Impact Labs

Are we moving the needle on key issues like fair labor and housing? California’s ballots tell a story worth exploring 🔎 From LGBTQ+ rights 🏳️🌈 to housing reforms 🏡 and climate resilience 🍃, the latest election results reveal a mix of progress and setbacks. What passed, what failed, and what it means for our communities — let’s dive in 📖. Read the full article here 👉🏾 https://lnkd.in/eiQa56zD

🏘️ Racial steering continues to happen every day in the USA, often shaping the neighborhoods we live in. But what does it really look like, and what can we do to stop it? ⚠️ Read the slides below to learn more about this subtle yet harmful and discriminatory practice! And if you care about supporting impactful action towards the housing crisis in San Francisco, don’t forget to check out our Housing and Shelter Fund 👉🏾 https://lnkd.in/e6z4zCNA #impactlabs #racialsteering #housingcrisis #fairhousing #donatenow #nonprofit #sanfranciscobayarea

⚠️ This is why millions are at risk under Trump’s healthcare proposal. Healthcare is EVERYBODY’s business! 🏥 Trump's "concepts of a plan" threatens to reverse progress and his proposal aims to dismantle key parts of the Affordable Care Act while segregating individuals with pre-existing conditions—a strategy reminiscent of pre-ACA policies widely criticized as unfair and ineffective. Let’s look into Trump's "risk pool” proposal 👀 and why this outdated healthcare model has raised concerns. 💡 How do "Risk Pools" work? Risk pools separate individuals based on health status, grouping those with pre-existing conditions into separate insurance markets. The idea is to lower premiums for healthy individuals, but historically, this approach has left high-risk individuals paying more or receiving less coverage. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Hiltzik calls this model a "scam," highlighting that pre-ACA, insurers often denied coverage or charged exorbitant premiums to those with pre-existing conditions. 📜 Risk Pools: A History of Failure Before the ACA, 35 states tried using risk pools, but the results were bleak. For example, California’s risk pool initially covered only 10,000 of the 300,000 eligible participants due to underfunding. Maine’s program, while better funded, still struggled with sustainability and provided less comprehensive coverage. ⚖️ Key Arguments For and Against Risk Pools Pros: ✅ Potentially lower premiums for healthy individuals. Cons: ❌ History of failure. ❌ Underestimation of the affected population. ❌ Potential for discrimination and higher costs for those with pre-existing conditions. 💡 How Does This Differ from the ACA? 1️⃣ The ACA ensures coverage for all, regardless of health status, while risk pools would segregate based on pre-existing conditions. 2️⃣ The ACA mandates essential health benefits for all, offering more comprehensive options than risk pools. 3️⃣ The ACA includes subsidies and Medicaid expansion to improve affordability, while risk pools might rely on less effective block grants, potentially leaving many uninsured. As healthcare remains a critical issue in this election, it’s essential to understand the implications of these proposals. #Healthcare #ACA #RiskPools #Trump

Could Americans take a page from Zurich's playbook? 🇨🇭 New research by Elena Lutz and Simon C. Büchler examines the impact of upzoning on housing supply and rents at a micro-level within Zurich, Switzerland. But first things first, what’s ‘upzoning’? 🏘️ Upzoning is a change in zoning laws to allow for increased density and development in certain areas. It aims to boost housing supply in high-demand areas, which can help make homes more affordable. Lesson 1️⃣: Upzoning led to a 9% rise in living space and housing units over 5-10 years. Lesson 2️⃣: Larger upzonings are found to be much more effective than smaller ones in stimulating the housing supply. Lesson 3️⃣: Upzoning in areas where the current building limits are already maxed out leads to a much bigger increase in housing supply than in areas where the limits aren’t fully used. Lesson 4️⃣: Upzoning in areas with high rent tends to increase housing supply more than in areas with lower rent, but the difference isn’t statistically significant. Lesson 5️⃣: Upzoning in specific areas may not directly reduce local rents, suggesting broader citywide effects on housing affordability. Read the research paper here 👉🏾 https://lnkd.in/eiyZHtZx or read a Business Insider article covering the research here 👉🏾 https://lnkd.in/eTQNSWyi Which of the key takeaways did you find the most interesting? Let us know in the comments 💬 #AffordableHousing #Upzoning #Rent #HousingCrisis #Zurich

Last month, Kamala sparked a conversation around the housing crisis. While many pointed fingers at immigration, the real story behind the shortage is much more complex 🏘️🔎 Today, we’re investigating the actual factors driving the housing crisis—swipe to learn more! ➡️ #impactlabs #housingcrisis #affordablehousing #immigrationreform #housingshortage #sanfranciscobay

