How Utah Keeps the American Dream Alive

Studying the outcomes of public health delivery can lack a scientific methodology. MIT economists have applied the methodology of randomized controlled trial (RCT) to study the effect of the Medicaid expansion plan in Oregon. These researchers look into how the new healthcare coverage affects clinical outcomes, emergency-room use, and employment.

In a pilot program in a Canadian city, the working poor were given monthly cash supplements to their income. The recipients did not stop working and were able to access opportunities to make a better living long term.

Religion and technology are two important elements in Nairobi, however, they have remained distant until the corrupt government brought them together. Christian hackathons are now opportunities for technology and religion to meet to spur innovation that can help fight against corruption

An increasingly popular way to attract foreign direct investment is to let the world’s wealthiest trade cash and property investments for citizenship. The $2 billion-a-year industry allows the ultra-rich to buy passports that permit visa-free travel to nearly the entire world, often with no residency requirements. Highly controversial, the industry is marked by a lack of transparency and concerns about what happens to civic ties when citizenship can be bought and sold.

Streetcred is entering the realm of crowdsourced maps with a twist. The blockchain-based app will pay mappers across the globe in the form of ether, a cryptocurrency. Another differentiator is that the data will be open and available to anyone, an essential factor as Google Maps recently upped their prices. Though still in the early stages, Streetcred hopes to disrupt the map industry by making map data more accessible than ever before.

For millennials looking to gain a stronger sense of commitment to social justice and service work, religious traditions can provide a helpful framework. The Nuns and Nones program in Burlingame, California, places young participants into convents. In exchange for low-income housing, the young people help provide care and company for the aging sisters, while also drawing lessons from their participation in—and devotion to—service work.

Portland-based NGO, Micah Challenge USA, uses scripture to reach Evangelicals about climate change. The organization partners with legislation-making initiatives, travels to Christian colleges, and contacts national and local leaders urging them to join the Climate Solutions Caucus. Underpinning every initiative is a core strategy: climate change is causing people to suffer, especially those that are experiencing poverty, and as Christians, they are called to help the poor and end their suffering.

The Firstbuild "microfactory" in Louisville, Kentucky is one of many businesses across the country that, rather than focusing on giant consumer bases, aims to close the mind-to-market gap by investing in small, niche markets. This business model helps products get on shelves faster, reduces large capital investments, and reduces competition by honing in on specific, moderately sized markets.

On World Toilet Day in 2014, the Kenyan government promised to build 180 public toilets in an ambitious move to combat the issue of public sanitation. The program went well once the keys were handed off to the National Youth Service of Kenya as a means of income, but issues quickly arose that could not be resolved because of a lack of further funds. The youth has since transformed their toilets into a rental space for local churches, such as Christ Miracle Church for All Nations in Laini Saba.

Ubytovny pro sociálně slabé občany jsou předražené a nenabízí životní stabilitu. Alternativu přináší projekt Housing First, který se po úspěšném pilotním spuštění v Brně začal šířit Českem. Pomáhá lidem v nouzi najít stabilní bydlení a s ním i cestu zpět do aktivního života. V rámci celé republiky se má projekt rozšířit do 16 měst a pomoct stovkám lidí. Dosavadní výsledky projektu ukazují, že stabilní bydlení rodinám pomáhá řešit i další problémy. Přesto projekt stále čelí výzvám. Jednou z nich je například sousedské soužití, ohledně kterého se objevují stížnosti.