Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • The forgotten worker

    Homecare aides traditionally receive low wages in an industry with high turnover and great stress during the pandemic. Women of color typically care for their companies' elderly or disabled clients. Cooperative Homecare Associates started in 1985 as a worker-owned cooperative, to be run democratically. It is now the nation's largest co-op, with 2,000 employees, half of them owners. During the pandemic, it partnered with other co-op homecare companies to line up personal protective equipment supplies, one example of how it prioritizes worker safety and satisfaction over profit.

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  • A way forward for employing people with disabilities in Lithuania

    Employment intermediaries from VšĮ SOPA act as workforce development counselors and recruiters for both employers and people with disabilities. By preparing people for jobs that fit their abilities, and then aiding in a job search, the intermediaries are able to place about half of their 100-plus clients in appropriate jobs. Common in Western Europe, where government funding enables such services, the service in Lithuania relies on private funding, which can be less stable. Jobs for people with disabilities provide self-confidence and independence.

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  • Startup Helps Those Affected By Gangs And Gun Violence Find A Way Out

    The boom in green-energy spending and government grants fuels the work of Leaders Before Legends, a Portland startup that lines up well-paying jobs installing solar panels and the like. The jobs go to people formerly incarcerated on charges related to gun violence. Leaders was founded by a man whose own gun-charge incarceration exposed him to the way that business people think. He turned that exposure into a mission to help others learn how to make money legally and safely. In the past year, the program has found work for 10 people. It is working to expand its city funding to scale up.

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  • A ski company built a power plant fueled by methane. It's a success, but can it be replicated?

    A ski company and oil and gas executive were able to work out a deal to turn the Elk Creek Mine into a power plant that puts out 24 million kilowatt hours a year and prevents hundreds of billions of methane each year from escaping into the atmosphere. The plant hasn’t made a profit yet for its investors and regulatory red tape could make it difficult to implement in other places, but officials say the plant has been successful and could be a way to combat climate change.

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  • Worker cooperatives prove your job doesn't have to be hell

    In service industries that traditionally pay and treat workers poorly, worker-owned cooperatives serve as a humane alternative. Worker-owners at eight co-ops in four states describe the difference their jobs make in their working conditions and their lives. They also tell how larger collectives and cooperatives pool resources to help smaller co-ops with the funding and expertise they need, especially when confronted by a disruptive event like the pandemic.

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  • Food waste is heating up the planet. Is dumpster-diving by app a solution?

    The app Too Good to Go helps restaurants and other shops prevent food waste by selling their extra food to people for a cheaper price. So far, more than 700,000 people in the United States have downloaded the app and the company estimates that, on average, each meal sold halts 2.2 pounds of food from ending up in the garbage, which ends up reducing carbon emissions. There are challenges to widespread implementation, but the app has launched in New York City, Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle.

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  • This South L.A. startup will turn your front lawn into a farm

    A startup in California called Crop Swap LA is converting unused front yards into community gardens that can grow crops like kale, rainbow chard, and tomatoes as a way to feed neighbors. Community members can pay for subscriptions for up to $43 a month to receive a bundle of greens and vegetables from the microfarms and homeowners get a share of the profits. Each garden needs to have the proper maintenance, which can make it difficult to scale, but these gardens can help provide access to food to those who don’t have a grocery store in their area.

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  • This pregnancy test came back positive for the environment

    Pregnancy tests account for two million pounds of plastic waste a year. If you were born before the 1980s, chances are your mother's pregnancy test is in a landfill. Since its creation in the 1970s, pregnancy tests remained the same; as single-use plastics that are not biodegradable. The founders of Lia Diagnostics sought to change that by revolutionizing the design and creating a pregnancy test made out of paper.

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  • Recipes For A Revolution: Albergo Etico and the empowerment of those with disabilities

    Albergo Etico prepares people with disabilities for work in the hotel industry, using training based on the Montessori method. The "download" method helps people learn job skills at their own pace, translating lessons for people with various cognitive abilities. Training begins with their families, doing household chores in their own home. Trainees now work in eight Italian cities, plus three other countries. The investment pays off both economically and socially, as trainees gain autonomy and self-sufficiency.

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  • San Francisco's Filipino Cultural District Keeping Hope Alive After a Tough Year

    “UNDSCVRD SF," funded by the SOMA Community Stabilization Fund and produced by the nonprofit Kultivate Labs, is a night market held once a month from July to November that features a range of Filipino vendors. There were over 35,000 attendees in 2019 and it generated $300,000 in sales. It also serves as a testing ground to select businesses for Kultivate Labs’ SEED Accelerator Program and grantees for the SOMA Fund. The former provides bootcamps and one-on-one support for Filipino-owned businesses that are located in, or would like to be located in, a permanent space within the SOMA cultural district.

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