In the laundry room of White River Estates in Hesperia, Michigan, the colors are in the baskets that sit on top of the washing machines. They're also on the wall, thanks to a new mural project meant to bring people together. The project, painted by local artist Renae Wallace, draws on in the rural community's river and surroundings. 

One valuable tip for counselors to share with clients opting for a disaster-related mortgage forbearance? Keep a careful log of the people you talk to, say Jen Harris and Patty Brown, trainers for "Foreclosure Intervention Services During Disaster Recovery," a course hosted during the NeighborWorks Virtual Training Institute (Aug. 17-21).

When the new residents came to Manchester, New Hampshire – from Nepal, from Somalia, from Sudan, from Bhutan – they wanted to farm, growing food that would allow them to be self-sufficient in their new home. Some of them lived in apartments, with no gardening space. The Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success (ORIS) found them that space. And since 2011, farmers have grown and sold crops through Fresh Start Farms.

Cleartech Group, an IT solutions business in Leominster, was named the Small Business Administration's Minority Owned Small Business of the Year for the state of Massachusetts. Tony Fields, a veteran who opened Cleartech in 2017, says his business received the award because of his growth, customer service and dedication to community service. 

Some years, hurricane season is marked by one or two major storms that make headlines across the country. Some years, it's marked by smaller storms that disrupt fewer lives. But every year, the Red Cross encourages residents to be prepared.

No matter the time of year or the area of the country, when disasters strike, lives are transformed. Every disaster is uniquely painful to the people it displaces. Hurricanes don't have much in common with wildfires; earthquakes don't resemble floods. But all disasters, natural and manmade, destroy homes and livelihoods. Another commonality: cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all approaches don't work to cope with them.