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Murder in America: What Makes Cities Safer

Scott Calvert Zusha Elinson Max Rust

December 27, 2017 |

Wall Street Journal |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

Certain cities in the United States are facing startlingly high rates of homicide and violence that haven't been seen since the height of gang activity in the 1990s. But certain cities, including Los Angeles, have continued to see declines in or stable crime rates, thanks to a community-based policing approach that uses tactics such as working with former drug dealers, hosting neighborhood events, cleaning litter from the streets, and mediating sit-downs between formal gang rivals.

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He overcame drug addiction. Now he works to save the lives of other addicts on the street

Gillian Friedman

December 27, 2017 |

Deseret News |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Salt Lake City, Utah

The state of Utah passed legislation in 2016 that made Naloxone, a life-saving overdose reversal drug, available over the counter to non-medical personnel as part of an initiative to reduce opioid related overdose deaths. An organization called One Voice Recovery brings Naloxone kits to addicts in heavily drug addicted areas in an attempt to reduce harm. In addition, One Voice Recovery helps addicts who want to seek treatment get the help they need.

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Arkansas Spurns Warehousing of Floundering Students

Heather Vogell

December 22, 2017 |

ProPublica |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Bentonville, Arkansas

The state of Arkansas cares deeply about the wellbeing of its students, as evidenced by its flourishing system of alternative schools that provide extra counseling in academics, social and mental support, and research-backed techniques that reduce bad behavior, poor grades, and absenteeism. The schools even work to dismantle the taboo around alternative schools, presenting them as an intervention rather than a punishment. The introduction of these schools correlates with a decline in Arkansas' overall dropout rate from 2002 to 2012, and nearly 10% of its graduates have spent time in alternative education.

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Philly's Gang Violence Strategy Doesn't Work. Here's Why.

Maura Ewing

December 21, 2017 |

The Appeal |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The "Focused Deterrence" approach to lowering gang violence was hailed as a success in Philly when shootings went down, but is that the whole story? The strategy is also receiving some notable critiques, including the claim that the social services and employment opportunities it claims to provide have been less than forthcoming.

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Lessons from Seattle: How this alternative to jail may be a solution for Utah

Erica Evans

December 20, 2017 |

Deseret News |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

A program piloted in Seattle and now replicated in several cities nationwide aims to redirect low-level drug offenders into a case management system that can help them change their lives by connecting them with social services and advocating for their wellbeing. The program is called Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, or LEAD, and police officers can direct people into it if they are suspected of having committed a drug crime.

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Be Cool, Stay in School

Adam Davidson

December 12, 2017 |

This American Life |

Podcast |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Rochester, New York

Most jobs require at least a high school education, but 80 million Americans don’t have one, leaving millions of people locked out of the social economic ladder. In Rochester, New York, an organization called Pathstone trains people without a high school degree. They created an optics apprenticeship program, graduating 9 students.

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The Talking Cure

Chana Joffe-Walt

December 12, 2017 |

This American Life |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

At Lyons Community School in New York City, there's a different approach to discipline: Restorative Justice. Instead of suspending students for inappropriate behavior, teachers, and administrators try to talk it out with students. They see kid's emotional responses as a long-term project, rather than actions that should be treated with punishment. "Talking is how you are successful." Some students say the method is working.

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The Radio Show Bringing Prisoners Messages from Home

Ivy Brashear

December 11, 2017 |

Yes! Magazine |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

“Calls From Home” is an Appalachian radio show that allows people in prison to hear messages from family and friends. People call in the radio show, leave a message, and every Monday from 9 to 10 p.m. the messages are played over the airways making a message from home accessible to the 11 prisons and facilities within range. “The folks who are locked up here are also a part of our community. They’re the least visible parts of our community, for sure, but they are here, and I see that as part of our responsibly as a radio station.”

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How Nigeria Defeated Ebola

Kristin Peterson Morenike O. Folayan

December 10, 2017 |

Africa Is A Country |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Nigeria, Lagos

Nigeria contained its 2014 Ebola outbreak through rapid emergency response and compassionate care. In less than 10 weeks, health workers visited more than 147,000 people who may have had first or second degree contact with the index patient, tracking body temperatures and other health data while isolating themselves from their own families to prevent further exposure. Patients received psychosocial support, and a massive public awareness campaign encouraged public trust throughout the crisis.

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Portugal's radical drugs policy is working. Why hasn't the world copied it?

Susana Ferreira

December 05, 2017 |

The Guardian |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Portugal, Olhão

After the fall of an oppressive and isolating regime, Portugal found itself utterly unprepared to deal with the rapid distribution of narcotics in the 1980s, creating a crisis that left 1 in every 10 people struggling with addiction. The country took a radical approach to rectifying opioid use through a huge cultural shift in the way it viewed and treated addicts - prioritizing support services and pioneering programs like needle-exchange and substitution therapy, and eventually decriminalizing hard drugs so that users could more easily get help, and drug rates have since plummeted.

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