Kentucky residents are overcoming barriers, improving incomes – and working on improving financial and other outcomes –  through New Directions' I Rise, the nonprofit's take on a national self-help program geared toward helping residents break the cycle of poverty and move out of subsidized housing.

Nana Asantewa has lived in the same house in Louisville, Kentucky, for more than 50 years. But recently, edema hindered her mobility, especially when navigating her clawfoot bathtub.

Nana Asantewa has lived in the same house in Louisville, Kentucky, for more than 50 years. But recently, edema hindered her mobility, especially when navigating her clawfoot bathtub.

Chef Space, a Community Ventures kitchen incubator, wanted to find a simple way to help the community. They started by collecting food for residents when COVID-19 was at its peak. This summer, once they learned students were going back to school in person, they decided to help them with the supplies they needed for the school year. While backpacks may not have been a necessity last year with kids at home, they are now.

Creative placemaking, or placekeeping, is essentially a resiliency tool. Normally in discussions of placemaking or placekeeping, the stress or disturbance communities face have to do with economic factors, like displacement due to shifting development, or sometimes even environmental factors. In 2020, placekeeping projects designed by organizations in the NeighborWorks cohort faced an unanticipated outlier: the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Ribbons of lights twinkle in silver and gold. Trees. Stars. A sleigh. The light display at Mustard Seed Hill attracted thousands of people last year, part of the plan to make the spot a destination. This year, organizers expect thousands of people again – masked and at a distance -- for the outdoor event they call "Christmas at Mustard Seed Hill." After all, light is something you can see from far away. Light brings hope. Plus, it's a good reminder for families that free, socially distanced activities still exist this season.

At their core, nonprofits are set up to help people. But in times like this, the need for help can be overwhelming. Here’s how two NeighborWorks organizations are working to meet the needs of their communities and the needs of their staffs.