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

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  • 'I feel human again' — At three hotels, formerly incarcerated New Yorkers get the support they need Audio icon

    When jails and prisons released people early as a pandemic precaution, New York City responded to the threat of increased homelessness by temporarily housing more than 400 people in hotels while providing them with re-entry services aimed at preventing new crimes. Exodus Transitional Community, the city's contractor, provided a combination of emergency shelter and counseling that would be unavailable in standard homeless shelters. No COVID-19 cases have been reported in the hotels, while residents praise the service for giving them the stability and safety they need to restart their lives.

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  • Where are they now? The graduates of India's Door Step School

    Back in 1988, Bina Sheth Lashkar, started noticing that students who lived in Slums were dropping out at high rates because they had to work to support their families. So, Bina and her colleague created Door Step School.“If children can’t go to the school, let the school come to them.” What began as a class of 25 students has now evolved to 200 centers in Mumbai and Pune, and a schools-on-wheels project.

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  • Only 1 of 3 Black boys is ready for kindergarten. How one organization is trying to improve that

    The African American Youth Harvest Foundation in Austin, Texas, is aiming to close the gap for young Black boys who are not ready for kindergarten. The nonprofit works closely with families, and helps provide for immediate needs, like food, childcare, and utility bills. In the future, it hopes to employ social workers to address a wider swath of critical concerns and address learning issues among both Black and Hispanic boys, from birth to age 5.

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  • A Special Court Keeping Native Americans Out of Jail

    The Penobscot Nation's Healing to Wellness Court is a drug court, diverting people charged with drug offenses from possible fines and jail into therapy. But it has an added cultural element, providing traditional healing approaches alongside mainstream behavioral therapy. The cultural piece recognizes that Native Americans' historical trauma and disconnect from their culture can contribute to the problems that lead to addiction. The court is far less expensive than jail or prison, and its participants have not been jailed for failing treatment in more than two years.

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  • A Broken Bond: How New York Judges are Getting Around Bail Reform Audio icon

    A key part of New York state's bail system reform legislation gave judges the ability to use alternative forms of bail designed to be more affordable to more people. But, by giving judges broad discretion, the law left large loopholes that judges have used to undercut the law's purpose. In addition to the two standard forms of bail – payment in cash or a nonrefundable fee to a bail bonds company – the law allowed for cost-free or refundable-deposit bonds that judges either have avoided using or have turned into a new costly obligation, leaving thousands to sit in jail pending trial.

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  • How one school district is closing the equity gap with a school bus and a card table

    While virtual learning can work for some, for special education students, many services and lessons get lost. “When it comes to those occupational needs and those speech needs, they’re not getting those services met because they’re not in school.” In Texas, one school district is using a bus to provide curbside education to special education students. A teacher, a table, and materials are all inside the bus. Once inside, students receive lessons from specialists. “As soon as Arwyn got on the bus the first time, she was super excited to see her teachers, to see her occupational therapist."

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  • How one state is sending thousands of WiFi hotspots to keep students in school

    In South Carolina, 180,000 households don’t have access to Wifi, according to estimates. A problem for students who are trying to attend virtual classes. Using CARES funds, the state purchased hotspots. In one county, almost all of the students are connected. “The hotspots are working well, with just about all of the county’s 77,000 students logging on to learn.”

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  • What smaller Texas communities can learn from startups about COVID-19 economic recovery

    Since the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses in Texas are struggling to stay afloat. A university-sponsored crash course might help struggling businesses find solutions catered to their community. Fifty-eight communities participated in the Regional XLR8 program sponsored by the IC institute at the University of Texas at Austin. The “secret sauce” for innovation the institute has used for decades involves getting people to work with one another as opposed to working separately.

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  • Akron wants to help small business owners grow, but officials say they need more help from banks

    Motor City Match is an entrepreneurial development initiative that provides grants for historically marginalized business owners in Detroit. It also matches minority entrepreneurs with empty retail space in addition to providing business coaching and planning services. The program depends on nontraditional lenders to provide the funding. Motor City Match inspired the formation of Rubber City Match in Akron but that program has faced financing hurdles due to a lack of nontraditional lenders in the city.

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  • Grieving Murdered Children During A Pandemic

    The nationwide surge in gun violence during the pandemic has forced support groups for grieving survivors to persevere in their work using different tools and strategies in a process that depends on intimate forms of counseling. In Durham, one "grief circle" associated with the Religious Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham still hosts anti-violence vigils after each killing. Its support group for parents and grandparents of victims, led by fellow survivors for maximum effect, shifted to Zoom and telephone calls. Among the beneficiaries of the support: the organizers themselves, whose work gives them purpose.

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