Sometimes all it takes to correct injustice is to recognize the problem and have the willpower to make a change. At least that’s what the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program (FFRP) did in California, where prisoners are encouraged to volunteer to fight wildfires but struggle to get jobs as firefighters after they’re released.

The founders of the nonprofit program realized they could make a difference by providing the resources to help formerly incarcerated people transition from the “fire camps” which provide them with valuable training to full-time employees of California’s firefighting force.

Now the FFRP is one of three groups being recognized by The Workers Lab, an organization that funds experiments to build power for low-wage working people, with an Innovation Fund grant of $150,000.

For the Spring 2020 Innovation Fund, The Workers Lab partnered with The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and have awarded three finalists with $150,000 each.

With the help of the fund, the FFRP plans to provide additional training and support for underrepresented communities and combat the increasing threat of wildfires in California.

Among the winners was also Leap Fund, which addresses the issue of the “benefits cliff” for low-wage workers. Sometimes low-wage earners decline pay raises or working more hours in cases where that income bump may be offset by losing government benefits.

Leap Fund has built a calculator to help people understand when they’ll come up to that cliff, and with the new grant, they’ll pilot two digital programs with workers in New York City that aim to help workers avoid that quandary, possibly by deferring income until they earn enough to replace what they’ll lose in benefits.

The third winner is FreeFrom, which supports workers who are survivors of gender-based violence, and for whom financial insecurity is often the reason why they stay in or return to abusive situations.

With the Innovation Fund money, FreeFrom aims to pilot a survivor-designed paid leave program that works with employer partners and which will be tailored to survivors’ needs for “flexibility, privacy, and confidentiality.”

We at The Optimist Daily love highlighting innovative social solutions, and these three organizations are certainly at the forefront of quality and justice.