Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Texas Considers a Novel Push for Gun Violence Prevention

    March 31, 2021 |

    The Trace |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Fort Worth, Texas

    VIP Fort Worth modeled itself on a number of violence-intervention programs with a blended approach that has been so successful in such a short time that Texas officials are considering investing in a statewide version. Street outreach workers, many of them former gang members, mediate disputes and counsel young men at risk of getting shot or shooting others. In its first five months, it says it has prevented dozens of shootings through hundreds of direct contacts with people on the streets. Like the programs it's modeled on, it is an alternative to policing, operating independently.

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  • Inside the community patrols in San Francisco's Chinatown

    March 30, 2021 |

    Mother Jones |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

    Rising alarm over hate crimes targeting Asian-Americans, particularly the elderly, drew many volunteers to the community patrols that have organized over the past year in the Bay Area. Chinatown Safety Patrol, started just weeks before the Atlanta spa murders, suddenly attracted dozens of people willing to watch over and help elderly neighbors, giving them the confidence to go about their lives on the streets. The patrols serve as a deterrent to predatory violence. They also can deescalate conflict. Their main function is to protect residents in ways that the police can't or won't.

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  • Newark-based violence prevention group seeks to bridge gap between police, social services

    March 28, 2021 |

    NJ Advance Media |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Newark, New Jersey

    Newark's Community Street Team hires and trains formerly incarcerated people and people who have been victims of violence to mediate disputes before they turn violent. Street outreach interventions have been associated with large declines in homicides and assaults, although the programs can overlap with others seeking the same goal. Newark's team will now serve as the hub for a national effort, the Community Based Public Safety Association, to professionalize such work nationwide. The group will seek more public funding and try to raise the visibility of such policing alternatives.

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  • How a Colorado town is untangling behavioral health care from the criminal justice system

    March 22, 2021 |

    Coloradoan |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Fort Collins, Colorado

    Acting on a recognition that police and the criminal justice system are too involved in responses to mental health and substance abuse crises, UCHealth formed mental health response teams that partner with Fort Collins police on such calls. In about 80% of calls the teams handled, no arrests were made while people received treatment or were referred to needed services. This program plus one that diverts certain criminal cases into treatment, which can result in dismissal of charges, have built-in drawbacks but have begun de-emphasizing criminal-justice remedies when people need other help.

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  • ‘Meeting people where they're at': How mobile crisis-response teams work

    March 15, 2021 |

    TVO |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Canada, Thunder Bay, Ontario

    Thunder Bay police formed IMPACT (Integrated Mobile Police Assessment Crisis Team), pairing crisis responders with mental health expertise with police officers to respond 24/7 to people experiencing mental health crises. Instead of defaulting to police responses, which risk the use of force and often land people in custody or a hospital, the teams often are able to get people connected to needed social and health services. So far the team has managed to divert about 40 percent of calls to helping services.

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  • Oakland's Chinatown finds solutions to hate crimes

    March 11, 2021 |

    Public Radio International (PRI) |

    Radio |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

    With hate crimes against Asian Americans on the rise, Oakland's Community Ambassadors program serves the city's Chinatown by caring for the neighborhood and making people feel safe. Started as a way for formerly incarcerated people from San Quentin Prison to reconnect with the community, the program builds trust with residents who might be wary about asking the police for help and who may be so afraid of street crime that they don't leave home. Ambassadors walk the streets to help the elderly get groceries, check in with people experiencing homelessness, and hear the concerns of shopkeepers and residents.

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  • Social Workers Instead of Police? Denver's 911 Experiment Is a Promising Start

    March 10, 2021 |

    Curbed New York |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

    Four years after pairing social workers with police officers on certain nonemergency calls, Denver's STAR program began dispatching a mental-health clinician and paramedic as sole first responders when health and social services are needed rather than arrests, jail, and the risk of police violence. The program in its first six months, though limited by geography and hours, handled 748 calls without any police involvement. Police, in fact, are relaying many of the calls that STAR takes. STAR teaches other large cities useful lessons, but it's only as good as the local mental-health infrastructure.

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  • Conservation initiative helps nature heal itself for Sierra Madre reforestation

    March 09, 2021 |

    The Philippine Star |

    Multi-Media |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Philippines, Baras, Rizal

    The government of the Philippines is working with the Masungi Georeserve Foundation to restore wildlife and forests in a 2,700 hectares area of degraded land. They use a technique that focuses on the nurturing of native trees through natural practices. While the method takes longer to reforest an area than traditional ways, the initiative has planted 60,000 trees and employed 100 park rangers from the local communities that help protect the reserve.

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  • For those frustrated with vaccine system, a crew of volunteers is ready to help

    March 02, 2021 |

    The Boston Globe |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Massachusetts

    A community effort is underway in Massachusetts to help people secure Covid-19 vaccination appointments, despite a confusing government roll-out system. The Massachusetts COVID Vaccination Help volunteer group is composed of volunteers from across the state, who are using their free time to help individuals schedule appointments. Although there are concerns about privacy, users thus far have commended the group's persistence and success in booking appointments.

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  • Here's What Happens When Social Workers, Not Police, Respond To Mental Health Crises

    March 01, 2021 |

    Honolulu Civil Beat |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

    Honolulu could benefit from adopting the approach to mental-health crisis calls to 911 that Eugene, Oregon, uses. But it would need to make big changes first in its critical infrastructure. Eugene's CAHOOTS program sends counselors and medics on 17% of the calls coming to its city's 911 center, saving millions on police, ambulances, and emergency room visits. Non-police responders de-escalate potential conflicts and get people the help they need without arrest or violence. Honolulu is primed to examine this approach, as many cities have done, but it's not a simple matter to start it.

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