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The Best Positive News We’re Celebrating This Week —

After one year of its new initiative, a Colorado city no longer has any homeless veterans living on the street

In 2023, the mayor of Denver, Colorado launched the All In Mile High initiative to reduce all homelessness in the city. Specifically, the program prioritized ending veteran “street homelessness.”

Street homelessness refers to when someone lives on the streets or in other places not intended for human habitation, with no safe or sheltered place to go at night.

In addition to sheltering more than 2,200 people experiencing homelessness, as of December 19, 2024, the city officially ended street homelessness among veterans.

Why is this good news? Veteran homelessness is a pervasive problem in America; On a single night in January 2024, over 32,000 veterans were experiencing homelessness across the country. Denver’s initiative offers a blueprint for others to follow — to provide this basic need for those who have sacrificed so much.

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Most violent crime rates have fallen back to pre-pandemic levels in the U.S.

In 2024, the number of homicides across the United States declined by 16%, continuing a recent downward trajectory. The year prior, in 2023, criminal homicide was down by 11.6%, the largest single-year decline in two decades.

That drop means there were 631 fewer homicides in the 29 cities that provided data so far. If the data stays consistent as more jurisdictions report their data, 2024 would be among the largest single-year drops in homicides since at least 1960.

Despite this encouraging progress, 56% of Americans believe that crime has increased nationally or see it as an “extremely” or “very” serious problem — though that concern has decreased in the last year, too.

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In “a historic win,” a Scottish court just ruled that the UK government’s approval of a giant new oilfield was unlawful

In 2023, the previous UK government approved the Rosebank development on the UK’s largest untapped oilfield. Now, a court in Edinburgh has ruled the approval was unlawful for not taking into account the project’s resulting carbon emissions.

Climate activists had long been advocating as part of a campaign to stop Rosebank, and scientists celebrated the decision as “a historic win” for climate action.

If the development wants to move forward, it has to account for the damage it would cause from burning oil and gas extracted from the oilfield.

Why is this good news? The International Energy Agency has repeatedly asserted that no new oil and gas exploration can happen if we’re to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius — scientists agree that limit will prevent the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.

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The 119th U.S. Congress is the most racially and ethnically diverse in history

In the most recent U.S. Congress, 139 total senators and representatives identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian American, or Native American. In the last two decades, that number has nearly doubled.

In the House of Representatives chamber, 28% of members are Black, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American. There are also five multiracial members, including Florida Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost.

In the Senate, 16 members are racial or ethnic minorities, which is up from 12 in the previous Congress. And notably, two Black women are serving simultaneously in the Senate for the first time in U.S. history.

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Iowa’s first hotel conversion to supportive housing for chronically homeless residents is opening next month

In Des Moines, Iowa, a former Days Inn is in its final stages of renovation and will soon reopen as The Monarch Apartments: an affordable housing project with supportive services for adults and couples recovering from chronic homelessness.

It will be the first “hotel conversion to Permanent Supportive Housing” in the state and it will also have 24-hour on-site supportive services like case managers, live-in peer staff, and more.

Future residents of the apartments’ 40 fully-furnished units will be referred by Primary Health Care, the county’s entry point for people who are unsheltered, meaning they don’t have a place to sleep at night.

Why is this good news? Built on the Housing First model, The Monarch Apartments aims to meet people’s immediate needs, so they can go on to take care of the other challenges in their lives: “Housing is hope, and housing is healthcare, and housing is the foundation for people being able to do more with their lives on an every-single-day basis.”

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Efficient, emission-free heat pumps outsold gas furnaces in the U.S. by a larger margin than ever last year

During the first 11 months of 2024, people in the U.S. bought 37% more air-source heat pumps than gas furnaces, the second-most popular heating appliance.

That figure shatters the 21% lead heat pumps had in 2023.

While it’s important to note that sometimes multiple heat pumps are required to replace a single fossil fuel-powered appliance, the figures still show a clear momentum for the “greener” alternative — and it’s no surprise why.

Essentially two-way air conditioners that can both heat and cool, electric heat pumps have comfort, climate, and health benefits. They are three to four times as efficient as fossil fuel alternatives, are one of the most effective ways an individual can reduce emissions, and can save money.

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To combat teacher shortages, a school district in North Carolina’s most expensive city is building housing for its educators

Charlotte is the most expensive city in North Carolina, and teachers have an especially hard time finding affordable housing. In response, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools launched the “At Home in CMS” initiative to retain and gain more teachers.

The district faced nearly 300 vacancies in 2024 — and in a survey, it found that 61% of teachers said housing may impact their ability to keep working with CMS. Half of the respondents said they spent more than 50% of their monthly income on rent and utilities.

This new program will offer apartments at below-rate rent and homeownership opportunities for teachers — eventually building its own housing development.

Why is this good news? A separate study last year found that teachers are unable to afford housing in many metropolitan areas, which has exacerbated staffing challenges at school districts across the country, increased eviction fillings, and exceeded the record number of people unhoused.

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Vacant schools are being transformed into community centers, providing life-changing resources to thousands of low-income families

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A group of quilters in Canada is about to donate its two thousandth quilt to a person in need

Through a long-running program called Comfort Quilt, a group of quilters in Ontario called the “Stitches from the Heart Quilt Guild” is about to donate its 2,000th quilt to a person in need.

