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

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  • In Denver, Unarmed Mental Health Workers Respond To Hundreds Of 911 Calls Instead Of Police

    Since Denver launched its Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program in June, it has handled more than 600 calls for help with a mental health clinician and a paramedic instead of sending police officers. Modeled on Eugene, Oregon's CAHOOTS program, STAR is based on the notion that low-level emergencies involving mental health, homelessness, and substance abuse do not require police responses, and in fact can more often end peacefully by removing police from the equation. STAR started small, with one van on duty during weekday hours. Police support the move, and often call in STAR for assistance.

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  • An African American quilter confronts racism amid COVID-19

    The killing of George Floyd inspired a series of exhibits in Minneapolis featuring quilts made by over 100 artists depicting stories of racial injustices and also empowerment in the United States. These protest quilts join a long tradition of sharing stories of fear and perseverance experienced by Black people, especially Black women, in society. Today, these same quilters responded to Covid-19 by making masks. The over 500 members of The Women of Color Quilters Network have made close to 20,000 masks, many of which they have given for free to health care and other front line workers.

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  • Seattle's urban farmers are reclaiming public space

    Seattle’s urban agriculture community saw a boom during the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests. BIPOC-led urban farms — like YES Farm and Black Star Farmers — had an increase in volunteers and people wanting to help provide food security, agricultural education, and land access to communities who don’t have their basic needs met. In the first half of 2020, the city of Seattle assigned plots of land to 439 new gardeners to pursue urban farming, with nearly half of them going to underrepresented populations.

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  • From prison to star employee

    Frustrated by a tight labor market, two locally owned Grand Rapids employers discovered the virtues – economic, not just moral – of hiring formerly incarcerated people, whose gratitude for an opportunity translated into excellent performance and less risk of adding to rapid turnover. The employers helped guarantee success by paying for support services that made post-prison transitions easier. The employers then talked hundreds of other local employers into doing the same. Besides providing a business advantage, the program changes lives and is evidently contributing to much lower rates of recidivism.

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  • Native history is WA history, and tribes are helping schools teach it

    In order to better educate students about indigenous history, in 2015, Washington passed the “Since Time Immemorial” (STI) curriculum, the law requires schools to teach a tribally developed curriculum. This has led to some school districts collaborating with local tribes and more students learning about indigenous people. “There are still Native people around today — we’re here.”

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  • Where the COVID-19 Pandemic Might Finally Ignite Change in the Bail Bonds System

    The spread of COVID-19 in jails prompted many releases from custody and a surge in donations to bail funds that pay for people's release. But those fixes have done little to address the underlying challenges of detaining millions of people before trial, either because they cannot afford cash bail or because risk-assessment tools deem them a threat to public safety or unlikely to return to court. In two South Florida jails, the struggles over containing the virus, providing due process to criminal defendants, and ensuring public safety have brought the debate into sharper focus.

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  • A Watchdog Accused Officers of Serious Misconduct. Few Were Punished.

    New York City established its Civilian Complaint Review board in 1993 to strengthen its police-discipline system, a response to complaints that police officers rarely were punished for harassment and brutality, especially in Black and brown neighborhoods. In 6,900 cases in which the board recommended the toughest punishment, however, police officials overruled it more than 70% of the time over the past two decades. The result is a disciplinary mechanism designed to instill trust but that instead "has become all but toothless" because of how it is structured and how police leaders responded to oversight.

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  • Crowdfunded solar puts Red Lake Nation on a path to energy sovereignty

    The Red Lake Nation in Minnesota is building a 240-kilowatt solar array on top of a workforce training center, which will generate about half of the building’s electricity. This project was financed through crowdfunding, where they raised $250,000 from religiously inclined microlenders. The goal: to allow the tribe to have energy sovereignty, create higher-paying jobs, and maintain a healthy environment.

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  • How faith leaders organized to win two major environmental victories in Louisiana

    Religious leaders in Louisiana successfully mobilized their communities to vote against a state amendment that would give manufacturers a tax break at the expense of local governments. The interfaith network of 250 religious organizations took on the role of educating their congregations and neighborhoods. Plans for a large plastics manufacturing plant have also been delayed due to the efforts of religious groups.

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  • Youth advocacy groups kept voters safe and informed on Election Day

    Civic participation by youth advocacy groups registered tens of thousands of young voters and educated many more on election-related issues, including local and state ballot initiatives. Events held on zoom provided registration information and helped students connect with their peers, where they made pledges and plans to vote. Arizona PIRG Students New Voters Project educated 10,000 students this way, while CALPIRG Students' 500 volunteers registered 10,000 students, provided voter information to over 150,000 students, and made over 90,000 peer to peer Get Out the Vote contacts.

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