Author: sHq_LoGiNz

Originally published by Affordable Housing Finance

By Keli Savage
CVS Health

Across the country, families and individuals are struggling to navigate rising housing costs alongside challenges such as food insecurity, chronic illness, limited access to preventive care, and social isolation.

The affordable housing sector has made substantial progress in recognizing these realities. However, housing alone cannot address every challenge residents face. The opportunity now is to build on that foundation by connecting residents with health resources, food access, supportive services, workforce development, and opportunities for community connection.

A stable home is one of the strongest foundations for health and well-being. Research continues to demonstrate that affordable housing can serve as a platform for improved health, stability, and opportunity when paired with resident services, food access, preventive care, workforce development, and opportunities that foster community connection. Studies have linked coordinated resident services to stronger housing stability, improved access to healthcare, and reduced food insecurity, while healthcare organizations are increasingly recognizing the value of housing-focused investments and partnerships.

The question facing many housing and healthcare organizations today is no longer whether housing influences health but how housing and healthcare organizations can work together to maximize that impact.

Connecting Housing, Health, and Opportunity

In Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood, Grace Manor offers one example of what that collaboration can look like.

The 65-unit affordable housing community that opened in November 2025 with a nearly $18 million low-income housing tax credit investment from CVS Health, provides quality housing for families. But housing was never intended to be the sole outcome. Earlier this year, residents participated in a community resource fair that provided health screenings through CVS Health’s Project Health and vaccinations from CVS Pharmacy members on-site, as well as primary-care resources from Oak Street Health; free personal care services, including haircuts, provided by Aetna Better Health of Illinois; workforce development resources; educational support; and community organizations in a single location.

These activities are not separate from affordable housing. They reflect a broader understanding that the most impactful housing investments do not end when construction does. They help residents access the resources, services, and support systems that support long-term stability and well-being.

We know that preventive care is most effective when it is accessible. Bringing health screenings and care navigation directly into communities where people live can help remove obstacles such as transportation challenges, scheduling difficulties, or lack of awareness of available services.

Food access is equally important. At the event, Grace Manor residents also received fresh produce through a collaboration with Windy City Harvest, a Chicago-based urban agriculture and workforce development program that’s part of the larger Chicago Botanic Garden, which was awarded a grant by the CVS Health Foundation. CVS Health and Aetna colleagues volunteered at Windy City Harvest’s Rodeo Farm to help harvest produce that was included in VeggieRx boxes distributed to Grace Manor residents during the event.

Developments like Grace Manor illustrate a broader shift in thinking about affordable housing investments. Housing provides the foundation, but lasting impact comes from ensuring residents can access health, food, education, and workforce resources that help build stability over time.

Building Healthier Communities Through Belonging

If affordable housing provides the foundation for stability, social connection helps transform that foundation into a thriving community.

In Tucson, Arizona, West Point Apartments II demonstrates what it can look like when affordable housing is paired with services that support residents beyond the front door. Developed by La Frontera Partners, with a $22 million investment from CVS Health and an additional $100,000 grant for resident services, the community combines affordable housing for older adults and individuals with developmental disabilities with resources focused on behavioral health, food access, financial stability, and resident engagement.

At the property’s grand opening, residents participated in social activities; shared meals; received welcome wagons assembled by CVS Health, Aetna, and Mercy Care colleague volunteers; and were introduced to companion robotic pets intended to provide comfort and companionship. While simple in concept, these efforts reflect a growing recognition that affordable housing can do more than provide stability. It can also foster connection and community, which are increasingly important as social isolation continues to affect millions of Americans, particularly older adults.

The experience at West Point Apartments II underscores an important reality: Healthy communities are built through more than just bricks and mortar.

Turning Investment into a Community Platform 

In Columbus, Ohio, Rosewind Estates demonstrates how an affordable housing investment can become the foundation for a broader, sustained community strategy. In 2020, CVS Health invested more than $13 million to help preserve and renovate the 230-home community in collaboration with the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA). That initial investment led to a continuing collaboration that extends beyond the property renovation.

In 2025, CVS Health and CMHA opened a Workforce Innovation and Talent Center within Rosewind’s community center. The facility offers free, hands-on training for careers such as pharmacy technician, retail, customer service, and call-center positions. A co-located Aetna Community Resource Center connects residents and the surrounding community with health and supportive services.

Rosewind has also become a hub for recurring community programming, including food and holiday-gift distributions and a recent vision clinic offering comprehensive eye exams and prescription glasses at no cost. The lesson is not that every affordable housing development needs the same programs but that sustained collaboration and shared community space can help local partners respond to residents’ needs long after construction is complete.

Looking Beyond the Front Door

Addressing the nation’s affordable housing shortage must remain a priority. But as developers, investors, policymakers, and healthcare organizations look to the future, the conversation should go beyond the front door.

