Pathways to Employment

LOGAN, Ohio – Before dawn, in a cold, blustery drizzle, a line forms outside a small, squat building on an open stretch of road on the outskirts of town. “My heater quit working in my car,” Scott Skinner says good-naturedly to the next man in line. “Man, what kinda luck am I having.” The building is called “The Market” because it has a food pantry, but Skinner and the others are here to sign up for heating assistance. He’s been calling for a month to get an appointment with no luck, so he showed up an hour ago to snag […]

“Douglas MacArthur famously told us that “old soldiers never die, they just fade away.” When it comes to urban reform schemes, that adage is about half right. They don’t die, but they don’t fade away either. They just change their names.

“In Atlanta, journalist Brian Goldstone introduces us to the intersection of Memorial Drive and Candler Road – the threshold of two neighborhoods. On one side: a liberal arts college and cafés. “And you cross over, and it’s dialysis centers, it’s liquor stores, it’s payday lenders,” he said. “Other areas of Atlanta are booming, but this area sort of stayed stuck in this period of decline. … The poor are out here on these peripheral areas.”

“NEW YORK (July 17, 2025) – Today, a coalition of foundations and philanthropists—Ballmer Group, Gates Foundation, Stand Together, Valhalla Foundation and John Overdeck—announced NextLadder Ventures, a $1 billion initiative grounded in the belief that every American has the potential to achieve economic prosperity and focused on fostering technology and tools to expand economic opportunity for low-income Americans. Over the next 15 years, NextLadder Ventures will invest in entrepreneurs developing personalized solutions that help individuals and families navigate critical moments—like job loss, housing instability, or health crises. These approaches will be designed with and for the people who need them most. The […]

“Homelessness has risen sharply since 2023, new data show. The research is clear: rental assistance promotes housing stability and is key to solving homelessness. Reducing, and ultimately solving, homelessness will require expanding rental assistance and access to supportive services. Unfortunately, President-elect Trump’s record and Republican proposals raise concerns that the incoming Administration and Congress could abandon evidence-based approaches; cut fundingfor programs like rental assistance, increasing the already large number of households who don’t receive help because of inadequate resources; and pursue policies that will further increase homelessness and housing instability and deepen inequities.