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

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  • Brokering peace on the South Side

    Outreach workers with CRED (Create Real Economic Destiny) in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood are paid under a city grant to de-escalate and mediate disputes among the same gangs that some of the workers once belonged to. Able to win the trust of people who distrust the police, CRED's violence prevention workers also provide therapy to trauma victims and job development help, in order to address the underlying causes of violence in a neighborhood where a lack of hope can breed a lack of respect for others' lives. Fatal shootings in Roseland are down by one-third while up elsewhere in Chicago.

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  • Citizens' assemblies are increasingly popular

    Citizens' assemblies have been used in a number of countries to give groups of ordinary people the chance to grapple with big, difficult problems and then recommend what actions their governments should take. Assemblies in Ireland led to referenda on subjects long considered intractable, same-sex marriage and abortion, leading to public approval of liberalized policies. As in France, the key to success is when politicians actually listen. By hearing from experts and giving a range of views space to be heard, citizens' assemblies can move people off extreme positions toward compromise.

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  • The US police department that decided to hire social workers

    When Alexandria, Kentucky's police chief realized how many of his officers' calls were for mental health crises or minor interpersonal disputes, and then how many of these unresolved problems resulted in repeat 911 calls, he hired a social worker to follow up with people to offer health and social services after the police leave. Now the department's two staff social workers do that work, costing less than hiring more police and reducing repeat calls. Alexandria is a small town, but now its approach is being copied in nearby Louisville.

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  • Program offers alternative to calling police

    For 31 years, CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) has used unarmed medics and crisis intervention experts to respond to mental health and other non-violent crises, saving money and preventing potentially violent reactions that can result from having police respond first. No effects on police officers' use of force have been measured. But CAHOOTS estimates it saves taxpayers $8.5 million annually in police costs.

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  • ‘Vigilantes' on a mission to reunite owners with their stolen bikes Audio icon

    Facebook groups are reuniting bicycle-theft victims with their property by creating a place to report thefts and alerting others to be on the lookout for the bikes. A pandemic-inspired boom in bicycling, as a means to avoid public transportation, has fed a concurrent boom in bike thefts. Police praise the Facebook groups' public spirit and effectiveness, but warn of risks when confronting those trying to sell stolen bikes. More than 90% of bike theft reports to police hit a dead end, lowering faith in the police as a solution.

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  • Police have shot people experiencing a mental health crisis. Who should you call instead?

    Daniel Prude's death in police custody illustrates a common flaw in how police respond to mental health crises, but reform advocates disagree on whether to improve police training or bypass police almost entirely. Mental health crises make up a large share of police calls, jailings, and fatal police shootings. Most police training on mental health responses is limited to 4-12 hours. Some departments put at least some officers through crisis intervention training. But critics of police-focused responses prefer non-police response teams, in use in a few cities.

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  • How Formerly Incarcerated Firefighters Are Getting the Jobs and Pay They Deserve

    The Fire and Forestry Recruitment Program serves as an intermediary between formerly incarcerated people trained as firefighters and the agencies they seek work from once they have been released from prison. California has long used incarcerated firefighters in its wildfire-fighting work, paying them poverty wages and then usually denying them the jobs they're trained for outside prison. FFRP has helped more than 100 such people find jobs, using training, certifications, and job-searching help. Its services are in high demand as a lower prison population coincides with record wildfires.

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  • In Denver, This Program Helps Reroute 911 Calls To Police Alternatives

    In its first three months of existence, Denver's STAR program sent medics and counselors to respond to more than 600 calls to 911 in place of the police and without ever having to call the police as backup in a violent confrontation. The calls dealt mainly with complaints about unhoused people who callers complained were trespassing. Instead of the police approach, which often is to see such people as a threat, the STAR team sees them as people needing help. Such calls diverted from police end up connecting people with necessary social services and avoid possible violence or unnecessary incarceration.

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  • Forged By AIDS, Storied NYC Residence Boosts Aging In Place

    Two community living facilities have played integral roles in combatting the spread of diseases throughout New York's history by relying on mutual aid models. In the 1980's the Manhattan Plaza residence started the AIDS Project, which "assigned care partners to every person who got sick and deployed volunteers to deliver meals and get people to doctors." Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic poses a threat, similar efforts are underway by a younger generation at the Manhattan Plaza as well as at Penn South where the focus has been on keeping senior citizens safe.

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  • Blazing the trail: How coast slum flattened the curve

    Although residents in Bangladesh were initially hesitant to take precautionary measures against COVID-19, once one county began reporting cases, the community took swift action. From implementing hand washing stations at the borders of the regions to teaching children and other community members how to make soap and face masks, Bangladesh has not only been able to flatten the curve of coronavirus cases, but has also been able to avoid the typical influx of cholera cases that occur during the rainy season.

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