Dear Friends:
I hope that this message finds you safe and healthy. This has been a month of rapid changes and challenges for all of us, and we are thinking about all of our colleagues, partners, and students at this difficult time. In light of the fast-changing and serious situation around the COVID-19 pandemic, the USC Center for Social Innovation has cancelled all in-person Price Center events for the remainder of the semester and as of March 16 began working from home.
Though remote, our team remains active and we continue to work towards our mission to develop ideas and illuminate strategies to improve the quality of life for people in low-income urban communities. This work is important now more than ever. We know that those who are most at-risk among us are also uniquely vulnerable to COVID-19 and its broader effects on our world. We are working actively to support research and partners to develop solutions around this issue, and we welcome the opportunity to connect and learn more about ways to support your work. I can be reached directly at
[email protected]
if you would like to connect.
Best,
|
|
Gary Painter
Director, USC Price Center for Social Innovation
Director, Homelessness Policy Research Institute
|
|
NDSC Community Training Moves Online
The Neighborhood Data for Social Change (NDSC) platform is a user-friendly digital tool that provides access to reliable, aggregated data at the neighborhood level. NDSC research staff host free monthly trainings to the public. In the span of just one hour, participants learn how to access data for specific neighborhoods and cities within Los Angeles County, understand why specific data sets are important, and conceptualize data stories to better tell the stories of their communities.
|
|
On March 2, the USC Sol Price Center for Social Innovation and and
LeadersUp
hosted a seminar to discuss using social innovation to support inclusive hiring practices.
Nationally, one in three Americans have been arrested and face lifelong barriers to employment and economic mobility. To address this challenge, the Price Center and LeadersUp – a national nonprofit focused on ending the youth unemployment crisis – partnered to co design new inclusive hiring practices with employers.
|
|
In the midst of the current crisis around COVID-19, several of the USC Sol Price Center for Social Innovation's partner organizations are actively engaging our community to help the most vulnerable among us. Here are some of the critical actions currently being taken:
|
|
Lift to Rise
Lift to Rise
is working with community and government partners across the Coachella Valley to create an emergency economic preparation and protection plan for the Coachella Valley region. Their goal is to connect all eligible families and residents to every currently available form of public assistance in order to keep our neighbors housed, fed, healthy, and secure. Read about the plan
here
.
|
|
Leaders Up
Young people of color from low-income households will likely be among the hardest hit Americans as a result of COVID-19. To address this issue,
LeadersUp
is leveraging digital tools to continue providing career coaching, professional development, and connections between employers and young people seeking work. At the same time, many young adults lack digital connectivity, an issue that has become more serious as professional development resources move online. Read what Leaders Up is doing to support young people around COVID-19
here
.
|
|
Microsoft
Microsoft's Family Learning Center
provides an array of safe and simple, family-led learning experiences for ages 3 to 12. This collection of free activities, curated out of educational resources from around the world, encourages families to Learn, Do and Share. Check out their activities, learning schedules and more
here
.
|
|
Every January, the Los Angeles County Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) conducts a count of the number of people experiencing homelessness in LA County. From 2018 to 2019, the number of people experiencing homelessness in the City of LA rose by
16%
to 36,165. In 2019,
30%
of the City’s entire homeless population were women. Women experiencing homelessness face a unique set of challenges that require extra consideration including mental and physical health as well as safety.
|
|
|
|
San Diego freezes tenant evictions linked to coronavirus as landlords plead for help
San Diego Union Tribune -
wr
itten by
Joshua Emerson Smith
|
|
|
|
Staying home slows the coronavirus, but what if you're homeless?
The Texas Tribune - written by Alex Samuels and Carrington Tatum
|
|
|
|
As Council Heads to Chambers Today, a Plea that It Abandon the Do-No-Harm-to-Landlords Doctrine
|
Streets Blog LA - written by Sahra Sulaiman
|
|
|
|
Empowering communities toward a more equitable criminal justice system
|
Microsoft - written by Merisa Heu-Weller, Director of Microsoft’s Criminal Justice Reform Initiative
|
|
|
|
Westside Together – The Intersection of Womanhood and Homelessness
|
Santa Monica Daily Press - written by
Danielle Roman and Vicky Arenas, The People Concern
|
|
The USC Price Center for Social Innovation develops ideas and illuminates strategies to improve the quality of life for people in low-income urban communities.
|
|
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CENTER
Contact Megan Goulding, Director of External Relations, at (213) 821-1761 or
[email protected]
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
