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

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  • People leaving prison in Michigan still face hurdles to getting an ID

    May 11, 2021 |

    Detroit Free Press |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

    Michigan prisons and the state's secretary of state teamed up to provide people leaving prison on parole with the one thing they often lack: valid personal identification papers. Without a Social Security card or state ID, people struggle to get hired, rent housing, or open a bank account. In the program's first six months, more than 1,200 people got IDs. That's only a third of those eligible. Private groups have taken up some of the slack. The state says it should provide get the service fully up to speed by late 2021.

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  • Huge success for Mother's Day bailout, as annual Philly effort blows past fundraising goal

    May 06, 2021 |

    Billy Penn |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund freed more than 400 people from jail in 2020, thanks to $3 million donated amid the COVID-19 crisis and racial justice protests. Organizers of the Black Mama's Day Bailout, an annual targeted campaign that gave rise to the community bail fund five years ago, expected donor fatigue this year might limit their work. But they exceeded the 2020 Mother's Day campaign, freeing 25 women, in part from sales of art made by formerly incarcerated women in a partnership with an arts co-op. Cash bail penalizes people too poor to afford to remain free before trial.

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

    April 22, 2021 |

    Granite State News Collaborative |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, North Conway, New Hampshire

    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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  • Would You Dine in This Prison?

    April 20, 2021 |

    Reasons to be Cheerful |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United Kingdom, London

    The Clink operates in four British prisons, teaching haute-cuisine cooking skills and then helping its formerly incarcerated trainees establish productive lives once they're released. The training inside prison features restaurants that cater to the public, plus teaching the skills needed to find and keep a job on the outside. When graduates of the program showed the same inclination to commit more crimes as other formerly incarcerated people, the program provided more reentry supports that have contributed to much lower rates of re-offending. The program plans to expand to 70 more prisons in the UK.

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  • A NYC Reentry Program Offers Formerly Incarcerated People Healing, Dignity Through Meals

    April 19, 2021 |

    Civil Eats |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    Reentry programs for people recently released from prison rarely focus on nutrition, must less provide cooking demonstrations. But the Fortune Society hosts 200 formerly incarcerated people at a weekly demo as part of a program that provides farm-sourced, fresh, quality food in a daily hot meal plus nutrition lessons for the people it serves. The program recognizes that the terrible food people get served inside prison forms an unhealthy habit that can continue afterward. The lessons open people to new food experiences that are both healthy and a form of community-building.

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  • Meet the scientists building a prison-to-STEM pipeline

    April 19, 2021 |

    PBS NOVA |

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    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    The movement to promote science education and careers among people who are currently or formerly incarcerated is making slow but real progress. Programs like the National Science Foundation's STEM Opportunities in Prison Settings, and the restoration of Pell Grants in prisons, provide institutional support. But progress can be seen in smaller programs like the Prison Mathematics Project, begun by an incarcerated math whiz whose Italian mathematician mentor inspired him to overcome barriers to education. Another sign of progress: More states are "banning the box" in college applications.

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  • Newark-based violence prevention group seeks to bridge gap between police, social services

    March 28, 2021 |

    NJ Advance Media |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Newark, New Jersey

    Newark's Community Street Team hires and trains formerly incarcerated people and people who have been victims of violence to mediate disputes before they turn violent. Street outreach interventions have been associated with large declines in homicides and assaults, although the programs can overlap with others seeking the same goal. Newark's team will now serve as the hub for a national effort, the Community Based Public Safety Association, to professionalize such work nationwide. The group will seek more public funding and try to raise the visibility of such policing alternatives.

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  • Libraries Are Key Tools For People Getting Out Of Prison, Even During A Pandemic

    March 28, 2021 |

    NPR |

    Radio |

    3-5 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, New Jersey

    When people leave prison, they often gravitate to public libraries as a free place to get computer access and help in looking for work and navigating other aspects of life outside. New Jersey Public Libraries' Fresh Start program adds a layer of help by providing social workers and extra technology resources and training for the formerly incarcerated. Covid disruptions in libraries forced the program to conduct much of its work on the phone or in public, outdoor spaces, but that has posed other problems. Even so, the help some receive has put them on a path toward self-sufficiency.

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  • How Norway's Prisons Have Weathered a Pandemic

    March 12, 2021 |

    Think Global Health |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Norway

    When Covid-19 threatened to disrupt Norway's correctional system, the country's prisons and jails were quick to pivot their practices to protect those who were incarcerated. Although it helped that the country's correctional system was already known for being "small, responsive, and humane," more protocols were put into place to allow some who were incarcerated to complete their sentence at home, while others were provided with iPads to decrease isolation while visits were restricted. So far, only 60 cases of Covid-19 have been reported throughout the entire prison system.

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  • How COVID Impacts Education — Prison Literature Club Adapts During COVID Lockdowns

    March 11, 2021 |

    Rafu Shimpo |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, San Quentin, California

    An educational program called ROOTS (Restoring Our Original True Selves) taught at San Quentin prison in Marin County, California, has transformed into the Literature Club due to the pandemic and has reached other nearby prisons. The Literature Club, started by the Asian Prisoner Support Committee in Oakland, pairs people who are incarcerated with people outside, and they exchange emails to update each other on their reading progress and reflections. "More than a reading group, it’s a supportive space where emotions are openly discussed."

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