Good News This Week: February 15, 2025 - Flowers, Quilts, & Chefs
The Best Positive News We’re Celebrating This Week —
A Michelin-star chef opened the world’s first restaurant staffed entirely by people who have experienced homelessness
Michelin-starred chef Adam Simmonds’ London restaurant, Home Kitchen features some mouthwatering dishes — but it’s the staff that makes the restaurant really special.
In a world first, everyone in the fine-dining establishment — whether they are seating tables or chopping vegetables in the kitchen — has experienced homelessness. The restaurant aims to combat the “very flawed public perceptions of what it is to be homeless.”
And to set their employees up for success, every Home Kitchen staff member is given a living wage, a pre-paid travel card for transportation, and funds for a catering qualification.
Even more good: In addition to employing people who are chronically homeless, the restaurant itself is a nonprofit organization, which supports Soup Kitchen London’s mission to feed 150 people every day.
Experts in small-space living, IKEA built a tiny home for homeless seniors in Texas — specifically with ‘trauma-informed design’ in mind
The entire globe has likely already passed ‘peak air pollution’
Global emissions of pollutants like sulpher dioxide, which causes acid rain, nitrogen oxides, and black and organic carbon have likely already passed their peak.
Not only do these pollutants damage ecosystems, they’re also harmful to human health. But data shows emissions have peaked for almost all of them, and global air pollution is falling — that equates to lives and ecosystems saved all around the world.
While the trend varies by country, there is one notable exception: ammonia, which is primarily produced by agriculture.
Thanks to an influx of aid during the ceasefire, famine has been “largely averted” in Gaza
Thanks to more than 12,600 aid trucks that have entered Gaza since the ceasefire began on January 19, the United Nations humanitarian chief has confirmed that famine has been “largely averted.”
Part of the ceasefire agreement had Israel agreeing to allow 600 aid trucks into Gaza every day, which was a massive improvement compared to pre-ceasefire when aid was struggling to reach Gaza at all.
What’s the nuance? The first phase of the already unstable six-week ceasefire is halfway over, and the humanitarian chief also warned that the threat of famine could quickly be back if the ceasefire collapses or isn’t extended.
Volunteers knit a giant quilt of 1,000 blankets in memory of homeless people who died in the cold — and to advocate for a future without homelessness
Phone calls to congressional phone lines in the U.S. have increased by 4,000%
On a typical day in the U.S. Senate, senators receive around 40 calls a minute from constituents. Right now, they’re receiving around 1,600 a minute — a four thousand percent increase.
The calls were coming in so frequently, phone lines have been jammed and some offices are sending constituents right to voicemail to avoid them shutting down completely.
One senator reported that a majority of the calls were coming in response to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency gaining access to personal financial information through the Treasury Department’s federal payment system.
Members of Congress are even reassigning staff members to help answer phones to manage the influx of calls. One aide reported the volume was overwhelming — but also an encouraging sign that people were engaged enough and cared to make their voices heard.
📱 Be the good: You can (literally) join the call and make your voice heard too, check out our ultimate guide to contacting your elected officials.
Two professional women’s sports organizations are building the world’s first-ever dual-sport training facility
With the goal of being “the global epicenter of women’s sport,” the NWSL’s Portland Thorns FC and the new Portland WNBA franchise just announced a groundbreaking training facility — the first in the world to serve two professional women’s sports.
Situated on 12 acres, it will feature a 63,000-square-foot training facility, two full-sized soccer pitches, a strength training facility, a dining room with a full-time chef and nutritionist, private player parking and entry for security, and more.
Notably, the facility will also limit its environmental impact by repurposing an existing complex previously occupied by Nike.
Why is this good news? Investment of this caliber in women’s sports and athletics has been severely lacking. Women athletes are competing at the highest level — and should see the same investment in their skills, health, and safety as men. We’ve seen encouraging momentum — and it’s continuing.
