Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan
Joan and Sanford Weill HallOur action-based research focuses on partnerships, pilots, and large-scale programs that help inform the most effective strategies to prevent and alleviate poverty.
The Partnership on Economic Mobility between Poverty Solutions and the City of Detroit is a joint effort to identify and implement concrete, evidence-based strategies that significantly improve economic opportunity and reduce poverty in Detroit.
Poverty Solutions partners with Michigan State University-Hurley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, GiveDirectly, and the Greater Flint Health Coalition to improve infant and maternal health, the economic and mental well-being of participants, and community-wide outcomes in the City of Flint, MI.
Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor (GIG A2) is a two-year pilot that provides monthly payments of $528 to 100 Ann Arbor entrepreneurs and gig workers with low incomes, starting in January 2024.
Poverty Solutions supports several projects that aim to promote a better understanding of the causes and consequences of homelessness and identify potential points of intervention.
The Detroit Home Repair Resource Guide documents existing home repair resources available in the city and connects residents to the services they need.
Poverty Solutions partners with the State of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to inform anti-poverty and economic mobility initiatives that enhance public benefit programs and identify pathways for sustainable employment for those with major barriers to work.
U-M is an active partner in this local Washtenaw County Summer Youth Employment Program, a 10-week summer employment and mentorship program that pairs employers with local youth to provide on-the-job training.
Poverty Solutions and its partners have explored supportive land contracts as a path to homeownership and the policies needed to reduce abuse of predatory land contracts.
Poverty Solutions awards grants to faculty at University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses to pursue research projects focused on strategies to address poverty with effective, real-world solutions. Proposals are reviewed on a rolling basis.