How well is Cure Violence working in St. Louis?

Casey Nolen

May 26, 2021 |

KSDK-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

While homicides in St. Louis in the first part of 2021 increased over already-high numbers in recent years, three neighborhoods served by a new Cure Violence program showed significant decreases in homicides, assaults, and robberies. Cure Violence, a national program, puts "violence interrupters" on the streets to intervene before arguments turn deadly and to provide people with services they need. In one neighborhood, Dutchtown, interrupters say they prevented 87 incidents in less than seven months. The city now is trying to find the money to expand the program to more areas of the city.

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Reimagining a Better World After George Floyd's Death

Anoa Changa Laura Rosbrow-Telem

May 24, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Two ways that communities affected by police violence and racial injustice responded to the uprising after George Floyd's murder were block-by-block organizing and participatory budgeting. The first, used in Minneapolis, provided public safety and mutual aid when neighbors formed networks to guard buildings, put out fires, mediate disputes, and deliver aid to people living through a period of unrest. In participatory budgeting, 30 cities turned over control of $400 million in public spending to communities, which set policy based on communal decisions and directed financial priorities.

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Community-led alternative to criminal justice resolves conflict, fosters community and protects youth

Constance Garcia-Barrio

May 23, 2021 |

Grid Magazine |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Restorative justice healing circles run by Cookman Beloved Community Baptist Church in West Philadelphia have helped resolve hundreds of disputes among youth over the past 15 years using dialogue instead of courts. Bringing together people who were harmed, those who harmed them, and members of the community leads to negotiated agreements that provide justice and reconciliation without leaving young people with a criminal record. Restorative-justice approaches to school discipline in Philadelphia have dropped the numbers of arrests from 1,600 to 384 per year.

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In San Francisco, Help Hits the Streets with a Crisis Response Team

Natalie Mead

May 21, 2021 |

What's Next Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

Six San Francisco neighborhoods are now served by the city's Street Crisis Response Teams, which answer 911 calls for non-violent mental or behavioral health crises without police involvement. In its first two months in one neighborhood, the Tenderloin, the team handled 199 calls without any violent incidents or any need for police intervention. That led to the expansion to five more neighborhoods. The program is modeled on Eugene, Oregon's CAHOOTS project's street medics and counselors, but with an additional "peer specialist," someone with lived experience to counsel unhoused people on the streets.

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Philly mothers of gun violence victims work to solve their children's murders

Jo Piazza

May 20, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia police fail to solve most of the city's growing number of homicides, in part because of the no-snitching street code, a byproduct of the community's lack of trust in police. But the streets do sometimes talk when the mothers of murder victims do their own detective work. A number of cases were solved because mothers turned their grief into a resolve to hunt down evidence that they turned over to the police. Their work grows out of the many support groups they have formed to help each other, and from a YouTube channel that helps them draw attention to unsolved murders.

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The other SNL: New York City's athletic approach to curbing rising gun violence

Talib Visram

May 20, 2021 |

FastCompany |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Saturday Night Lights is run by the DA’s office and aims to reduce gun violence by providing organized sports for school-aged kids on weekend nights, when crime often goes up. Active in 20 locations across the city, SNL has served over 20,000 kids in 10 years. Partners must open on Saturday nights, for at least 46 weeks per year, and provide high quality coaching. There is no formal sign-up process or eligibility requirements apart from age and participants can join on any given night. As a response to surging crime rates in 2020, the mayor’s office has committed $5 million a year to expand to 100 locations.

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‘How to Report a Hate Crime' booklets empower Asian Americans amid rise in discrimination

Bianca Hillier

May 18, 2021 |

The World |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

Worried for her Korean-immigrant parents' safety during rising anti-Asian hate crimes, a Los Angeles woman wrote and printed a booklet, "How to Report a Hate Crime." The booklet, now in nine languages and distributed across the U.S., gives instructions on what to do and where to call for help when reporting a hate crime. The target audience is elderly Asian Americans, who tend to be reluctant to report such crimes and who rely more on printed materials than online information. So far, donations have paid for 60,000 reprints. The booklets are available for free downloads at hatecrimebook.com.

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Philly Under Fire Episode 6: The Golden Hour

Jo Piazza

May 13, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In Philadelphia, public agencies and funding serve homicide victims' families. But grassroots groups target the enormous gaps in services for the survivors of gun violence, people whose unaddressed needs – medical, financial, and especially emotional – can fuel cycles of retaliatory violence. Because trauma and anger increase the risks for future violence, groups like The ECO Foundation and Northwest Victim Services provide both immediate responses, starting bedside in hospitals, all the way to long-term care and counseling, plus preventive counseling and services to make for healthier communities.

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Philly should look to this Oakland program to protect its AAPI community

William Keo

May 12, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

In response to a string of hate crimes across the country that has left the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community on edge, a volunteer-led group is standing in solidarity through more than just words. Compassion in Oakland is providing chaperone services to Asian elders. The volunteer-led group is helping the Asian-American community feel safer by accompanying people on their errands and doing street patrols to show solidarity and support.

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How Jos Neighbourhood Watch Makes Christians, Muslims Their Brother's Keeper

Nathaniel Bivan

May 10, 2021 |

HumAngle |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Nigeria, Jos, Plateau State

Following years of religious-based violence throughout Plateau State, Christians and Muslims in the Dutse Uku area of Jos formed a neighborhood watch program to intervene before one killing turns into many. Elders on both sides of the divided community agreed to take responsibility for violence in their area and to help the other side seek justice. Places of worship are guarded by members of the opposite faith, in a show of solidarity that has not completely erased fears and suspicions, but has bred a calmer atmosphere. People now mingle freely at the marketplace and business has improved.

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