An ‘eyesore’ motel transformed into colorful apartments for homeless families in Southern California — that vibrant design is both fun and purposeful
Detroit is on track to see the fewest homicides since 1965 and the fewest carjackings ever recorded
On crime rate lists, Detroit sits at the top for homicides — but that’s not the whole story. Making remarkable progress, in 2024, Detroit’s homicide rate plunged to its lowest level since 1966.
Through December 30, 2024, there were 202 homicides in the city — a 19.5% decrease from the 256 in 2023. That’s the lowest number since there were 188 in 1965.
Non-fatal shootings and overall violent crime in Detroit also dropped to the lowest levels in decades in 2024 — notably, non-fatal shootings dropped for the fifth consecutive year — though that encouraging downward trend was overshadowed by high-profile incidents.
Additionally, the city saw the fewest carjackings since the police department began tracking them in the 1990s. Officials credit years-long efforts to build bridges between law enforcement and the community, agency partnerships, and more.
The Trump administration killed a first-of-its-kind report on nature in the US — now 150 scientists are working to publish it independently
For the first time, more than 150 scientists came together to voluntarily spend thousands of hours compiling an assessment of nature in the U.S. — how lands, water, and wildlife are currently faring, are expected to change, and what that means for human beings.
After an executive order discontinued supporting that work, the scientists agreed they needed to continue to create the National Nature Assessment independently, adhering to the same rigorous standards required of any scientific study.
The authors, researching topics like “the dependence of the economy on nature” believe the assessment can help solve one of humanity’s most pressing issues: the loss of nature and biodiversity.
Why is this good news? A landmark global scientific assessment found that biodiversity (or the variety of life on Earth) is declining faster than at any time in human history. This assessment, once completed and published, will help provide a more complete picture of where the U.S. stands — and where we have important work to do.
“Joy is what will get people out of bed every day to take more action”: Drag queen and environmentalist PattieGonia’s inspiring TED Talk is now live
→ Watch now (or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts)
For the first time in recent history, female protagonists reached parity with men in 2024’s top-grossing films
According to two annual studies, the percentage of top-grossing films that featured female leading characters equaled the percentage of those with male leads for the first time in recent history.
Driven by films like “Wicked,” “Inside Out 2,” and “The Substance,” 42% of the top 100 domestic-grossing films last year had women protagonists, and 42% had men protagonists, a milestone in gender parity.
A third study found that 54% of the top 100 films at the box office last year featured girls and women as protagonists. That’s a significant jump from 2023, when just 30% of films featured women leads — and even more from when this study began in 2007, with just 20%
A nonprofit in New York is delivering flowers and gift baskets to widows and widowers on Valentine’s Day
This time last year, Hearts in Bloom Buffalo was delivering flower arrangements to 41 widows and widowers in the community to brighten their Valentine’s Day — this year, it’s more than doubling its impact.
The nonprofit’s founder Catherine Szabad saw the idea on social media, and wanted to bring it to her community, too. She assembles the arrangements and gift packages with the help of donations and volunteers.
This year, according to an update on the nonprofit’s GoFundMe, Szabad plans to deliver to more than 130 widows and widowers in the surrounding area.
Why is this good news? While it might seem like a small thing, the impact of Hearts in Bloom’s work really makes a difference. Szabad’s efforts celebrate love amidst loss, when others may have returned to “normal life” — but someone who experienced the loss hasn’t.
More good news of the week —
Vandalized in 2020 by the Proud Boys, a Black church in D.C. just gained the group’s trademark rights. The ruling, which came after the Proud Boys did not pay a $2.8 million judgment, allows the church to seize any money the group makes through “any sale, transfer, disposition, or license of the Proud Boys Trademark.”
Scheduled to become the site of a new prison, activists bought a former coal mine to rewild the land instead. The Appalachian Rekindling Project wants to rewild the site with bison and native flora and fauna, open it to intertribal gatherings, and, it hopes, stop the prison.
A new law in Brazil restricting students’ access to smartphones in school goes into effect this week. Most of Brazil’s 26 states and roughly two-thirds of all schools in the country had already applied some restrictions to phone use, but authorities struggled to enforce them due to the different rules between states and schools.