The guild makes quilts for new residents at a long-term care home in Sault Ste. Marie to help give them some extra comfort so they “know that they’re not alone.”

The group also makes quilts for the Twinkie Foundation, which works to support children in the community traveling to southern Ontario for medical care.

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🪡 One more for the quilting fans: Transgender fiber artists are using quilts to tell their stories.

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The Grammys and FireAid benefit concert events are expected to raise over $120 million for LA wildfire relief

With funds from ticket sales, sponsorships, merchandise sales, and public donations, proceeds raised from the FireAid benefit concert on January 30 exceeded $100 million to benefit wildfire recovery in Los Angeles.

More than 50 million viewers across 28 streaming platforms tuned in to the FireAid benefit concert last week, which featured performances from Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Dave Grohl, and more.

Meanwhile, Grammys-related events and the Grammys live broadcast raised an estimated $24 million for wildfire recovery — both from event guests and from the public.

Why is this good news? While the fires in the area are now 100% contained, the long road to recovery begins. Early estimates say these could be the costliest wildfires in U.S. history at between $135 billion and $150 billion. While these fundraising efforts seem small in comparison — every little bit really does add up to make a big difference in helping people recover.

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A bicyclist in London created a 700-person network of volunteers who hand-deliver donations to the homeless

Since 2014, graphic designer-turned-philanthropist Verral Paul Walcott has been using his platform to coordinate hundreds of thousands of donations from schools, libraries, and households and deliver them to unhoused neighbors.

Today, Walcott’s volunteer network is 700 cyclists strong. Through his social media platform, Walcott coordinates Amazon wish lists for his homeless neighbors and then alerts fellow volunteers of drop-off locations in their area.

The wish list — which anyone can view and help purchase online to aid in donation — runs the gamut of first aid kits, ready-to-eat meals, chapstick, hats, and toilet paper rolls.

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More good news of the week —

​“A major immunological breakthrough,” a new cell therapy is raising hope for curing type 1 diabetes. For the first time, a patient with type 1 diabetes has undergone an islet transplantation using genetically modified insulin-producing cells that do not require immunosuppressive drugs.

​Often criticized for their energy use, a data center in Switzerland will heat 6,000 homes with recycled energy. The Geneva-based center has been recovering 100% of the energy it uses since November, and it hopes to point to a greener way to operate in the industry.

​A mountain peak in New Zealand was just granted the same legal rights as a person. Taranaki Mounga and its surrounding peaks will become the country’s third natural feature in the country to gain the same rights, duties, and protections as individuals.

​For the first time in two decades, the U.S. FDA just approved a new, non-opioid pain medication. The agency is prioritizing the development of non-opioid treatments, and the drug company behind it says it can be used for many times and degrees of pain and has shown no evidence that it’s addictive.

​Jelly Roll and special guests hosted a benefit concert for 16,000 of LA’s incarcerated firefighters and first responders. Live Nation covered the costs of the show and helped ensure that all of the emergency responders could enjoy a night of entertainment and gratitude, as the fires were finally contained just last week.

​A new $35 billion project is working to bring electricity to 300 million people in Africa via solar microgrids in the next 6 years. (Gift link) Outlined at the “Mission 300 Summit,” the project will be the biggest burst of spending on electric power generation in Africa’s history — and it will have significant climate benefits, too.

Thanks to conservation efforts, India doubled its tiger population in a decade. The efforts have included protecting the big cats from poaching and habitat loss, ensuring they have enough prey, reducing human-wildlife conflict, and increasing communities’ living standards near tiger areas.

​Advocates are celebrating an “important victory” that will conserve and enhance national parks and national landscapes in England. It came after a train station expanded a parking lot that restricted access to an ancient pilgrimage path and harmed habitats, putting pressure on the government’s legal duty to protect areas of outstanding natural beauty.

​The world’s smallest heart pump saved a child's life — and now it's been approved by the FDA for more young patients. The Impella 5.5 “does all the work” to help blood circulate — and it kept now 21-year-old Katrina Penney alive while she waited for a heart transplant.

Hundreds of endangered fish were rescued from waterways damaged by the Los Angeles-area wildfires. A removal of more than 250 endangered southern steelhead trout took place at Topanga Creek in a rescue operation led by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

​Four new UK laws will address the threat of child sexual abuse images generated by artificial intelligence. When the laws pass, the UK will be the first country in the world to make it illegal to possess, create, or distribute AI tools or manuals that are designed to create child sexual abuse material.

​For the first time ever, three endangered Bengal tiger cubs were spotted on camera in a Thai national park. Park rangers initially spotted a single cub with its mother on a camera trap last year, but new footage retrieved from damaged cameras confirmed it’s a litter of three.

​In a “remarkable” rewilding project in Scotland, a bumblebee population is 116 times bigger than it was two years ago. In 2021, just 35 bumblebees were counted in Denmarkfield, and a 90-acre project has been working to restore nature to green spaces in an increasingly built-up area to restore the population

​A global team of researchers made a breakthrough extrachromosomal DNA discovery that could revolutionize cancer research. The researchers discovered the fundamental role played by ecDNA in the spread and relapse of cancer, and it could be the main target of new, effective treatments.

​A mechanical engineer in Lebanon created a chatbot that simplified access to much-needed aid for displaced people in the country. Specifically to help people who weren't directly receiving support from the government Hania Zaatari created the “aidbot” to narrow the gap between the demand and supply of aid.