Other cities have combined books and subsidized housing, but the outgoing mayor, Rahm Emanuel, has embraced the concept with three striking new projects.

The pilot program aims to boost housing affordability and equity in Minneapolis.

The Battered Women’s Shelter in Akron has gotten funding from HUD to cover rent and other living expenses for domestic violence victims after they leave shelters for the past decade. HUD has now approved $1.7 million to be distributed to other Ohio cities for this purpose.

Nearly 60 percent of Oklahoma K-12 kids qualify for free and reduced lunches at school. It's a meal they can rely on during the most of the year, but when summer comes around the meal often goes away.

These programs, available at 10 Wichita middle and high schools so far, include extended serving times in cafeterias, grab-and-go breakfasts from carts or kiosks, and “second-chance breakfast,” in which students are offered breakfast after homeroom or first period.

SNAP is the first line of defense against senior hunger and frees up funds for health care and housing.

Some community colleges have found innovative partnerships with their public housing authorities may help combat student homelessness.

Sweet Water Foundation transformed four blocks in Englewood to cultivate community and help build skills, resources, and opportunities for residents.

In 17 years, the Family Independence Initiative has enrolled 3,000 families — four people per household on average — and is operating in 14 different cities across the country. Now the initiative is making a move into 10 neighborhoods across Chicago.

A children’s hospital in Columbus, Ohio, is trying to treat a difficult patient: Its own struggling neighborhood.

Chicago’s troubling homicide rate could be significantly reduced through a massive increase in state spending for Chicago schools.