Countering high homelessness rates with pathways to self-sufficiency With Denver’s beautiful Rocky Mountain backdrop and booming job market, one might think the city has just the right ingredients for success. But Denver has a homelessness problem. The city has one of...
Tech graduates shine in work and community When David Williams ran out of money during his first year at Illinois State University, he went home to Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, where the unemployment rate is nearly 23 percent. Living with his mother, he enrolled in...
Life-saving food, with a dash of life-saving education Even though she’s offering samples of freshly prepared food, Melissa Moreno meets some hesitance as she visits with the folks waiting for groceries at the Food Bank of Northern Nevada’s mobile unit, called Mobile...
A human services story from Denver When April arrived at Warren Village in Denver, Colorado, she had a six-month old son; a violent, unrepentant husband; and nowhere to go. Offering affordable housing and a range of services, Warren Village addressed her needs—and...
For the homeless, follow-up makes the difference For 25 years, Community LINC has been helping families in Kansas City, Missouri, escape homelessness and poverty. In 2012, with support from the McGowan Fund, Community LINC launched the Interim Housing and Aftercare...
In Rochester, food preparation is job preparation Foodlink’s founder, Tom Ferraro, once said, “There is no thinking outside the box. There is only living outside the box.” To solve problems outside the box, you have to live there, and Foodlink does, with 11 programs...
A heart-healthy program becomes a growing movement You might say Pam Hoffman threw herself into teaching healthy living to her 3–5 year olds at the Back Mountain Day Care center in Shavertown, Pennsylvania. One day, the kids made ants on a log (celery, peanut butter,...
Low-income children learn to eat right Daycare providers in low-income areas sometimes struggle to promote healthy lifestyles and offer nutritious food that appeals to children. Parents struggle, too, worrying about their children’s health and may have difficulty...
An innovative program is changing outcomes Approximately 35 percent of the U.S. population has metabolic syndrome, a combination of conditions that increases a person’s risk for heart disease. Individuals with metabolic syndrome are twice as likely to develop heart...
Eva Liu’s work blends her passion and skills From her office at Chicago Beyond, a nonprofit organization, Eva Liu looks back at a surprising journey that has taken her from her neighborhood school in Chicago’s Chinatown to Harvard University and to The Wharton School,...
Everywhere he goes, ethics prove crucial When Gordon McLaughlin looks back, he remembers being a young Columbia University MBA student, answering questions about ethics in an effort to win a McGowan Fellowship, and feeling a natural alignment with the things he’d read...
