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

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  • Reforms are emptying Louisiana's prisons. This group makes sure no one goes back.

    May 26, 2021 |

    The Washington Post |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

    First 72+ is a New Orleans reentry agency founded by formerly incarcerated people to help others as they exit prison. That help focuses on everyday needs for transportation, housing, and emotional support. As in many states, a large share of formerly incarcerated people get sent back to prison, often for lack of support on the outside. The name First 72+ refers to research showing how the first 72 hours after prison can determine one's fate. In six years, none of the 176 people, mostly men, served by the agency has returned to prison, a record that prompted the state to send more clients to the agency.

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  • More States Consider Automatic Criminal Record Expungement

    May 25, 2021 |

    Stateline |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    At least 11 states have enacted laws that automatically seal certain criminal records, to help people find jobs and housing without long-ago mistakes posing unfair obstacles. Pennsylvania's 2019 law has helped an estimated 1 million people. Debates and criticisms focus on safety concerns; whether to grant law enforcement officials access to sealed records; and the limits of such protections based on types of crimes and how long ago they were committed. When expungement isn't automatic, the cost and complexity of applying for help can be so daunting that few manage to win a second chance.

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  • Formerly Incarcerated People in West Virginia Find Community Support

    May 24, 2021 |

    Yes! Magazine |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, West Virginia

    Community reentry councils are helping formerly incarcerated people access the support they need to get back on their feet. The councils are a network of agencies and organizations that can aid in securing housing, employment, clothes, transportation, and even help with navigating food stamps and Medicaid paperwork. The collaborative reduces recidivism rates by giving formerly incarcerated people the tools and services they need to thrive.

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  • Life after prison: Communities heal by helping former inmates succeed

    May 13, 2021 |

    Akron Beacon Journal |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Akron, Ohio

    People returning home to Akron from prison step into a community that needs healing, work that the formerly incarcerated can help with because of the lessons they can impart to younger people. But first they need their own healing. South Street Ministries and Truly Reaching You, two nonprofits run by formerly incarcerated men, help people in re-entry clear the barriers to housing and jobs that can doom them to returning to prison. They also provide peer counseling and mental health care.

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  • As Formerly Incarcerated People Return to Their Communities in W.Va., This Network of 'Resource Brokers' Is There to Guide Them

    May 11, 2021 |

    100 Days in Appalachia |

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    Response Location: United States, West Virginia

    The West Virginia Council of Churches formed a network of community reentry councils to help people leaving prison line up basic necessities, from housing to employment. The councils use their members' community connections as a bridge between prison officials, who won't release people if they lack plans for a place to live, and returning citizens, whose housing, counseling, and employment needs can determine the difference between success and another stint in prison on a technical parole violation. Grants from two foundations helped the Council of Churches expand its network during the pandemic.

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  • People leaving prison in Michigan still face hurdles to getting an ID

    May 11, 2021 |

    Detroit Free Press |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

    Michigan prisons and the state's secretary of state teamed up to provide people leaving prison on parole with the one thing they often lack: valid personal identification papers. Without a Social Security card or state ID, people struggle to get hired, rent housing, or open a bank account. In the program's first six months, more than 1,200 people got IDs. That's only a third of those eligible. Private groups have taken up some of the slack. The state says it should provide get the service fully up to speed by late 2021.

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  • Huge success for Mother's Day bailout, as annual Philly effort blows past fundraising goal

    May 06, 2021 |

    Billy Penn |

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    Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund freed more than 400 people from jail in 2020, thanks to $3 million donated amid the COVID-19 crisis and racial justice protests. Organizers of the Black Mama's Day Bailout, an annual targeted campaign that gave rise to the community bail fund five years ago, expected donor fatigue this year might limit their work. But they exceeded the 2020 Mother's Day campaign, freeing 25 women, in part from sales of art made by formerly incarcerated women in a partnership with an arts co-op. Cash bail penalizes people too poor to afford to remain free before trial.

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  • Part 2: “There is no Champion” — Granite State News Collaborative

    April 22, 2021 |

    Granite State News Collaborative |

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    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, North Conway, New Hampshire

    White Mountain Restorative Justice offers juvenile and adult court diversion and victim-offender mediation programs. WMRJ aims to guide first-time low-level offenders through restorative justice processes to hold offenders accountable, repair the harm caused by crime, and prevent reoffences.

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  • Would You Dine in This Prison?

    April 20, 2021 |

    Reasons to be Cheerful |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United Kingdom, London

    The Clink operates in four British prisons, teaching haute-cuisine cooking skills and then helping its formerly incarcerated trainees establish productive lives once they're released. The training inside prison features restaurants that cater to the public, plus teaching the skills needed to find and keep a job on the outside. When graduates of the program showed the same inclination to commit more crimes as other formerly incarcerated people, the program provided more reentry supports that have contributed to much lower rates of re-offending. The program plans to expand to 70 more prisons in the UK.

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  • A NYC Reentry Program Offers Formerly Incarcerated People Healing, Dignity Through Meals

    April 19, 2021 |

    Civil Eats |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    Reentry programs for people recently released from prison rarely focus on nutrition, must less provide cooking demonstrations. But the Fortune Society hosts 200 formerly incarcerated people at a weekly demo as part of a program that provides farm-sourced, fresh, quality food in a daily hot meal plus nutrition lessons for the people it serves. The program recognizes that the terrible food people get served inside prison forms an unhealthy habit that can continue afterward. The lessons open people to new food experiences that are both healthy and a form of community-building.

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