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Lifting Up Community Voices to Tackle Injustice

Jean Trounstine

December 26, 2017 |

Truthout |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Richmond, Virginia

This article uses the stories of five different activist women across the United States as examples of successes using the human-centered design strategy of centering the people most directly affected in the decision-making and healing process. The women work in a variety of justice areas (from housing equity to incarceration), but they all testify to a community justice model as being the most effective and empowering solution to past and current injustices.

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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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Carbondale Cops Learn Spanish in Compliance with Town Resolution

Raleigh Burleigh

December 22, 2017 |

KDNK Community Radio |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Carbondale, Colorado

To mitigate against growing concerns about the disconnect between Carbondale, Colorado police officers and community members, a local high school proposed a plan: have the cops learn Spanish. Not only has this impacted the police departments outreach, but it has also improved community and police trust.

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How to Get Wheelchairs on Planes

William Kremer

December 17, 2017 |

BBC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: England, London

When you step on an airplane, you might not be thinking about people who use wheelchairs, neither are airlines. People who need to use wheelchairs have faced a number of challenges on airplanes, like lost and damaged wheelchairs, not being able to use the restroom, and feeling dehumanized. Some people, are taking matters into their own hands.

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Rethinking Rikers

Michael Schwirtz Neeti Upadhye Michael Kirby Smith Kaitlyn Mullin

December 16, 2017 |

The New York Times |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

In the ongoing challenge to reform New York’s Rikers Island prison complex, many have turned to Chicago’s Cook County jail as a model. While Rikers has made some reforms – including group therapy for those with mental health concerns and doing away with solitary confinement for inmates under 22 – there is more that they can do to follow in Chicago's footsteps. There, they have introduced the use of real-time data collection to map violence, made mental health care a key component of their services, and trained guards in verbal de-escalation.

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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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I Am Evidence

Mariska Hargitay Trish Adlesic Geeta Gandbhir

December 08, 2017 |

HBO |

Documentary |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

Hundreds of thousands of rape evidence kits went untested around the nation, in large part because police and prosecutors disbelieved victims on grounds of race and class. When crimes went unexamined, serial rapists continued to commit crimes and more victims were left with their trauma unaddressed. Prosecutors in Detroit and Cleveland fought for the resources to test the "rape kits" and found through DNA evidence thousands of suspects, large numbers of whom were connected to serial rapes. This film takes an intimate look at some victims, police, and prosecutors to show what clearing the backlog means.

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As shootings and homicides drop in Englewood, a new optimism grows

Annie Sweeney

December 08, 2017 |

Chicago Tribune |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

In Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, a name long synonymous with violence and gang activity, a mix of robust, data-driven policing and community engagement reversed a spike in violence from 2016 to 2017 to a degree unmatched anywhere else in the city. A $1.5 million investment in the Strategic Decision Support Center enabled Chicago Crime Lab analysts working with police at the neighborhood level to pinpoint problems and respond quickly. At the same time, police took a less antagonistic stance toward residents. That and lowered violence produced healthier activities like block parties and job fairs.

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These Planners Stepped Away From the Spreadsheets and Into the Community

Oscar Perry Abello

December 06, 2017 |

Next City |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

The Regional Plan Association is a research and urban planning organization. They are deeply influential in the urban planning in the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut metropolitan area. The regional planning process has historically represented the needs of mostly white, affluent people, so this time RPA partnered with eight grassroots organizations, and involved immigrants from Long Island to take part in the regional planning process through focus groups, surveys, and discussions. As many as 1,600 people were engaged.

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How A Textile Factory Empowers Its All-Blind Work Crew

Alia Stearns

December 05, 2017 |

UPROXX |

Multi-Media |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Dallas, Texas

A startling 70% of blind persons in the United States are unemployed. The Dallas Lighthouse for the Blind is helping shift the understanding of what types of jobs are available to this population with a revolutionary factory built specifically for its blind employees. Each machine is retrofitted to be used safely and easily, empowering individuals to become more independent. This video takes you inside the factory to meet some of the workers.

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