In lieu of cash, an app allows homeless people to request food, tools, clothes, and other helpful resources from passing neighbors. Instead of staying strangers, the Samaritan app shows you the backstories and “lore” of your local neighbors who are unhoused and informs you of their biggest needs.
On the “forefront of innovative agriculture,” a shipping container was transformed into an indoor farm that feeds immigrants for free. Village Hydroponics came out of the success of the founder’s other project, a mutual aid food distribution collective that supplies fresh, culturally relevant food to underserved communities in the area.
Unplugging from Russia, three Baltic states just joined the European Union’s electricity grid. In the works since 2007, plans for the move were seen as essential for European security and had been brought forward after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The largest solar cell factory in the U.S. is now open and operating in South Carolina. Reaching a capacity of 3 gigawatts later this year, the factory will be the largest producer of crystalline silicon solar cells in the country and employ around 500 local workers.
Amazon will pay nearly $4 million in a lawsuit accusing them of stealing tips from drivers. The settlement impacts Amazon Flex drivers, after the company allegedly used algorithmic data to determine a workers’ base pay on average tip amounts in the area.
For the first time in 185 years, the world’s smallest otter made a comeback in Nepal. Both Eurasian and smooth-coated otters are protected under the country’s Aquatic Animal Protection Act — so conservationists’ first step is to get this newly discovered otter on the list, too.
The earliest known opera created by a Black composer just officially debuted nearly 140 years later. Edmond Dédé composed Morgiane 138 years ago, but his racial identity prevented the opera from receiving proper staging — until this week, when it was debuted after the original manuscript was discovered in 2020.
When asked to draw a scientist, children in school are drawing women more than ever. Paralleling the growth in the actual number of women scientists, in the 1960s and 1970s, less than 1% of students drew scientists who looked like women — it reached an estimated 36% by 2016 (more than half when it’s girls doing the drawing).
The world’s first dog treats made from lab-grown meat are now on sale in the UK. The company behind the treats says it’s a step “toward a significant market for meat which is healthy, sustainable and kind to our planet and other animals.”
After a doctor was indicted in Louisiana, New York passed a law to shield the identities of doctors who prescribe abortion medications. The new law took effect immediately and allows doctors to request for their names to be left off abortion pill bottles and instead list the name of their healthcare practice.
A new AI method is improving early breast cancer detection, a key to improving treatment and survival rates. Published in a new study, the new method of blood screening, combined with AI, was able to detect stage 1A breast cancers with an accuracy of 90-100%.
A group of U.S. cities and counties are challenging the Trump administration’s executive order to crack down on so-called “sanctuary cities.” The executive order would force cities that have promised to take in migrants to cooperate with the administration’s immigration crackdown and mass deportations or have their federal funding revoked.
Sparking hope for marsupial conservation, scientists produce the world’s first kangaroo embryo through IVF. The “groundbreaking achievement” could be pivotal for Australia’s conservation efforts, given the country’s urgent need to protect its endemic species after having one of the world’s worst extinction records.
Brazil’s president vowed to fight illegal mining in the Amazon, and it brought an Indigenous tribe back from the brink of destruction. Two years after the president’s emergency operation began, the Yanomami tribe’s hunger and infant mortality rates are falling.
At animal shelters across the U.S., you can have a “Valentine's sleepover” with an adoptable dog or cat. Best Friends Animal Society shelters in select cities is coordinate snuggly slumber parties for potential foster parents and adopters to help them meet their perfect match.
Nearly 50 shelters across 27 states are planning Valentine’s Day “dog dates” to pair adoptable pups with potential adoptees. Participants receive a Chewy Date Kit with toys, treats, and even poop bags and shelters hope this playful “rent-a-dog” approach will help people fall in love with their ideal companion, or even inspire folks to foster.
For those feeling less of the love, wildlife refuges, zoos, and shelters are providing opportunities for cathartic revenge — and raising money for a good cause. A bird sanctuary in Alaska raised $18,000 which will help pay for salaries and care for the birds — the nonprofit rehabilitated 580 of them last year.