RIP Medical Debt helps poor Americans eliminate medical bills

Roxanne Patel Shepelavy

June 30, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

Two former debt collectors have teamed up to put their experience and expertise to use paying off medical debts for Americans below the poverty line. RIP Medical Debt is a nonprofit that buys debt in bulk at reduced rates from hospitals. Within five years, $2 billion dollars of debt have been eliminated. The nonprofit has also launched projects researching systemic issues within healthcare and how to solve them.

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Minnesota Food Shelves Go Mobile To Fight Hunger

Gaby Galvin

June 29, 2020 |

U.S. News & World Report |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Sleepy Eye, Minnesota

Food banks and relief groups in Minnesota are delivering food to rural and suburban communities as food insecurity rises across the state. Suburban poverty presents unique challenges because communities are spread out and lack public transportation as well as social services, underscoring the importance of mobile food deliveries. Food pantries have been overburdened since March as more and more people experience food insecurity for the first time. One group reported a drastic increase in the number of people served, with 68 percent using the pantry service for the very first time.

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How countries without governments are relying on WhatsApp to tackle COVID-19

Ian Wylie

June 29, 2020 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Syria

Digital platforms allow Syrian doctors living abroad to assist over-burdened local doctors deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. Conflict has severely limited Syria's health services, so NGOs use online platforms like Zoom and WhatsApp to allow Syrian doctors abroad to provide consultations, deliver trainings, and share resources - including a daily forum for local doctors to get second opinions on cases. Thousands of volunteers have joined and organizers think this model can work in other conflict areas if local agents are engaged, they have the trust of the population, and there is the technical capacity.

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Can infusing western education revive northern Nigeria's Almajiranci system?

Hauwa Shaffii Nuhu

June 21, 2020 |

Minority Africa |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Nigeria, Niger

The Almajiranci system has been criticized for not integrating Western education and English lessons. To solve the issue, Malam Na’ibi, who owns an Almajiri school, started homeschooling around 30 students on subjects like math and English. These students can’t afford to attend schools that integrate Western education. “I just want to be able to speak the English language. I have never missed a class since we started.” Almajiranci school experts say the homeschooling method employed by Malam Na’ibi is exemplary of inclusive educational reforms that need to happen with the wider Almajiranci school system.

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Martha Is Eliminating Tipping. What Does That Mean?

Maddy Sweitzer-Lamme

June 18, 2020 |

Philadelphia Magazine |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The elimination of tipping has allowed one Philadelphia bar to give their employees health insurance and ensure an equal distribution of income amongst all employees. Typically servers in the front of house make much more in tips than those working in the kitchen. The owners of Martha are instituting a 20 percent service fee in lieu of optional tipping, providing a more stable source of income for all employees.

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Dad school: How to be a better father

Lily Freeston

June 18, 2020 |

BBC |

Video |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: Rwanda

Fatherhood classes in Rwanda teach men to be better dads and husbands, challenging traditional gender roles. Topics include taking care of babies, resolving domestic conflicts, sharing household decisions, and explaining sexual violence within a marriage. Participants report gaining new understandings and changing their behavior. One study found men who completed the class were half as likely to commit violence towards their wife in the future. 1,700 men have completed the course since it started in 2014, just a small fraction of the population, but there are plans to scale the program countrywide.

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Coronavirus concerns revive labor organizing

Carl Segerstrom

June 18, 2020 |

High Country News |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington

Employees at 7 Yakima Valley fruit packing plants, who are predominately Latinx, went on strike to protest inadequate protection and pay during the Covid-19 pandemic. Agricultural workers accounted for nearly one-fifth of the county’s positive cases. The worker initiated strikes and picket lines were supported by community members, union representatives, and non-profit legal centers. Workers returned to work after gaining concessions on better pay, safety protections, and the formation of worker advocacy committees. The state also issued new workplace safety standards for agricultural workers after protests.

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How nonprofits are getting people out of metro Detroit jails during COVID-19 pandemic

Angie Jackson

June 16, 2020 |

Detroit Free Press |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

Nonprofit bail funds, which use donated money to pay the bail of low-income people held in jail on pending charges, have won the release of about 55 people in Detroit during the COVID-19 crisis. Beyond the immediate need to free more people from an environment that makes social distancing difficult, the bail funds are part of a larger movement challenging a system that disproportionately affects people of color. The combination of bail payments, bond reductions, and administrative releases have reduced Wayne County's jail population by almost half.

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How Sweden's new consent law led to a 75% rise in rape convictions

Catherine Edwards

June 16, 2020 |

The Local |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Sweden

In the nearly two years since Sweden broadened the definition of rape offenses to include cases in which a victim fails to signal consent, both the reports of alleged rapes and convictions have risen. During that time, 76 convictions were in cases that previously would not have been classified as rape because they lacked evidence of force, threat, or sex with an incapacitated victim. Rapes still go largely unreported to police and there's still no evidence that the new law will achieve the ultimate goal of reducing the incidence of rape.

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American Indian patrol in Minneapolis credited with saving buildings during protests

Jean Hopfensperger

June 11, 2020 |

Minneapolis Star Tribune |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Volunteer street patrols organized by the American Indian Movement, the national civil rights group, saved the heart of the Twin Cities’ native American community from damage during the looting and arson that broke out during protests over police brutality in Minneapolis. AIM street patrols that had been created in 1968 were revived for the June 2020 unrest. Local businesses praised the effort for protecting their buildings, often by standing guard overnight armed with walkie-talkies and sometimes with guns.

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