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Reimagining New York Jails Without Solitary Confinement

Reuven Blau Rosa Goldensohn

August 19, 2019 |

The City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Solitary confinement was once thought of as one of the only effective punishments for violent prison inmates. As more research surfaces showing the severe damage it does to mental health, the racial bias of those placed in solitary, and its relative ineffectiveness, more cities, like New York City, are exploring alternatives to the practice. In places such as Denver, Chicago, and San Francisco, rather than invoking a punitive approach, city officials are offering positive reinforcement – and seeing positive results.

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Connecting cultures: How Idaho is engaging a growing demographic

Megan Taros

August 15, 2019 |

Twin Falls Times-News |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Idaho

Multiple initiatives have been launched in schools and health care facilities across Idaho to reach out to the Latino population and better serve the community. High school programs are providing space for Latino teens to find role models and hone leadership skills while teacher hiring and training has also been diversified. Health care facilities have made it easier for patients to access translation services.

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‘It's Like an Automatic Deportation if You Don't Have a Lawyer'

Mazin Sidahmed

August 13, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

With the help of legal counsel, immigrants facing deportation are more likely to win their cases and keep their families together. The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project is one of several organizations in New York that provides lawyers free of charge to detained immigrants. The program is also a part of the broader Safety and Fairness for Everyone (SAFE) network, which includes 18 cities that have set up legal defense funds for immigrants.

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In Nigeria's overcrowded prisons, Catholic group frees inmates through free legal services

Patrick Egwu

August 12, 2019 |

National Catholic Reporter |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nigeria

Thousands of people incarcerated in Nigeria’s rapidly growing prison system, many of them awaiting trial without lawyers, receive free legal, health, and educational services from an NGO that for decades has paid twice-weekly visits to prisons around the country. Serving the prisoners’ general welfare, the Catholic Institute for Development, Justice, and Peace seeks the release of defendants on bail, advocates for better health care, and delivers aid packages to people held in the overcrowded lockups.

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School on Wheels Program Turns Bus Into School for Asylum-Seeking Children

Chloe Kellison

August 11, 2019 |

NowThis News |

Video |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

School on Wheels is a program serving children in a refugee camp along the U.S.-Mexico border by transforming an old school bus into a space for learning. The school can fit up to 80 children, all of whom are waiting for asylum in the U.S. It is run by the California-based nonprofit, Yes We Can, and it currently has 3 teachers and over 30 students. The school aims to teach the children values like love, happiness, and being a good person while they are at a particularly tumultuous time in their lives.

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When Arizona catches fire, prisoners step up

Maya L. Kapoor

August 05, 2019 |

High Country News |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Arizona

As the cost of fighting wildfires rises and the number of firefighters declines, Arizona found a solution: paying incarcerated men and women to do the same job for just five percent of the standard rate for firefighting. Arizona’s Inmate Wildfire Program, while fundamentally exploitative, is seemingly more complex. Those that go through the program find a sense of meaning and are given the opportunity to learn leadership and teamwork skills – things they can translate in life upon release.

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Refugees and host community gang up to fight climate change

Noah Omuya

August 02, 2019 |

Things That Work Uganda |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Uganda, Bidibidi

The Bidibidi refugee settlement in Uganda, the largest such settlement in the world, is working with a number of agencies including the UNHCR and The Office of the Prime Minister to address environmental issues in their ever-growing settlement. They are strategizing about a number of initiatives to improve life and conditions where they live with topics like Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Education, Health, or Infrastructure. Current solutions include planting over 470,000 trees, local communities donating land for settlers to build their own crops, and environmental education in the local schools.

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Court Observers Are Shining a Light on the Immigration Court System

Ari Honarvar

August 02, 2019 |

Rewire |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Diego, California

One way that any ordinary citizen can lend a hand to the plight of those caught in the American immigration system is by being a court observer: someone who sits in immigration court and takes notes by hand. Several organizations are working to develop a standardized way of evaluating judges' treatment of migrants to put it in a central database so that the data can be used to evaluate the human impact by the system as a whole. People who participate testify to the job alleviating despair over the situation as they can mitigate any unfair practices going unnoticed.

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First Group Of Students Graduates From Wesleyan's Prison Education Program

Shawn R. Beals

July 31, 2019 |

Hartford Courant |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Middletown, Connecticut

The first class of students enrolled in the Wesleyan University Center for Prison Education has just graduated. The program awards participants with an associate degree from Middlesex Community College in general studies and intends to serve as a tool against recidivism by offering an opportunity for success after incarceration. The Center for Prison Education has existed since 2009, serving 138 students thus far, and started offering a degree option in 2016.

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Yoyo Baby Care Facility Restores Hope To Refugee Mothers

Agwere Sarah

July 27, 2019 |

Things That Work Uganda |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Uganda, Bidibidi

The Yoyo Vocational Institute was established in one of the largest refugee camps in the world, Bidibidi, to help refugees and migrants learn vocational skills that can then be used for employment. The Institute also offers a baby care facility on site so that mothers can concentrate on their studies knowing that their children are being taken care of. This improves the refugee rates of school attainment that will increase their income over time.

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