Promising Practices
The Promising Practices database informs professionals and community members about documented approaches to improving community health and quality of life.
The ultimate goal is to support the systematic adoption, implementation, and evaluation of successful programs, practices, and policy changes. The database provides carefully reviewed, documented, and ranked practices that range from good ideas to evidence-based practices.
Learn more about the ranking methodology.
Filed under Effective Practice, Art & Recreation / Sports Recreation & Parks, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to provide positive recreational, cultural, and educational activities for young people and adults in New York neighborhoods.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment
Goal: The goal of this program is to help high-risk youth develop marketable skills and to instill in students the values of dignity, responsibility and community.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Civic Engagement, Children, Teens
Goal: The intent of this program is to provide each student with at least 12 years of training in how to manage conflicts constructively and thereby significantly change the way they manage their conflicts for the rest of their lives.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Adults, Urban
Goal: The mission of The Fortune Society is to support successful reentry form prison and promote alternatives to incarceration, thus strengthening the fabric of our communities.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Urban
Goal: PHG works to eliminate homelessness and stabilize homeless and very low-income people in housing by preserving, developing and operating safe, decent, affordable housing, and by providing opportunities for homeless and very low-income people to improve their lives.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes
Goal: The mission of this organization is to provide services for eligible citizens that alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty, promote upward mobility, and enrich the quality of life.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Transportation, Adults, Families
Goal: TransForm aims to create world-class public transportation and walkable communities in the Bay Area and beyond.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Public Safety, Children, Urban
Goal: The goal of the TARGET program is to reduce gang crime by selectively incarcerating the most violent and repeat (recidivist) gang offenders (based on their criminal records).
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Urban
Goal: The goals of Uniting for Solutions Beyond Shelter are:
- To reduce street homelessness and the shelter population by two-thirds in five years.
- To eliminate chronic, or long-term, homelessness on City streets and shelters in five years.
The plan's objectives include initiatives to better serve individuals and families who are at-risk of homelessness or who become homeless, as well as ensure that the City and its citizens are maximizing public resources. The plan has nine points - encompassing 60 initiatives - that seek to:
- Overcome street homelessness
- Prevent homelessness
- Coordinate discharge planning
- Coordinate city services and benefits
- Minimize disruption to homeless families and children
- Minimize duration of homelessness
- Shift resources into preferred solutions
- Provide resources for vulnerable populations to access and afford housing
- Measure progress, evaluate success, and invest in continuous quality improvement.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / School Environment, Children, Urban
Goal: The incomparable resources of these institutions offer a unique "urban advantage" to New York City students, and enhance middle schools' capacity to achieve science education goals. Student investigations at QBG and partner institutions lead to exciting questions that culminate in Exit Projects and give firsthand knowledge of how scientists work in various fields.