There's a growing divide between those who can access services digitally – like education, work and health care -- and those who can't. The issue is top-of-the-mind for housing practitioners, who often work with the very individuals that the divide is hurting the most. Some NeighborWorks network organizations are already working on solutions, such as setting up hotspots and working WiFi into their future projects. 

Nationwide, there are nearly 40,000 homeless U.S. veterans. NeighborWorks network organizations are working to reduce that number. One of those organizations is Southwest Solutions. 

 It's the leafy greens and peaches that residents go for the most this time of year, shares Carly Sanders, food program director for NeighborImpact. She's talking about the fresh produce that comes from a partnership between the NeighborWorks network organization and High Desert Food and Farm Alliance (HDFFA). The HDFFA matches farmers who have extra produce with NeighborImpact's food bank. 

In Aurora, too many households – 1 in 6 – have zero net-worth, says Rick Guzman, CEO of The Neighbor Project (TNP), a NeighborWorks network organization. His nonprofit formed in 2018 to do something about it, with a focus on helping low- to moderate-income individuals build financial health and wealth. Much of this takes place through the newly formed Aurora Financial Empowerment Center. Now in its second year of operation, the center has already served 672 families. 

Pensacola Habitat for Humanity, a NeighborWorks network organization in Florida, has instituted a new weatherization program. WRAP (Weatherization & Repair Assistance Program) will use funds from Gulf Power to provide subsidized loans for low-income families who need critical home repairs.

Cleo Jones' home in Birmingham, Alabama's Finley subdivision needed some work. He'd saved up for

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.

When Carmella Selifis started kindergarten this August, she was ready. She knew how to recognize her name. She knew how to stand in line. She had listened to The Very Hungry Caterpillar and had seen caterpillars turn to butterflies in real life. "She was fully ready and excited," says her mother, Karly Kumo Selifis.