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Poverty Solutions Associate Director Natasha Pilkauskas awarded U-M Strategic Initiative Fund grant to study food hardship

Sep 26, 2026 See the full list of Strategic Initiative Fund projects

Poverty Solutions Associate Faculty Director Natasha Pilkauskas and Faculty Affiliate Helen Levy will track food insufficiency in U.S. households, publish quarterly briefs, and provide free public data on hardship among vulnerable families nationwide...

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Michigan Opioid Map highlights areas with high opioid use amid 41% drop in overdose deaths

Aug 27, 2026 See the Michigan Opioid Map

The University of Michigan's Poverty Solutions and Overdose Prevention Engagement Network have released an update to the Michigan Opioid Map and white paper that looks at trends within opioid use hotspots.

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U-M student artists reflect on creating art as social commentary on Ann Arbor’s guaranteed income pilot

May 6, 2026

Over two months this winter, six University of Michigan student artists created art pieces that illustrate quotes from GIG A2 participants about what the monthly payments meant to them.

Poverty Solutions Director Kristin Seefeldt speaks at a celebration for the Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor (GIG A2) pilot program and the opening of the No Strings art exhibit at YORK on April 29, 2026. (Michigan Photography)

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Poverty Solutions RA convenes peers for hands-on workshop to redesign government services

Apr 13, 2026

50 students, staff, and faculty from 10 different schools and colleges came together for a workshop led by Public Policy Lab (PPL), titled "Transforming Government Services with Human-Centered Design."

Students participate in a "Transforming Government Services with Human-Centered Design" workshop hosted by Poverty Solutions on March 28, 2026.

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Service Design Weekend allows students to re-imagine government

Apr 7, 2026

Departments across campus came together on March 27 and 28 for an interdisciplinary weekend focused on public service design – how people, processes, and tools come together to deliver effective government services.

03/27/26 The “Years Ahead” panel provided students an opportunity to learn directly from practitioners who built the first generation of digital government..

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Community Tech Consultants keep Detroiters competitive in online economy

Jan 8, 2026

Tech consultations are free to Detroit small business owners through a Community Tech Consultants program run by the University of Michigan in partnership with Jefferson East Inc and Live6 Alliance. The program equips local residents to provide tech ...

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Natasha Pilkauskas joins Poverty Solutions as associate director

Sep 25, 2025

By Lauren Slagter Social welfare policy scholar Natasha Pilkauskas will join Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan as associate faculty director of faculty engagement, effective Oct. 1. Pilkauskas is an associate professor of public po...

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Ann Arbor residents share how guaranteed income supports local entrepreneurs

May 12, 2025

By Yinqi Chen Poverty Solutions at U-M ANN ARBOR — On May 8, about 25 community members gathered at the downtown Ann Arbor District Library to hear firsthand how guaranteed income is supporting local entrepreneurs and gig workers. The event spotli...

Wide view of a community conversation on Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor, held May 8, 2025 at the downtown Ann Arbor library, showing attendees seated throughout the room.

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Poverty Solutions convenes panel on youth-led rapid rehousing in Detroit

May 6, 2025

About 45 youth homelessness service providers, policymakers, and other stakeholders attended the event, held at the U-M Detroit Center on May 1.

Graphic of Panelists, from left to right: Azaria Terell, Alan Jackson, Alex Simpson, Kharmesha Frost, and Robert Cooper.

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What’s in a form? Students reflect on Eviction Policy & Design Workshop

Apr 10, 2025

To brainstorm ways of tackling the significant challenges Michigan residents face during the eviction process, a group of students, faculty, and legal professionals convened for a workshop dedicated to simplifying Michigan’s eviction court forms.

Students presenting their workshop result

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Poverty Solutions RA leads with heritage, community to enrich research

Apr 2, 2025

Nahiely Reza knew her fluency in Spanish could be an asset to her work at Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan. But she didn’t anticipate some of the ways the language would open up new connections with the communities engaged in the resea...

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Poverty Solutions report on Detroit home wealth lauded by Mayor Duggan

Mar 25, 2025

DETROIT - Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan promoted a Poverty Solutions study which shows that Detroit homeowners’ home wealth rose by $700M in 2023. At a well-attended news conference in Detroit, Duggan highlighted that Detroit homeowner occupants gained n...

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan speaks at a podium. Jeff Morenoff and others stand behind him.

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Poverty Solutions shares innovations, lessons learned in 2024

Jan 31, 2025

By Lauren Slagter Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan made significant strides in its action-based research to prevent and alleviate poverty in 2024, thanks to the interdisciplinary work of faculty, staff and students across the univers...

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Student-led civic design workshop reimagines Michigan eviction court forms

Nov 20, 2024

ANN ARBOR – Navigating the eviction process is a daunting challenge for many Michigan residents, especially for those without legal representation. Every year, between 170,000 and 190,000 eviction cases are filed in Michigan, affecting about 1 in 6 h...

Group photo of Civic Design Workshop participants and presenters.

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Child care workers caught in middle of Michigan’s broken child care system

May 8, 2024

Sadie Riley-Flemming, director of Blackbird Child Care Center in Harbor Springs, greets a girl on April 19, 2024. Photos by Molly Hauxwell Currier for the University of Michigan. By Lauren Slagter U-M Poverty Solutions A teacher has a question, n...

Staff member talking with children in a hallway.