When affordable homes are paired with preventive health resources, food access, supportive services, workforce development opportunities, and programs that strengthen community connection, their impact can extend far beyond shelter.

Since 1997, CVS Health has invested more than $2.15 billion in affordable housing nationwide. Over the last five years alone, CVS Health has invested more than $1.1 billion invested across 268 developments, helping create, preserve, or renovate more than 25,000 affordable homes, including housing for families, seniors, and residents with supportive housing needs. Experiences at communities like Grace Manor, West Point Apartments II, and Rosewind, suggest the greatest opportunity lies in pairing housing with the services, resources, and connections that help residents and their surrounding communities thrive.

Affordable housing is the foundation. The next challenge, and opportunity, is building the support systems that turn stability into lasting well-being.

Keli Savage is vice president, head of real estate and impact investments, at CVS Health.

Cummins

Mining is entering a period of significant change. Demand for minerals such as copper, lithium and nickel continues to grow, driven by global infrastructure, manufacturing and energy transition. At the same time, mining companies are under pressure to reduce emissions, improve safety, increase productivity, and operate more efficiently.

These priorities are accelerating new technologies and operating models with the following trends shaping how mines are powered, managed, and operated.

Decarbonization is creating multiple power pathways

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on diesel has become a major priority for the mining industry. However, the transition will not be achieved through one technology or at the same pace across every site.

Large haul trucks and other heavy-duty machines operate for long periods, carry significant loads, and often work in remote locations with limited energy infrastructure. Mining companies are therefore exploring several pathways, including hybrid-electric systems, battery-electric equipment, hydrogen-based technologies, and renewable energy at mine sites.

Hybrid systems offer a practical pathway to reduce fuel consumption and emissions while leveraging existing mining infrastructure. By combining an engine with energy storage, trucks can capture energy during braking or downhill operation and reuse it when additional power is required. Battery-electric equipment can reduce direct emissions further, but adoption depends on charging infrastructure, energy availability and equipment duty cycles. Hydrogen technologies may also play a role, although deployment depends on infrastructure and site readiness.

Impact: Decarbonization will follow different routes. Progress will depend on matching each technology to the operating demands and energy infrastructure of the mine.

Automation and digitalization are creating more connected operations

Autonomous trucks, drills, and loaders are becoming more common across mine sites, while remote operating centers are allowing site leaders to manage equipment from safer and more accessible locations. Together, these technologies can support more consistent equipment operation, improve traffic management, and reduce the number of people working in hazardous areas.

Digitalization is helping to accelerate this transition by creating stronger connections between equipment, people, and processes. IoT sensors, telematics and predictive analytics provide greater visibility into equipment health, performance and operating conditions, allowing maintenance teams to identify developing issues earlier and act before they lead to major failures.

Rather than relying solely on scheduled maintenance or responding after a breakdown, mines can use real-time information to plan repairs around production requirements, helping to reduce unplanned downtime and lower repair costs.

As autonomous and remotely managed operations continue to expand, the connection between equipment, data, and decision-making will become increasingly important. Mines will need systems that provide accurate information and support coordinated activity across the site.

Impact: Better connected mines can improve safety, productivity and maintenance planning, but their value depends on accurate data, reliable systems and effective coordination.

Remote and challenging locations are raising operational demands

As high-grade ores become harder to access, mining activity is expanding into more remote and extreme environments. From high-altitude operations reaching 4,800 to 5,200 meters above sea level to open-pit mines where temperatures can exceed 131°F (55°C) and Arctic sites where they can drop as low as -46°F (-43°C), mining companies are increasingly operating in some of the world’s most demanding conditions.

Equipment must perform in intense heat, freezing temperatures, dusty environments and locations with limited access to maintenance support. These conditions increase the importance of equipment durability and operational visibility. Failure in a remote location can lead to longer delays, higher repair costs, and greater impact on production.

Remote sites often rely heavily on real-time monitoring and remote diagnostics to maintain visibility of equipment performance and identify potential issues before they affect production.

Site location can also influence technology adoption. Limited access to charging, hydrogen or renewable energy infrastructure may affect how quickly certain solutions can be deployed, even where long-term sustainability goals remain a priority.

Impact: As mining moves into more demanding locations, equipment performance, remote monitoring and infrastructure readiness will become increasingly important.

The future will be shaped by connected decisions

Mining is evolving through decarbonization, greater connectivity, and increased automation, but there is no single roadmap for every operation. Geography, infrastructure, energy availability and business priorities will all influence the choices mining companies make.

While the technologies may differ, the direction of travel is clear. Mining companies are looking for ways to improve safety, reduce environmental impact, and maintain productivity in increasingly complex operating environments.

