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

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  • Part 2: “There is no Champion” — Granite State News Collaborative

    White Mountain Restorative Justice offers juvenile and adult court diversion and victim-offender mediation programs. WMRJ aims to guide first-time low-level offenders through restorative justice processes to hold offenders accountable, repair the harm caused by crime, and prevent reoffences.

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  • A Fatal Police Shooting in Lents Was the Nightmare Portland Officials Tried to Prevent

    After the U.S. Justice Department found that Portland police used excessive force too often when dealing with people in mental health crises, the city formed an unarmed mobile crisis team and a team of police officers with extra training in such cases. Neither team was used when a man with a history of mental illness, armed with what turned out to be a toy gun, was shot to death by a police officer. The Portland Street Response team was not called because the incident occurred outside its limited working hours during the team's pilot phase.

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  • Restorative Justice in Indian Country

    Like standard drug courts, the Penobscot Nation's Healing to Wellness Court refers people facing drug-related criminal charges to substance abuse counseling as an alternative to punishment. But this court and other tribal wellness courts are steeped in indigenous customs, blended with restorative justice approaches, to emphasize rehabilitation based on trust, support, and native traditions. The threat of punishment looms over participants should they fail in their counseling program. But no one has been jailed in the past two years in the Penobscot program.

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  • Lapwai addresses mental health by understanding a child's personal story and culture

    The Lawpwai School District in Idaho has taken a different approach to behavioral health. This new approach includes focusing on teaching positive behavior expectations, partnering with agencies to make on-site therapy available, educating staff on trauma and finding ways to inject Nez Perce culture into the whole process.

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  • A Portland Program Intended to Reduce Police Interactions With People in Crisis Is Off to a Slow Start

    The Portland Street Response program sends a paramedic and social worker on non-emergency calls, often involving mental health crises, instead of sending police. The pilot project, operating during weekday hours in one neighborhood, was assigned 60 calls in its first 40 business days. That tiny percentage of 911 calls falls short of expectations, possibly because dispatchers' screening of calls is defined too narrowly, or because dispatchers are being protective of the police. Supporters say the program always was meant to start small and deliberately, but its call volume is averaging much less than planned.

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  • Cassia ‘Connect' program aims to give every student access to immediate help

    The Connect program in Cassia, Idaho is making it easier for students experiencing mental health crises to get help. Students are able to call a phone number, which also has Spanish interpreters, where they can receive immediate crisis counseling, and set up an appointment with a local mental health professional all through the program. The Cassia County School District also pays for the first couple counseling sessions, while continuing to work with families in need of more long-term care. "Since its inception at least 538 students in the 5,400-student district have accessed Connect therapists."

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  • Charlotte is taking a new approach to drug cases. It could change lives.

    The Mecklenburg County district attorney stopped prosecuting non-violent, low-level drug cases to free up resources to handle a backlog of more serious cases that built up during the pandemic. The policy had the effect of freeing people from the permanent stain of a criminal conviction and offering them drug treatment as an alternative to punishment.

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  • Nampa's in-school therapy partnerships lead to measurable success

    In-school therapy is an increasingly popular mental health support in Idaho schools. Through a partnership with local agencies, therapists are available at schools and are able to set appointments with students, without students or parents having to take time out of school or work to attend. "West Middle School documented a 53% drop in behavioral incidents and a 37% drop in absences among the students who participated in therapy during the first year of the partnership, in 2017-2018."

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  • Deaths of Despair: The crushing toll of a pandemic in Maine's ‘forgotten county'

    Police Chief Bob Fitzsimmons personally connects with residents to combat increasing suicide rates, particularly among teens. Teachers reach out to the chief if one of the town’s 330 schoolchildren misses school, and he personally visits their home. His department funded popcorn and ice-cream sundae parties, as well as a New Year’s Day gathering, to ease the difficulty of isolation during COVID-19. He ensures residents’ achievements are publicly celebrated and grieves with families during tragedies, ensuring everyone has support in the rural area where medical and mental health services are scarcer.

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  • Clubhouse Atlanta: Combatting Unemployment Through Community-Based Approach

    Clubhouse Atlanta provides "transitional employment" services to people whose mental health poses obstacles to finding and keeping a job. Clubhouse staff serve as intermediaries with employers, not only asking employers to hire Clubhouse members but also learning the job requirements in order to train the members themselves. Staff also fill in for members if they are out sick. By relieving employers of the risks of an unreliable or hard-to-train employee, the Clubhouse has helped members find jobs that can lead to a more stable, productive life.

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