A Bookstore That Closed During the Pandemic Started a Literature Hotline. Now People Are Calling in for Life Advice.

As the U.S attempts to reopen, restaurant owners from California to Florida are expanding their restaurants into nearby outdoor space, including sidewalks and parking lots. In doing so, they are able to offer patrons a safer dining environment, as there is more room to keep tables further apart and follow social distancing precautions, and it also helps restaurants earn more revenue than if they were limited to indoor space. Some city governments are streamlining the process, including Brookhaven, Georgia, which made it free to access short-term permits for outdoor dining.

DOROT is a non-profit organization that matches seniors with younger adult volunteers for social visits to combat isolation and loneliness and to promote intergenerational friendships. Many of the seniors are widowers and social isolation can lead to negative health consequences. The organization also delivers fresh meals and holds other events, but was unable to operate as usual once the Covid-19 pandemic hit, so DOROT helped seniors set up Zoom for online conferencing. The group has matched 500 seniors with volunteers and advises similar programs across the country. Many pairs have formed deep friendships.

Two medical professionals, one in New York and one in the Phillipines, have launched a free online seminar that aims to help Filipino and Filipino American frontline workers who are experiencing mental health concerns due to coronavirus stressors. The program is just one of several that is helping medical professionals reduce the stigma around talking about mental health.

Germany has weathered the pandemic with lower illness rates than its neighbors and a relatively strong economy thanks to leadership and responses that have evolved and helped the country thrive in the three decades since reunification. The author of the book "Why the Germans Do It Better: Notes from a Grown-Up Country" reports on the blend of governing, business, and social approaches to challenges – rooted in a concept of "social trust" in the state and society, and a steady, deliberate, caring mindset – that help the country confront a contagion, a recession, or a refugee crisis.

Business counseling for struggling entrepreneurs has been crucial for small businesses trying to get back on their feet in the aftermath of the shutdown. The Asian Pacific Islander Small Business Program was specifically formed for Asian Pacific Islanders, who failed to find help because of language barriers. API SBP brings together different business communities to work collaboratively and pool resources. In addition to rent relief, navigating changes to PPP, and finding available grant programs, counselors have recently assisted businesses with social media presence and building websites.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses in Texas are struggling to stay afloat. A university-sponsored crash course might help struggling businesses find solutions catered to their community. Fifty-eight communities participated in the Regional XLR8 program sponsored by the IC institute at the University of Texas at Austin. The “secret sauce” for innovation the institute has used for decades involves getting people to work with one another as opposed to working separately.

The CARES Act was meant to help small businesses, including hospitals, find financial stability during the coronavirus pandemic, but confusing guidelines and a lack of oversight have impeded the success. This reality has been especially difficult for rural hospitals, some of which "have left millions in relief aid untouched, spiraling deeper into debt for fear that the wrong decision could force them to return money."

Colorado counties have launched "The 5-star Certification Program" as a way to incintivize businesses to comply with COVID-related precautions. Businesses that join the program must agree to adhere to certain public health protocols, and in return they are held to less stringent rules that those who are not part of the program. Although it is yet to be seen if this is an effective method to slow the spread of the virus, the program has spread to other states as a way of avoiding economic devastation.

Bronx shelters have teamed up with industry professionals to put together an after-school program offering students an opportunity to receive mentorship. In the program, which is based around video game-themed writing workshops, students are able to practice their writing skills, while being able to manage pandemic-induced isolation by connecting with other students and instructors.

What began as informal online gaming sessions grew into a group of hundreds of LGBTQ gamers, calling themselves Charlotte Gaymers Network, that fostered community and a safe place to gather during the pandemic. Though most of the network's events had to be held virtually, that ended up meeting a need, as more traditional in-person meeting spaces for Charlotte's LBGTQ community had shut down. The group promotes inclusivity in gaming designs and uses events like a tournament to build its following.