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

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  • The 'Cafes' Trying to Close the Breastfeeding Gap

    In Brooklyn, along with 2 other locations in New York, new mothers are receiving free lactation consultations, helping them to learn how to breastfeed their babies - but also building a sense of community for these mothers. While the ultimate goal of the so-called Baby Cafes is to lessen the barriers to breastfeeding, the community and support they provide are also essential to encouraging the practice.

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  • The Love Story that Upended the Texas Prison System

    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

    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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  • Bringing Arts and Culture into the Work of Public Safety and Criminal Justice

    A collaboration between artists, lawyers, and community members has resulted in expungement clinics that clean or clear criminal records in a manner that is legally binding and emotionally therapeutic. Clinic attendees are invited to literally shred their records and are then presented with a blank piece of paper made by co-op members—many formerly incarcerated people themselves—representing a new start.

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  • To Help Young Women in Prison, Try Dignity

    Inspired by prisons in Germany that emphasize personal dignity, Connecticut is shifting its corrections department's focus with two programs for young offenders. The one for women matches 14 inmates with older incarcerated mentors who help develop programs of classes, counseling and planning for post-release life. Officers are trained to address trauma and say they feel a new sense of purpose, but it's an expensive and labor-intensive program so it's unclear how it will fare after this pilot phase.

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  • Cultural identity, open conversations aid suicide prevention among Native Americans

    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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  • How One Inuit Community Won Against Big Oil

    Faced with the existential threat posed by an oil company in their community, the Gwich’in nation banded together with a former rival, Greenpeace, to take the company to court. By highlighting the failure of the company to consult the community and think through the effects of oil exploration on "lives and livelihoods," the Canadian Supreme Court forced the company to look for oil elsewhere.

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  • In Colorado Senior Homes, A Companion For Those With Dementia: A Robot Named Ryan

    Companion robots are making their way into Colorado senior living communities with the goal of providing meaningful company to residents. Equipped with a "soft human face," the companion robots mitigate against depression and isolation while also reminding community members to take their medications and interact with those around them.

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  • Chicago hotel workers join #MeToo, demand protections against sexual assault

    Hotel workers and members of the union, Unite Here, successfully lobbied for a law that makes it mandatory for hotels in Chicago to provide a safety device, known as a panic button, to workers. The ordinance also includes a retaliation clause which forbids employers from firing women after reporting sexual abuse. ‘This is incredible.' Because like, we all had the same feeling like we've started something.”

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  • Philly Program Teaches Defendants How To Help Themselves

    In Philadelphia, the participatory defense program helps people learn how to present themselves in a criminal case in a way that gives a more complete picture of who they are. They write a biography, get letters of support and bring supporters to court in a system the chief public defender brought from Montgomery County and which originated in Silicon Valley. The program helps public defenders present their cases more effectively and judges may be more likely to impose less harsh sentences.

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