The Café That's Upending Capitalism

Surreal Estates, a tiny housing community in a city block, gives creatives a place to own homes and studios near like-minded people.

The Peniel Foundation virtually connects people with disabilities with mentors to help them learn to achieve their goals, level up their career skills to access to better jobs and become financially independent. Since forming, the foundation has seen thousands join the program and go on to have great success in their careers and personal lives.

Fearing that consistent homophobic street harassment by a resource center for queer youth was detrimental to their mental health and safety, activists set up a weekly counter protest to drown out the harmful messages. The counter-protest grew from a single person to the Pride Corner on Whyte movement with several hundred social media followers. Over time, the participation of dozens of unhoused and housed queer and trans youth provided opportunities for social service outreach, including a mentorship program that paired youth with older queer and trans participants who offer friendship and emotional support.

A Lithuanian organization is helping neurodiverse applicants gain a foothold in the job market by tailoring the hiring process to their needs. Despite have the necessary skills, neurodiverse applicants often face roadblocks in the hiring process that fail to highlight their skills and abilities. Specialisterne is changing that.

Little by little, some companies in Costa Rica are managing to improve their policies and treatment towards LGBTQIQ+ clients. The trainings of the Diverse Chamber have been key in achieving this impact, despite many limitations in the country.

In order to stay connected during the onset of the pandemic, Time Out Youth Center in Charlotte, South Carolina, resorted to technology to stay connected with its clients, youth who identify as LGBTQIA. Part of their approach included using Discord, a free voice, video and messaging service which allowed the center's clients and counselors interact regardless of their location.

Members of a local Black, LGBTQ+ community joined together with Chicago's COVID Rapid Response team to bring COVID-19 vaccinations to the city's Black and Latino LGBTQ+ population — a group that is severely lagging behind the general population in terms of vaccination rates.

The Sickle Cell Aid Foundation teaches tech skills to those with sickle cell anemia to increase their employability and spearhead an inclusive tech industry. Since launching, the organization has trained and graduated 20 individuals with coding skills.

Mexico’s first official shelter for former trans sex workers, Casa Hogar Paola Buenrostro, provides residents with tools trans women cannot typically access such as health care, education, and job training.

Worker-owned cooperative restaurants are giving employees ownership of, and a voice in, their workplace while removing the single-person dependency of the traditional restaurant structure.