Asset building

Resources from Ascend at The Aspen Institute

Federal safety net programs are intended to protect the most vulnerable Americans—such as the elderly, people with severe disabilities and young children.

Housing is at the epicenter of all opportunities and outcomes. It is the first rung on the ladder to economic opportunity, and a person’s access to opportunity is linked with that of their community.

Asset-based community development (ABCD) is a large and growing movement that considers local assets as the primary building blocks of community development, social capital, and health and well-being.

Because mental health conditions can negatively affect employment, people with these conditions make up a large share of federal disability program participants.

The employment social enterprise (ESE) model can provide an opportunity to create a financially viable business that helps individuals with employment barriers become integrated into the labor force. This research studied eight ESEs.

The venture is a small yet innovative player in a growing number of nonprofits developing new models for work force training. Their overarching goal is upward mobility for low-income Americans and the two-thirds of workers without four-year college degrees.

We beef up law enforcement to attack crime, devote more funding to try and improve inadequate schools and tackle health disparities by getting more people to the doctor. But what if Baltimore could solve all of its persistent social problems by getting rid of poverty?

As a result of decades of legalized discrimination in the housing industry, huge racial disparities in homeownership still exist today. This is not acceptable in a country founded on equal opportunity.

In 2016, the health system teamed with Spartanburg Community College and the National Center for Construction Education and Research, a nonprofit that provides global training and certification. Together, the three entities began offering construction skills training to area residents.