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

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  • Prizes for sobriety: As Washington meth use rises, this treatment is one of few that works

    Rewarding patients for sobriety greatly increases the likelihood for recovery. The approach of contingency management creates new behaviors through incentives instead of punishment. Through the Seattle Department of Veteran’s Affairs, patients in an addiction program who test negative get to draw a prize and accumulate rewards the longer they stay sober. This alternative form of treatment has proven effective in boosting patient participation—and success—in addiction programs at the Seattle VA.

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  • San Diego Is Showing California How to Use Its Red Flag Law

    In San Diego, California, more than three Gun Violence Restraining Orders, or “red flag laws,” have been used to prevent gun violence. These laws have gained in popularity across the country, and allow courts to temporarily take away firearms from individuals who pose a danger to themselves or others. With such success in San Diego, their attorney’s office is now training law enforcement and government agencies across the state on how to use such orders.

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  • Student threat assessment expands to all Texas school districts

    Schools in Austin, Texas have a renewed vigor to address student mental health after they saw hundreds of suicide attempts in recent years. In addition to approaching the issue in a serious manner, schools are now equipped with full-time mental health clinics on campus to offer support for students, teachers, and families. There are now 45 different clinics across the city that have worked with over 2,000 visitors, and already studies are showing improvements in things like increased self-esteem and decreased psychological distress.

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  • Overcoming an Epidemic: Opioids in Pennsylvania

    Across Pennsylvania, researchers, medical professionals, communities, and local governments are taking steps to address the opioid crisis. The epidemic that has swept across the country is being addressed at every level, including individual, family, and community. Responses include destigmatizing efforts like the Share Your Opioid Story project, school-based prevention education, drug court programming, medication assisted treatment, and training and awareness initiatives for medical professionals in urban and rural areas.

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  • Colorado's trailblazing Safe2Tell system needs significant upgrades, lawmakers say

    In 2016, Utah debuted SafeUT, a streamlined crisis center with on-call mental health specialists that students can call or text about potential threats to schools or personal mental health concerns. SafeUT was born out of a recognition for more preventative and mental health services, and was inspired by Colorado’s Safe2Tell initiative. Now, as Colorado seeks to iterate on their state initiatives, they’re looking to SafeUT’s streamlined approach as a model for improvement.

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  • Mesa school district rolls out new counselor program for kids' mental health

    The Mesa, Arizona, school district is expanding its mental health care programming in response to a high teen suicide rate in the region. By increasing the number of counselors available, using data to tailor its approach to each individual campus, and connecting students with outside therapy professionals when appropriate, Mesa is hoping to reach more students.

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  • Reimagining New York Jails Without Solitary Confinement

    Solitary confinement was once thought of as one of the only effective punishments for violent prison inmates. As more research surfaces showing the severe damage it does to mental health, the racial bias of those placed in solitary, and its relative ineffectiveness, more cities, like New York City, are exploring alternatives to the practice. In places such as Denver, Chicago, and San Francisco, rather than invoking a punitive approach, city officials are offering positive reinforcement – and seeing positive results.

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  • ‘Our youngest we lost was nine.' Austin ISD police home in on mental health

    The Austin school district credits its crisis intervention police officers, trained in deescalation in mental health emergencies, with contributing to a level of care that defused a student-suicide crisis. Six students ended their lives in the 2017-18 school year, while none did the following year. Teaming up with counselors, the police deal both with parents and students in seeking better mental health care for them rather than turning crises into arrests and punishment. On the dozens of campuses where such care has been emphasized, even test scores are up.

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  • Round Rock ISD trains bus drivers to look for suicidal students

    In one Texas school district, bus drivers are trained to watch out for signs of distress and depression in students and report any irregular behavior to the school.

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  • After losing father, activist leads fight against farmer suicide

    In a country where 16,000 or more farmers die from suicide, Kiranjit Kaur founded Kisan Mazdoor Khudkushi Peedit Parivar Committee to support families of suicide victims in India. After her own father took his life after failing to pay off crippling debt, Kaur's support group records information on the families' sources of income, and the status of land ownership and debt in order to help them access government schemes such as pensions and scholarships.

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