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New Michigan poverty map identifies needs related to education, food insecurity, affordable housing

Mar 25, 2024

Contact: Karissa Knapp, [email protected] Jared Wadley, [email protected] ANN ARBOR—A new data map showcasing diverse indicators of poverty and well-being throughout Michigan highlights the key challenges confronting residents in different parts ...

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Poverty Solutions at U-M grows partnerships in poverty alleviation in 2023

Feb 1, 2024

Contact: Lauren Slagter, [email protected] Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan last year informed the largest-ever increase in state funding for youth homelessness programs, advised federal policymakers on place-based strategies for tackl...

Collage of Poverty Solutions team members and students

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5 things to know about Flint Rx Kids

Jan 11, 2024

Rx Kids launch press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, at Hurley Medical Center in Flint. From left to right: Mama Sol, Ridgway White, Luke Shaefer, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Flint mom, Alana Turner, Mona Hanna-Attisha, Teresa Woodruff, Shel...

Rx Kids launch press conference. From left to right: Mama Sol, Ridgway White, Luke Shaefer, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Flint mom, Alana Turner, Mona Hanna-Attisha, Teresa Woodruff, Sheldon Neeley, a Flint mom, Day Austin, and Jim Ananich.

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Enrollment Open: Flint Makes History with Launch of Rx Kids

Jan 10, 2024

Contact FLINT, Mich. – On January 10, 2024, at 10 am, City of Flint pregnant moms and newborns will start enrolling in Rx Kids, the first citywide maternal and infant cash prescription program in the nation. Joined by Mayor Sheldon Neeley, Michig...

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Developing youth leadership to end youth homelessness

Dec 19, 2023

U-M Poverty Solutions staff work with youth in the Detroit Phoenix Center's Summer Leaders Academy in 2023. (Photo by Nina Williams | Poverty Solutions) By Nina Williams Poverty Solutions Fifteen Detroit teens and young adults spent this past sum...

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DMACS surveys show where Detroiters get their news

Dec 12, 2023

By Lauren Slagter Poverty Solutions DETROIT – In today’s fractured media landscape, where are Detroiters getting their news? A series of three surveys from the University of Michigan’s Detroit Metro Area Communities Study sheds new light on wh...

The figure shows the typical news media sources of Detroit residents, by demographic group.

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Detroit youth share vision for $5.7M grant to address homelessness, housing instability

Jul 6, 2023

Detroit Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) Staff and Youth Action Board members at Ruth Ellis Clairmount Center for Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program Celebration Luncheon on June 9, 2023. (Photos by Nina Williams) By Poverty Solu...

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U-M’s Poverty Solutions marks impact of action-based research in 2022

Mar 15, 2023

By Lauren Slagter Poverty Solutions ANN ARBOR – From informing the way the U.S. Census estimates populations to reimagining land contracts as a path to homeownership and inspiring state legislation that would aid youth experiencing homelessness, P...

Images from Poverty Solutions events in 2022

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Partner Profile: Detroit Phoenix Center

Dec 14, 2022

In the wake of the economic upheaval of the pandemic, 43% of Detroit parents reported they fell behind on housing payments in 2021, putting their families at risk of eviction, housing instability, and homelessness. The Detroit Phoenix Center is a cru...

Detroit Phoenix Center Founder and CEO Courtney Smith, third from left, stands beside Jennifer Erb-Downward of U-M’s Poverty Solutions (center), who was named DPC’s 2022 Community Champion of the Year. (Photo by Lauren Slagter)

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Bringing it home: improving tomorrow’s living environments

Nov 21, 2022

By Anissa Gabbara | Art by Kara Fields U-M experts discuss the challenges of creating affordable, quality housing and leading the charge for reform ANN ARBOR - Access to quality housing is essential to our well-being and the gateway to resources....

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U-M public policy professors awarded Equitable Growth grant to study effects of expanded Child Tax Credit

Sep 23, 2022

By Lauren Slagter ANN ARBOR – With support from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, public policy professors at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy will delve deeper into exploring the effects of the expanded...

Featuring U-M public policy professors who were awarded Equitable Growth grant to study effects of expanded Child Tax Credit. From left to right: Natasha Pilkauskas, Katherine Michelmore, H. Luke Shaefer

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Amplifying youth voices to drive change in Detroit

Aug 29, 2022

U-M’s Poverty Solutions collaborated with Detroit Phoenix Center’s Summer Leadership Academy to support youth-led communications projects

Amplifying youth voices to drive change in Detroit event photos, DPC story map header

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Poverty Solutions marks five years of research, policy impact

Mar 21, 2022

By Lauren Slagter Poverty Solutions Since its launch in 2016, Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan has built an action-based research program that has informed efforts to prevent and alleviate poverty in Michigan and across the country....

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Black Michiganders: Key findings from U-M Poverty Solutions

Feb 3, 2022

Contact: Lauren Slagter, [email protected] Jared Wadley, [email protected] Black History Month, which is celebrated every year in February, highlights the experiences and honors the achievements of Black Americans throughout history. Poverty Soluti...

Illustration of three homes beside a "For Sale by Owner – Land Contract" sign

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Poverty Solutions partners with 4 Detroit organizations to fund, evaluate economic mobility projects

Nov 18, 2021

DETROIT—Four Detroit organizations will receive funding and support from the University of Michigan to enhance the economic stability of affordable housing residents, improve the accessibility of mental health services, teach youth wealth-building st...

Detroit skyline with the words Investing in Us: Resident Priorities for Economic Mobility in Detroit