Last weekend, my friend Raj showed me a clip that (temporarily) restored my faith in politics: in it, council member Chi Osse breaks down the chronic dysfunction within New York’s subways and points to other cities (Istanbul! Berlin! Tokyo!) with better and cheaper systems. Then, the kicker: he holds himself accountable to “start building again.”

Osse’s series—aptly named “Why sh*t not working—and how can we fix it?”—asks the one we’re probably all asking right now, when civic life feels like a dumpster fire, and when politicians seem more interested in dissing the other guy than doing anything about it.

But here’s the thing: behind the doom-and-gloom headlines and social media riffraff, people are fixing sh*t. My nonprofit, the Solutions Journalism Network, has nearly 17,000 stories to show for it. By reporting on what *actually* works to tackle sticky issues, we’re reminded: problems are solvable when we focus on policy, not politicians. Human-felt results, not lip-service promises. “Hope with teeth”, not doom-and-gloom.

That’s been especially true for social prescribing —a fix for some of the biggest problems in health, healthcare, and our culture. In 2024, the same year The Connection Cure hit stands, the United States made some major strides: New York launched its 1115 waiver program to build “social care networks” and create partnerships between doctors and community orgs. Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Oregon reformed their 1115 Waivers, too, allowing state Medicaid agencies to cover Indigenous health care practices, like dance and music therapy.

There were a lot of firsts along the way. Massachusetts launched the nation’s first statewide arts prescription program, with more than 300 cultural organizations on board. New Jersey, home of the first social prescription pilot to partner with an insurer, got NEA funding to expand. San Mateo, California, after becoming the first country to declare loneliness an emergency, is investing in social prescribing, and Jefferson County, Montana is including it in their health plan, too. Tennessee State Senator Shane Reeves wrote an op-ed calling to expand social prescribing. And the outgoing U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy even wrote a “parting prescription” calling on healthcare to invest in community.

But beyond government measures, a grassroots movement is growing, too. On July 27, 18 politically and demographically diverse cities and towns hosted an epic one-day celebration of the medicinal value of the arts (for everybody!), which led to more funding. Social Prescribing USA, the nonprofit home of the movement, grew its community of practice by 400%, and is documenting the spread in real-time. And during my own book tour to some three dozen U.S. cities and towns, I’ve met people from all walks of life—artists, doctors, nature-lovers, retirees, high school students, volunteers —all asking the same questions: What can I do? How can I help?

Which is why, on March 19th, this #SocialPrescribingDay, I’m co-hosting a virtual “All-Hands” meeting to turn that “how-can-we-fix-it” energy to action. With Social Prescribing USA, we’re calling on EVERYONE to take one concrete action to help integrate social prescribing in our healthcare systems, community institutions, and discussions of health and wellness.

Especially now—during President’s week, Black History Month, and a political moment like no other—we remember the call-to-action from the late great John Lewis, who challenged “each one of us in every generation to do our part.” “If we believe in the change we seek,” he wrote, “the responsibility is ours alone to build a better society and a more peaceful world.”

Because here’s the other thing: It’s true that greed, groupthink, discrimination, and dysfunction are part of our American story. But generosity, grassroots mobilizing, outside-the-box-thinking, take-it-to-the-streets action are, too. And after all, whether you felt it through Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show or Bob Dylan’s biopic, there’s a spirit of revolution among us. And that revolution will not be televised:

The revolution will put you in the driver’s seat.

The revolution will be live.

Will you join?

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