top of page

What's Lies Ahead in 2025 for the Appalachian Learning Initiative

Marcus J. Hopkins
Jan 54 min read
The image features a vibrant night sky adorned with fireworks and the silhouette of a large bridge in the foreground. The dark blue sky is scattered with stars and illuminated by two fireworks bursts on either side: one in red hues on the left and one in blue on the right. Below these, a grand arc of golden fireworks radiates upward and outward, appearing to emanate from the bridge. Text at the top of the image says "HAPPY NEW YEAR" in bold, gold letters. At the bottom left, there's a section with social media icons and text in gold. Centered at the bottom is a logo that includes a stylized bridge design above the acronym "APPLI," with "Appalachian Learning Initiative" written underneath.

By: Marcus J. Hopkins January 5th, 2025


Big changes are coming to the Appalachian Learning Initiative (APPLI, pronounced like "apply") in 2025, so I wanted to take some time to provide a brief update on some past initiatives and what we have in store in the new year:


The HOPWA Directory


Unfortunately, the project we announced in 2022, the HOPWA Directory, has been put on hold until further notice. Why? The reality is that the Housing Opportunities for Persons with HIV/AIDS (HOPWA) is a very complex program; in fact, it is the only federal program for people living with HIV/AIDS that does not exist within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), instead being situated inside the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Because HOPWA is a federally-funded, but state-administered program—like virtually every federal assistance program—it can be challenging to reach the actual HOPWA contractors successfully. These are the organizations that actually provide the payments to landlords and utility providers, and most of these service providers are dedicated to focusing specifically on housing-related issues, so they may not always be sensitive to the needs of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).


So, what is the future of the HOPWA Directory?


The truth is that, since its launch, the survey we created for HOPWA service providers to reply to has received fewer than five responses. The program, itself, has also failed to attract the interest of potential pharmaceutical industry funders who, despite their promises to focus on patient-centered educational and informational missions designed to increase awareness of and access to stable housing as part of overall healthcare—one of the most critical social determinants of health that has been shown to improve medication adherence and retention in care—have rejected multiple funding requests. While this is disheartening, it is not surprising. We will continue to work on growing interest and community support for the HOPWA Directory, but at this time, the program will go dormant until further notice.

 
The image is a bar graph titled "Literacy in the United States." It showcases literacy levels across three separate years: 2012/14, 2017, and 2023. Each year is represented by a horizontal bar divided into three segments: Level 1 or below, Level 2, and Level 3 or above. In 2012/14, the bars show 18% (Level 1 or below), 33% (Level 2), and 50% (Level 3 or above). In 2017, the values are 19% (Level 1 or below), 33% (Level 2), and 48% (Level 3 or above). In 2023, the distribution is 28% (Level 1 or below), 29% (Level 2), and 44% (Level 3 or above). The x-axis is labeled from 0 to 100 percent. At the bottom is a text stating that nearly 6 out of 10 adults read at or below an 8th-grade level. A logo for the Appalachian Learning Initiative is at the bottom left, and social media icons at the bottom right.

New Data Across the Board


As we reported in our December 2024 article, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has begun to release new data about literacy and numeracy proficiency in the United States gathered from the 2023 round of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) testing.


To date, they have only released national-level data. We hope that they will release state—and county-level data this year, which will allow us to get a more accurate picture of the state of adult literacy and numeracy proficiency in the Appalachian Region.


In the meantime, we will continue to update our county-level infographics to reflect changes in the other data we gather, including poverty metrics, high school graduation/equivalency rates, health insurance coverage, reliance on the Supplemental Nutrition Program, and severe housing burden.


In addition to new PIAAC results, APPLI consistently updates our public health and demographic data as they become available. We gather data from various sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS), the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention's WONDER and ATLAS databases, and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).


What does this mean? APPLI will continue with our usual social media/infographic release schedule, focusing on three- to four-week releases for each Appalachian state, focusing first on Literacy, then Numeracy, then Public Health, and finally Social Determinants of Health infographics.


For our infographics database, we will be updating the data and data years for each of the data points we collect, which will mean temporary disagreement between the infographics that have not yet been updated and the data displayed in the state—and county-level data in the Infographics Database.

 

Website and Appalachian Resource Updates

The image features a map of Alabama highlighting counties in various colors based on the percentage of adults reading at or below an 8th-grade level. The map on the left includes counties such as Lauderdale, Jackson, and Macon, shaded in colors from green to red, reflecting literacy rates. A gradient bar below ranges from green at 42.4% to red at 80.5%. In the center of the image, two counties, Hale and Macon, are highlighted in dark red, with their respective literacy rates noted as 80.5% and 76.5%. On the right, there is a background of a rural scene with trees and a small building. At the bottom right, the APPLI logo with the text "Appalachian Learning Initiative" and "www.appli.org" appears.
A preview of the forthcoming full-width slide format for state-level pages

In 2025, APPLI will be making updates to our website's structure and data presentation on our state-level research pages.


These updates will include incorporating more intuitive and accessible data visualizations and resources into each state's respective page on our site. In addition to the already available public health and social determinant data points and educational resources, we will begin actively collecting information about where residents can find and access or apply for health and social services programs, such as state and county health departments, housing assistance, and nutrition assistance programs.


These changes will allow residents of each state to find information that is pertinent to their location and needs.


As with every resource collection effort, this will be an iterative process, and we WILL NOT always be able to find every available resource in every region. We will rely on a variety of local, state, and federal databases that may or may not contain all of those resources or may be outdated, as well as on-the-ground information provided by local residents, activists, and advocates.


Each state's new page should launch on a roughly monthly basis, and we hope that the new format will better serve the needs of Appalachians throughout the region.

 

We look forward to implementing all of these changes in 2025 and hope that you will remain engaged.


Please remember that APPLI is a 100% donation-funded organization with an all-volunteer staff, including our executive team and Board of Directors.


Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help support our vital work.



Comments

bottom of page