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

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  • Denver successfully sent mental health professionals, not police, to hundreds of calls

    February 06, 2021 |

    USA Today |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

    In its first six months, Denver's STAR program (Support Team Assistance Response) handled 748 emergency calls that in the past would have gone to the police or firefighters. Two-person teams of a medic and clinician helped people with personal crises related mainly to homelessness and mental illness. None of the calls required police involvement and no one was arrested. The city plans to spend more to expand the program, which is meant to prevent needless violence and incarceration from calls to the police that other types of first-responders can better address.

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  • In the first six months of health care professionals replacing police officers, no one they encountered was arrested

    February 02, 2021 |

    Denverite |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

    Denver's STAR (Support Team Assisted Response) program deliberately reduces potentially violent encounters between uniformed police officers and troubled people by responding to certain low-level crises with a mental health clinician and a medic. In STAR's first six months, the team offered 748 people help rather than jail, without requiring any arrests to resolve problems. With more resources, the team could have handled more than 2,500 incidents. The police chief supports the program's expansion, saying it frees his officers to handle more serious matters.

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  • An Oregon city's decades-old alternative to police

    January 28, 2021 |

    Crosscut |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

    Like many cities, Seattle is looking to Eugene, Oregon, for a model to shift resources from police to unarmed crisis responders handling 911 calls about mental health, addiction, family conflict, and other non-criminal problems. Eugene's CAHOOTS program has been doing such work for half a century, and since 1989 sending medic-and-counselor teams on calls. In 2019 it saved $8 million in police costs and $14 million for ambulances and emergency room visits. But, while taking police out of situations where they might cause more problems than they solve, it's only as good as its region's social services.

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  • How paramedics can help keep older Ontarians healthy — and out of the ER

    January 22, 2021 |

    TVO |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Canada, Hamilton, Ontario

    A program started in Hamilton, Ontario that allows paramedics to "hold routine drop-in sessions at social-housing buildings, at no cost to residents" has expanded throughout the entire country after reporting notable success as a health benefit. Although funding for the program isn't certain, the program thus far has helped keep seniors and low-income residents out of emergency rooms and long-term care facilities and has further helped reduce feelings of isolation during the pandemic.

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  • In pursuit of self-determined development, Borneo's indigenous tribes turn to homegrown renewables

    January 21, 2021 |

    Eco-Business |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Malaysia, Kampung Buayan, Borneo

    An indigenous-led nonprofit group called Tonibung installed a micro-hydro electrical system for a village deep in Borneo’s rainforests. The project not only supplied much-needed energy for the villagers of Kampung Buayan, but it is also protecting the surrounding ecosystems, creating jobs for people, and encouraging youth to get involved. “We want to advocate for native rights to self-determination and empower indigenous groups to choose the kind of development that meets the aspirations of their people,” says the founder of the organization.

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  • Firefighter jobs difficult to find for women fire crew after prison

    January 12, 2021 |

    Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Arizona

    Arizona's Inmate Wildfire Program trains incarcerated people to fight wildfires, paying them low prison wages to provide a critically needed service as wildfires grow more common. Members of the only all-female crew, from Perryville Prison, tell of their pride of accomplishment in doing a dangerous job, and of the rehabilitative benefits of the program. They also describe their frustrations when regulations often bar them from using their skills after release from prison.

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  • CASA program uses volunteers to advocate for kids

    January 04, 2021 |

    Knox Pages |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Mount Vernon, Ohio

    In 55 Ohio counties, judges can appoint volunteers from Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) programs to represent the interests of children when their families' struggles end up in court. CASA volunteers act as a judge's eyes and ears in the lives of children who are suspected of being victims of abuse or neglect, or who at least need a more stable home. They recommend placement options and treatment services. Such programs can save counties money, by replacing paid lawyers serving as guardians, and volunteers can be more attentive to children's needs.

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  • A Unique Alliance Could Help Warn Us of Toxic Algae

    December 23, 2020 |

    Wired |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Washington

    A unique partnership between scientists, state agencies, and coastal communities in Washington state allows these different entities to monitor and manage toxic algal blooms. Known as the Olympic Region Harmful Algal Blooms Partnership, the initiative allows them to take water samples and analyze them for domoic acid, which is a deadly neurotoxin produced by algae. This collaboration allows fishers from tribal communities to know if it’s safe to harvest seafood and state officials to warn people when it becomes unsafe.

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  • Are 'villages' the future of elder care?

    December 21, 2020 |

    WHEC-TV |

    Broadcast TV News |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

    Since 2002, aging neighbors in Boston have been creating networks, known as villages, of supportive services that allow them to remain in their homes rather than leave to live in a senior center or nursing home. Now, there are 350 villages throughout the U.S., including one in Buffalo, NY known as Canopy. Staffed with volunteers, the program has not always been the most financially viable, but it has grown to serve senior citizens in seven zip codes.

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  • 'It was a godsend': New Minnesota hiring program helps care homes hit hard by COVID-19

    December 18, 2020 |

    Minnesota Star Tribune |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

    After facing staffing shortages during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the Minnesota Department of Human Services developed an aggressive emergency hiring initiative ahead of potential new outbreaks. Using third-party staffing agencies and encouraging applicants from all backgrounds – like those recently unemployed from the service industry – the initiative has "provided rapid relief to dozens of nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, group homes, homeless shelters and substance abuse treatment centers."

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