By Matt Josephs, Senior Vice President for Policy

Matt Josephs, LISC senior vice president for policy, takes a look at the president’s State of the Union address and what it might mean for efforts to bridge gaps in health, wealth and opportunity throughout the country.

In this episode, LISC's Interim CEO & President, Lisa L. Glover, interviews LISC board member, Michelle de la Uz who is also the Executive Director of the Fifth Avenue Committee in Brooklyn, NY. The conversation highlights the work of the Fifth Avenue Committee around COVID, environmental initiatives and climate change, community advocacy, and affordable housing. It’s a great conversation that celebrates the importance of community partnerships in an ever-changing urban landscape.

By Anna R. Hurt

On a post-hurricane assessment visit to Puerto Rico, LISC Rural program officer Anna Hurt learned that baseball fields around the island are more than just a place for a game, they are a vital resource that brings the neighborhood together and boosts local economies. Damage to community fields is still deeply felt throughout the island. In this blog, Anna shares the value of bringing sports and recreation into the disaster recovery discussion and the launch of Play Ball Again, a new initiative to revive 25 fields for 17,500 boys and girls across Puerto Rico. Last week, LISC celebrated the opening of two such fields, with support from Maestro Cares Foundation, Good Bunny Foundation, UNICEF USA, and Chicago Cubs Charities, and showed how communities like the one where Ana lives come together for the love of the game, and one another.

by Suzanne Anarde

When natural disasters strike—as they increasingly have—there are profound differences between response and recovery in rural areas and urban ones. On the eve of the annual Rural LISC seminar (this year in Monticello, New York, June 4-7), vice president and Rural LISC director Suzanne Anarde published an article in Shelterforce about helping community-based organizations better respond when disaster hits, boost rural resilience, and support communities in preparing before disasters befall them.