As these trends continue to converge, the challenge is no longer addressing individual priorities in isolation. Mining companies need solutions that can perform reliably in demanding environments, provide the connectivity needed for data-driven decision-making, and support multiple pathways toward decarbonization as technologies and infrastructure continue to evolve.

Success will depend less on any individual technology and more on how effectively different solutions are combined to meet the needs of each operation. As the industry continues to evolve, the value of trusted partners, such as Cummins, that can help miners navigate emerging technologies and bring these capabilities together will become increasingly important.

Verizon

By Gyrate Media

At a glance

• Free workshops deliver career development: Total Spark partners with local nonprofits like Goodwill to provide young job seekers with resume workshops, mentorship and free career resources directly in their communities.
• Community events tackle youth job market barriers: With 73% of working students desiring extra support, accessible local workshops help youth overcome hiring hurdles, scheduling conflicts and limited guidance.
• Executive coaching turns life experience into interview confidence: Students practice mock interviews with corporate leaders, learning to translate personal achievements, such as team leadership and schedule management, into valuable workplace strengths.

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For La’Niyah Mondie, a high school senior hoping to build a career in marketing, getting a job has been difficult. Unreliable transportation, employers who don’t reply and the paperwork hurdles that come with being a teenager looking for work have all gotten in the way. Seeking free job resources to move her search forward, Mondie decided to attend a Total Spark and Goodwill Resume Bootcamp at a Total Wireless store in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood.

Mondie was one of a group of high school and college students who spent the afternoon learning how to turn their everyday experiences into skills that employers value. The event was presented by Total Spark, Total Wireless’s community grant program for working students. Total Spark partners with local nonprofits across the country—including Goodwill in Chicago, the LA Conservation Corps, Dallas’ Wilkinson Center and Temple University’s Lenfest Center for Community Workforce Partnerships—to host in-person events at Total Wireless stores, providing working students with career workshops, mentorship and job resources.

The unique challenges facing working students

“Today’s job market isn’t kind to youth,” says Diana Muñoz, director of youth engagement at Goodwill of Greater Milwaukee and Chicago. “During the school year, students struggle to find employers that will work with their school schedule, and many times, [they have] to decide between having a job or going to school.”

This squeeze is even tighter for those who manage to find jobs while attending school. “Time is the biggest luxury for working students,” says Anna Lee, partnerships lead at Empower Work, an employment-focused nonprofit that collaborated with Total Spark and Goodwill to create the bootcamp. “They are often juggling work, family responsibilities, bills and everything we all experience, but compounded.”

Free career development and community mentorship

A Total Wireless survey found that 73% of working students wish they had additional support to help them pursue a career. That’s where the bootcamp comes in. During the event, students learned why a resume matters, critiqued good and bad examples of resumes as a group, and rehearsed interviews with Total Wireless executives.

Nicole Maldonado, a mission learning consultant at Goodwill who led the Chicago bootcamp, says neighborhood presence is key. “Having these events in our communities makes them easily accessible for our participants and their families to join,” she says. “Events like this definitely boost our students’ confidence.”

Turning personal experience into interview success

For aspiring working students like La’Niyah Mondie, the day’s event delivered that exact confidence boost. She had a one-on-one mock interview session with James Lee, senior director of channel field sales at Total Wireless. Lee coached her on communicating her strengths during an interview, advising Mondie to answer questions with specific stories from her own life, such as leading her basketball team through a rough patch and balancing school with sports training twice a day. “Now, I feel more confident when I’m talking to others,” Mondie says.

Before the session ended, Lee left her with one last piece of advice: “Don’t sell yourself short, ever,” he said. “Go into that interview knowing, ‘I got this.’”

Total Wireless’s Total Spark supports working students balancing jobs, education, and family with training, mentorship and career development opportunities that helps turn ambition into advancement. The program is part of Verizon Value Cares, the responsible business platform across Verizon’s prepaid brands, built on the belief that our customers have big ambitions and deserve someone in their corner.

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How does Total Spark empower working students through free career resources?

Total Spark, Total Wireless’s community grant program, collaborates with local nonprofits to bring free job development, mentorship and career resources directly into neighborhood stores. By hosting accessible events like resume bootcamps and mock interview sessions with corporate leaders, Total Spark helps working students build professional confidence and bridge the gap between education and employment.

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Where can teenagers and college students find free job resources and development programs?

Young job seekers can access free job development tools through local nonprofit organizations, youth workforce centers, school counseling offices and community grant programs like Total Spark. These programs offer free job resources, including resume workshops, skill development and interview coaching locally.

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How can students with no formal work experience build a resume and interview with confidence?

First-time job seekers can feature everyday experiences, such as leading sports teams, managing personal schedules, volunteering or academic achievements, to highlight transferable workplace skills. Practicing mock interviews and preparing specific stories from daily life allows students to clearly demonstrate leadership, resilience and time management to prospective employers.

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