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How a bench and a team of grandmothers can tackle depression

Rachel Nuwer

October 16, 2018 |

BBC |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Zimbabwe, Harare

In order to increase Zimbabwean’s ability to access mental health care, a psychiatrist trained grandmothers in talk therapy. Working from a “friendship bench,” these new trainees have provided evidence-based, culturally competent care to thousands of people since the start of the program in 2006.

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‘Rental sisters' for Japan's Reclusive Young Men

Harriet Noble Amelia Martyn-Hemphill

October 16, 2018 |

BBC |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Japan, Tokyo

A unique issue in Japan is that of the “Hikikomori” – men who have totally withdrawn from society, often as a response to bullying, depression, or trauma. The NGO, New Start, offers a “rental sister” program, which provide the Hikikomori with an older female mentor to interact with and guide them toward more independent lives. Along the way, the hope is that they’ll build trusting relationships and practice social engagement.

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Changing the environment in Iowa's prisons to change results for women

Jessica Pupovac

October 14, 2018 |

Chicago Reporter |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Mitchelville, Iowa

The Iowa Correctional Institution for Women has reformed how inmates are treated, adapting approaches informed by gender and past trauma. A new campus provides private counseling suites and a mental health unit, larger cells with light controls and a visitation area with play space and a garden so women can engage with their children. Disciplinary policies have also shifted toward building women up for returning to society rather than automatic discipline for small infractions.

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To Protect the Environment, Buddhist Monks Are Ordaining Trees

August Rick

October 11, 2018 |

Sojourners |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Cambodia

In Cambodia, it is Buddhist tradition and protocol to ordain a tree when a new monk was inducted. Since it is taboo to harm a monk, this practice inadvertently doubled as a conservation tactic by preventing deforestation ongoings, eventually leading those of this faith to be dubbed ecology monks.

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The Crime Machine, Part I

PJ Vogt

October 11, 2018 |

Gimlet Media |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

The creation of CompStat fostered a huge drop in crime rates in New York City by the 1990s. The idea came from an odd and obsessive transit cop was to track every single crime daily in every precinct and use that data to systematically go after everything from murders to low-level crimes once ignored by police. It was a drastic shift in the way NYPD worked and was credited with making the city far safer, but was also flawed.

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The Love Story that Upended the Texas Prison System

Ethan Watters

October 11, 2018 |

Texas Monthly |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Texas

An unlikely relationship between Frances Jalet, an attorney, and Fred Cruz, an inmate, led to some of the most historic rulings against the Texas Department of Corrections. Jalet became a plaintiff in one of the suits, and alongside two dozen other inmates, called the Eight Hoe squad, they drafted a lawsuit. Despite targeted attacks against Jalet and the inmates by prison leadership, they won in the courts. In 1980, a federal judge declared that the Texas Department of Corrections was operating unconstitutionally.

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LGBTQ students find support within community

Mary Shinn

October 10, 2018 |

Durango Herald |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Durango, Colorado

Connecting LGTBQ+ teens with peers and adults for support can help reduce depression and the risk of suicide. Organizations like the Four Corners Rainbow Youth Center in Durango, Colorado, and the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center at Fort Lewis College provide safe spaces where youth feel welcome and supported by a network of peers and adults. The centers also act as social spaces where youth, parents, and their communities can come together.

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Lab-grown Meat on your Table

Regan Morris

October 10, 2018 |

BBC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, California

"Farm to table" is a well-known saying in the food industry, but "lab to table" is also rapidly joining the rank of commonplace terminology. To both reduce the amount of animals killed and lessen the impact on the environment to raise livestock, researchers have found a way to manufacture cell-based meat that is created in a lab, yet still has the texture of meat.

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Fixing the Problems We Can Fix

Roxanne Patel Shepelavy

October 10, 2018 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A Philadelphia non-profit is targeting young people who struggle when leaving the foster care system and providing them with comprehensive services to help them transition into independent living successfully; that includes helping them find jobs, homes, and more. The program is based off a model from Youth Villages, a national nonprofit, and is showing impressive results - for example, "90 percent of the youth who joined the program were in need of stable housing; now, 35 percent have their own homes, and the rest live with family, former foster families or in supervised independent living."

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Cultural identity, open conversations aid suicide prevention among Native Americans

Mary Shinn

October 09, 2018 |

Durango Herald |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado

Growing past trauma requires support. In Native American communities with high rates of depression and suicide, organizations like the Wellness Peer Advisory Council and the Albuquerque Area Indian Health Board are working to promote positive mental health by encouraging a positive cultural identity. The AAIHB is using grant funding to work with tribes in the Southwest to implement suicide intervention training through intergenerational and intertribal programs.

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