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You Said It

The Ripple Effect of a Meal: How Food Restores Dignity in Times of Crisis

In moments of crisis, healing often begins with something simple: a warm meal, a quiet space, the sense that someone sees you. For those navigating homelessness, trauma, or identity-based marginalization, even these basic comforts are often out of reach. But when they are made available — intentionally, consistently, and with care — they can be […]

by Marisol Leos
5 hours ago

Ballet 5:8’s BIOS Project Transforms Real Women’s Stories Into Powerful New Dance Works

When Ballet 5:8 launched the BIOS Project, they didn’t start with music. Or costumes. Or a theme. They started with a question: What happens when we actually listen?  Not just politely. Not in passing. But fully. With time. With no plan to fix, redirect, or explain away what we hear.  The invited four women choreographers […]

by Julianna Rubio Slager
1 week ago

This Single Tree Can Fight Hunger, Poverty, and Climate Change — All at Once

When I first met Pierre Moise Louis in Jérémie, Haiti, 15 years ago, he had just finished university. Determined to help his family and his country, Louis had one goal: to build a business around breadfruit. He saw this humble, starchy fruit not just as a food staple, but as a solution to hunger, to […]

by Mary McLaughlin
2 weeks ago

Chicago’s Diaper Crisis Worsens as Thousands Lose Access to a Basic Necessity

Chicago is in the midst of a silent crisis — one that affects thousands of its youngest residents every day. Families across the city are struggling to afford diapers, a basic but essential need for children. With diaper costs having soared by nearly 50 percent since the pandemic, and families facing cuts to Medicaid and […]

by Share Our Spare
2 weeks ago

More Schools Are Embedding Mental Health Care on Campus — Here’s Why It Works

Imagine being 12 years old, lying awake all night while your parents scream at each other, break things, and slam doors. Your father is drunk and raging. You’re terrified someone might get hurt — or worse. You huddle with your siblings, trying to keep them safe.  When morning comes, your mom has a black eye, […]

Elementary school teacher huddling with a group of kids in a library. Male educator motivating his students in a primary school. Academic motivation and mentorship.
by Gail Weil, LCSW, CADC
2 weeks ago
Aerial View Over Houses in Wicker Park Revealing Chicago Loop Skyline

This Free Program Is Teaching Chicago Residents How to Have a Voice in Urban Planning

To many, urban planning feels like a mystery — something happening in the background until one day you wake up and that vacant corner lot is suddenly a coffee shop. As an architect working in city planning for most of my career, I know how these decisions get made. For the average resident in a […]

by Eleanor Esser Gorski
July 29, 2025

A Silent Crisis Is Undermining Global Food Security — These Scientists Have a Solution

Access to nutritious food is one of the most basic and important human rights. Yet, more than 700 million people faced hunger in 2023. A staggering 35 percent of the global population, equivalent to 2.8 billion people, experience “hidden hunger,” which is more than restricted access to food, but the lack of adequate nutrition.  Many […]

by Diana Horvath
July 24, 2025
Black and white sad woman holding the curtains open to look out of a large light window at home.

Hidden Barriers Keep Domestic Violence Survivors Trapped — Legal Aid Provides a Path to Safety

What does a domestic violence victim look like?  They look like your neighbor, your co-worker, or even a close family member. They look like Elena.  Elena, a mother of two young children and an undocumented immigrant, is a domestic violence victim. She has lived with David, the father of her children, for nine years. After […]

by Carmen McDonald
July 10, 2025
One Book at a Time: How a Harlem Literacy Project Is Advancing Equity for Underserved Kids

One Book at a Time: How a Harlem Literacy Project Is Advancing Equity for Underserved Kids

As a child growing up in New York City, I could always find escape and comfort in books. I didn’t know it then, but those stories would become my compass, guiding me through adversity, identity, and inequality. Today, as the founder of Read It and Leave It, I work to offer that same compass to […]

by Miosha Randolph-Johnson
July 1, 2025

Healing from Within: How One Chicago Church Is Addressing Gun Violence at Its Roots

In West Garfield Park, a square-mile Chicago neighborhood that has seen nearly 1,000 shootings throughout the past five years — roughly one every other day — young people live in a constant state of fear. They watch over their shoulders, wary not only of those called to protect and serve but also of each other. […]

by MAAFA
June 10, 2025
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