Tarjimly is looking for #KurdishSorani and #Igbo speaking volunteer translators! All you need to do to help is download their app 💬 #translatingforhumanity

Thank you Jake Carroll! ✊🏾

In light of the recent SCOTUS ruling against "camping" in public spaces, we're witnessing a rather troubling surge of encampment sweeps across the states. But how did this wave of anti-homelessness legislation begin? Let’s find out. Well, the origins of anti-homelessness laws in the USA can be traced back to colonial times and have evolved through various legal frameworks over the centuries. The criminalization of homelessness began with anti-vagrancy laws in the 18th and 19th centuries, which sought to control the movement and existence of "wanderers" or the poor. These laws aimed to control public resource use and maintain order by restricting the visibility of impoverished individuals in public areas 🌉 The mid-20th century saw the implementation of more structured welfare and housing policies 🏘 , such as the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, which aimed to provide support for homeless individuals. However, since the late 20th century, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s, there has been a marked increase in laws aimed at criminalizing homelessness. The types of anti-homelessness legislation vary and often include: 🚫 Bans on sleeping in public spaces 🚫 Disproportionate enforcement targeting marginalized communities 🚫 Public space "sweeps" displacing homeless individuals Consider that: 👉🏾 Phoenix conducted over 3,000 sweeps in 2022 alone 👉🏾 Seattle reported conducting over 2,800 sweeps in 2023 👉🏾 Las Vegas removed about 2,500 encampments through September 2023 What would it look like if all the budget, resources, and manpower used to execute these sweeps were instead channeled into human-centric and housing-first strategies? Sweeps are a controversial and ineffective approach to addressing homelessness in the U.S., often pushing affected individuals further to society's margins. While cities claim these actions are necessary for public order, their ethical implications and effectiveness are constantly challenged. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter 📧 and stay updated on news about housing and ways to support your community. If you care about supporting impactful action towards the homelessness crisis in the San Francisco Bay Area, don’t forget to check out our Housing and Shelter Fund! Learn more here 👀 https://lnkd.in/e6z4zCNA

🚨 Every day, language barriers create invisible borders for millions of refugees and displaced people worldwide. 🌍 With over 120 million forcibly displaced individuals, including 43.4 million refugees, communication gaps prevent access to essential services. 💬 56% of refugees struggle to understand critical information, and 76% of service providers report poor access to translation and interpretation. This leads to denied asylum, missed medical care, blocked educational opportunities, and unemployment. 📱 Tarjimly has done beautiful work, connecting almost 500k refugees with interpreters who speak their language via a mobile app. Their innovative approach has increased translator connection speed by 66%, affordability by 42%, and accessibility by 56% compared to traditional alternatives. 🌐 To date, Tarjimly has helped 494,900 refugees access critical services by translating 5.3 million words and interpreting 2.1 million minutes for 1,380 organizations across 144 countries. 🫂 Tarjimly is on a mission to make language a bridge, not a barrier. By extending access to critical services, they are not just changing lives—they are opening up a world of possibilities for refugees and displaced people globally. Discover how you can support Tarjimly through our funds: https://lnkd.in/eSrXmtSi #Tarjimly #translationservices #volunteers #interpreters #language

🏚 We know our current methods of addressing homelessness aren’t working for 2 reasons: 1️⃣ Since 2019, California has spent $24 billion on tackling homelessness. 2️⃣ California’s homeless population increased by 30,000 over that time period to 180,000 — and most of them are unsheltered. Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered California state officials to start dismantling thousands of homeless encampments. This was the nation’s most sweeping response to the recent Supreme Court ruling against sleeping in public areas. Sweeps, however, have never been proven to work. They are a method to temporarily “clean up” areas without ever addressing where these people will go or why they were there in the first place. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2023 expanded on the potential harms of the practice, concluding that “encampment sweeps, move-along orders and similarly styled clean-ups that forcibly relocate individuals can lead to an increase in life-threatening infections, hospitalizations and death”. And it is not the only study to conclude that. A study by the RAND Corporation also illustrated the limited effectiveness of sweeps. The research found that while dismantling encampments may temporarily clean up an area, it does little to reduce the overall homeless population in the long term. This cycle of clearing and displacement only adds to the instability faced by homeless individuals, making it even harder for them to access the services and support they need to transition into permanent housing. So how much more research and billions of investments will it take for the officials to start asking the right questions and structuring data-backed and long-term action plans? #homelessness #housingcrisis #sweeps #sanfrancisco