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When working for justice, the promotora model builds power in communities even during a pandemic

Erin Flynn Jay

July 01, 2020 |

Generocity |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia (NSM) adjusted its promotora model of organizing, which relies on neighbor-to-neighbor interaction to assess community needs, due to Covid-19. The immigrant justice nonprofit now runs zoom meetings and phone banks to talk with hard hit immigrant communities. NSM, fundraising with a coalition of 40 other groups, also provides financial support to immigrant families who cannot access federal aid. They gave money to 150 families, with 100 more on the waitlist. They hired a few laid off community members and try to give promotores some money, but funding is limited.

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Their Unlikely Alliance Began at Whataburger. Can They Reform a Texas Jail?

Maurice Chammah

July 01, 2020 |

The Marshall Project |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tyler, Texas

Dalila Reynoso's local activism blossomed into a full-blown watchdog role when COVID-19 began to spread through the Smith County, Texas, jail. The marriage of criminal justice reform and pandemic safety, vested in one woman, mirrors much larger court watch and jail watch projects in larger cities. For her part, Reynoso became a conduit for complaints about jail conditions. Thanks to her diplomatic skills, and a receptive sheriff's openness to criticism and change, the pair's efforts lowered virus cases from 52 to three within three weeks and lowered the jail population by more than 150 people.

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Texas's Missing Students: Weeks After Closures, Schools in San Antonio Still Couldn't Locate Thousands of Kids. How One Band Director Finally Tracked Down His Musicians

Bekah McNeel

June 30, 2020 |

The 74 |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Texas

As thousands of students across the country stopped showing up to remote classes, schools scrambled to make contact. One Texas Band Director built on his relationships to localize his students. “He had relationships with students — his own and those between bandmates — forged long before the closures. When his personal connections played out, he called in reinforcements section by section, woodwinds finding woodwinds, brass finding brass.” The effort worked so well some teachers were asking him for help to localize other students.

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How to Defund the Police

Alexis Okeowo

June 26, 2020 |

The New Yorker |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

On the front lines of the defund-police movement, groups like Elite Learners and Save Our Streets Bed-Stuy mediate conflicts in ways that have lowered violence without the involvement of police, thus reducing arrests and incarceration at the same time. CMS workers often use the Cure Violence approach of "violence interruption," a form of outreach by community members to offer needed social services while preventing violence. The city, which credits these programs with a 15% decline in shootings in 17 precincts in a three-year span, is expanding the budget for this to nearly $50 million per year.

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They bonded over bagels and lox, then Covid-19 hit. Now this 82-year-old and his millennial friend bond over Zoom

Amy Chillag

June 23, 2020 |

CNN |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

DOROT is a non-profit organization that matches seniors with younger adult volunteers for social visits to combat isolation and loneliness and to promote intergenerational friendships. Many of the seniors are widowers and social isolation can lead to negative health consequences. The organization also delivers fresh meals and holds other events, but was unable to operate as usual once the Covid-19 pandemic hit, so DOROT helped seniors set up Zoom for online conferencing. The group has matched 500 seniors with volunteers and advises similar programs across the country. Many pairs have formed deep friendships.

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Fil-Ams on the frontlines: New York healthcare workers look after each other

Currie Engel

June 23, 2020 |

Rappler |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Two medical professionals, one in New York and one in the Phillipines, have launched a free online seminar that aims to help Filipino and Filipino American frontline workers who are experiencing mental health concerns due to coronavirus stressors. The program is just one of several that is helping medical professionals reduce the stigma around talking about mental health.

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In the quiet of a shutdown, students and seniors forge new friendships

Tara Bahrampour

June 19, 2020 |

The Washington Post |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

When the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in widespread lockdowns, a Washington, D.C. Episcopal day school partnered with a retirement home to help students and seniors provide companionship to one another and decrease loneliness. To help alleviate nerves about talking with someone they've never met, the program trained the students in skills such as cold-calling and offered an introductory script for the initial conversation. The students have reported valuing the conversations while the seniors have said "the connection has been a lifeline."

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Home alone yet connected: Casa Feliz equips seniors to be tech savvy

Renee Umsted

June 17, 2020 |

Dallas Free Press |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Dallas, Texas

Casa Feliz works with seniors to foster good health and emotional well-being. The staff took several measures to help seniors cope with COVID-19 stay at home orders. They organized opportunities for social interaction and activities over zoom, where the seniors exercised together, played games, and did other creative activities. Staff visited homes, sent fliers with tutorials and recorded videos to ensure all seniors could access Zoom. They also worked with a food bank to deliver groceries each week, where they would include any materials, like art supplies, that they would need for the Zoom activities.

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How Violence Interrupters Brokered An End To Anti-Black Attacks In A Latino Neighborhood

Pascal Sabino

June 16, 2020 |

Block Club Chicago |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

When protests against police violence turned into looting and anti-Black violence in some Latinx neighborhoods, violence interrupters from groups such as UCAN, EnLace, and Chicago CRED brokered a peace agreement that almost immediately ended that violence. The outreach workers’ years-long relationships and training in dispute mediation gave them credibility to address historic racial tensions among gangs in Lawndale and Little Village. The violence could have escalated, but three days of negotiation – and a sense of common cause against racism in policing – united the neighborhoods.

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How Bangor drug court participants are getting help staying sober during the pandemic

Judy Harrison

June 16, 2020 |

Bangor Daily News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Bangor, Maine

Bangor drug court in Maine has turned to the use of Zoom to keep in contact with program participants during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although meeting via video call can disguise some physical symptoms of drug use, this new process has so far seen success with all participants still enrolled and one even graduating from the program.

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