How One Small Idea Led to $1 Million of Paid Water Bills | Tiffani Ashley Bell | TED

When programmer Tiffani Ashley Bell learned that thousands of people in Detroit were facing water shutoffs because they couldn’t afford to pay their bills, she decided to take action — in the simplest, most obvious way possible. It’s an inspiring story of how one person with tenacity and an idea can create monumental change — and a demonstration that each of us can find our own way to help the world, even if it means starting without all the answers. If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas: Follow TED! Twitter: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: TikTok: @tedtoks The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. Watch more: TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at #TED #TEDTalks #Detroit