The Dominoes
Click any crisis to start the cascade. Job loss tips into debt, debt into housing loss, housing into family stress, family into child impact. Foundation exists to keep the dominoes standing.
One crisis triggers the next. That’s not a metaphor — it’s how poverty actually works. Job loss leads to debt. Debt leads to housing loss. Housing loss leads to family stress. Family stress lands on the children. And the cycle restarts a generation later.
Why It Cascades
The cascade isn’t bad luck — it’s architecture. When there’s no floor, every crisis amplifies the next. A $400 car repair becomes a payday loan becomes a debt spiral becomes an eviction. The system is designed so that one missed step produces a fall, not a stumble.
Foundation’s 16 components are designed to break the cascade at every link. UBI prevents the debt spiral. Healthcare prevents the ER bankruptcy. Housing stability prevents the eviction. Mental health support prevents the invisible amplification. The point isn’t to catch people after they fall — it’s to keep the dominoes standing.
Try different starting points. Start with “Health crisis” instead of “Job loss.” Start with “Mental health.” The paths differ but the destination is the same: child impact and civic withdrawal. That’s because the system has multiple entry points but converges on the same outcomes. Foundation has to cover all of them.
See the full Foundation framework →
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