Finding solutions.
Driving change.
Together.
Finding solutions.
Driving change.
Together.
Our Mission
The New York & Michigan Solutions Journalism Collaborative (NYMI SOJO) is a group of news, academic and community organizations pooling time, talent and resources to cover chronic problems in our communities with a solutions lens. It is modeled on other successful news collaboratives supported by the Solutions Journalism Network.
We work to report on and reflect the diverse communities we serve. We launched in 2020 with one initiative: solutions journalism on caregiving. Our inaugural project, Invisible Army: Caregiving on the Front Lines, has produced rigorous reporting on successful responses to challenges experienced by caregivers and older adults. We are expanding our coverage area to include health equity, or the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. We are raising money for resources to help us produce these stories.
Stories from the collaborative
Caregiving
Ending Well – Caregivers and their loved ones planning for the future
By Marty Fischhoff First of two-part series: Financial Concerns They are not easy conversations for caregivers to have with their loved ones. They deal with sensitive subjects – like health and wealth, life and death, wills and trusts. Ultimately, they mean...
A couple’s caregiving challenges are near the breaking point
Linda Cline takes care of her husband, Randy, who was paralyzed after a bicycle accident. Bill Kubota, a senior producer with Detroit PBS, visited the Clines and talked with them about how their lives have been upended. They’ve faced emotional, physical and financial challenges related to caregiving. “I feel like I’m failing sometimes, and mostly, I take it out on him,” Linda said. “Physically, I take care of him perfectly, but emotionally, I’m a mess.”
Whitmer proposes more money for Michigan’s aging crisis. Is it enough?
Michigan underfunds services for the elderly compared to other states. That’s a red flag for a state with a fast-aging population.
Maternal & Infant Health
Are cash for moms programs a new way to help deliver millions from poverty?
As Brionna Miller and her boyfriend prepared for their second child early last year, a letter arrived from their landlord, who had just sold the house where they lived. “We had 30 days to get out,” Miller said. “It caused a lot of stress, including on my pregnancy.”...
Guaranteed income programs draw praise, political fire as momentum grows
Guaranteed income turned into a movement during the pandemic, which involved philanthropic donors and nonprofits focused on the nation’s most vulnerable.
How one Michigan nonprofit looks to reverse Indigenous maternal mortality rates
A growing number of Native-led nonprofits are confronting the startlingly high maternal mortality rates through doulas, midwives, lactation consultants and parenting coaches.
This pediatrician thinks cash can lift moms, babies from poverty
She sounded the alarm on the Flint water crisis. Now, Dr. Mona Hanna is tackling maternal and infant poverty.
Health Equity
Crush of retirees a crisis in Michigan. State is unprepared to meet their needs.
Michigan spends more than many states and gets less in return on services for older adults. The problems will worsen.
Affected − but not defined − by muscular dystrophy: ‘We’re all the same, even if we don’t look like it’
Suneel Ram was the subject of a comic novel about living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare genetic disorder.
Duchenne caregivers have learned to focus on the person, not the disability
Caregivers share what they have learned while caring for a 28-year-old who was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy at age 3.
Not your grandpa’s senior center: Besides bingo, there’s bodybuilding and speed dating
Centers expand, evolve and rebrand to fit the new needs of a growing population of older adults.
Tools and Resources
Caregiving Coverage Language Guide
If you’re new to writing about caregiving, or just want help with avoiding ageist, unflattering or offensive language, here are a set of guidelines.
Caregiving Resource Guide
Our Partners
