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

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  • Promoting health — and trust

    Promotoras de salud is a term that describe lay Latina community members who have been trained to provide health education to community members, and it's a concept that has helped eliminate barriers and improve health outcomes in Montana. Now, as the coronavirus pandemic spreads throughout the state, these part-time community health workers are helping their communities navigate the barriers to navigating the complex health care system.

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  • Unlike Vermont, New Hampshire state police don't collect racial data for arrests

    New Hampshire's official response to nationwide protests of racial bias in policing lacks a critical element: a statewide database showing the race of drivers and passengers in police stops and arrests. Unlike neighboring Vermont, which since 2014 has kept a data-informed eye on racial disparities in policing, New Hampshire officials say they cannot afford to integrate such data from local agencies. Instead, those local agencies are now under a legislative mandate to report what they track to their communities. Advocates say statewide analysis would better inform police training and policies.

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  • Florida took thousands of kids from families, then failed to keep them safe.

    Alarmed that child-welfare officials failed too often to prevent abuse within families, Florida responded six years ago with a crackdown that reversed official policy favoring preserving families if possible. But removing far more children from their homes backfired with an overwhelmed foster-care system unable to detect more child abuse in foster homes. Children were sent to homes with foster parents who were known to pose child-abuse risks. The state failed to hire enough caseworkers and failed to address the family problems that led to the abuse in the first place.

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  • We Hear You

    Early in the pandemic, APIENC, a community organization led by trans, non-binary, and queer Asian and Pacific Islanders in San Francisco, started a phone tree to offer help to people: getting groceries or meals, providing emotional support, or whatever else was needed in a community experiencing racial and other forms of bias on top of pandemic stresses. Only one person took the help – until the group held workshops on how to ask for help. Dozens of requests for help could then be met. This is the middle segment in the third in a series on anti-Asian racism during the pandemic.

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  • In San Diego, Black Muslims are working to expand voting access in jails

    Pillars of the Community hires people incarcerated in local California jails to register new incarcerated voters and conduct civic engagement education behind bars. Pillars, a faith-based criminal justice advocacy group led by Black Muslims, registers hundreds every year, many of whom did not know they were eligible to vote and did not know how to register on their own. Those voting in 2020 will be able to vote on state referenda concerning expanding voting rights for people with felony convictions and on ending cash bail.

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  • San Francisco Doula Program Tackles Birth Equity and Economic Justice in One Fell Swoop

    A doula program in San Francisco is helping to create jobs and build equity in maternal health, especially for Black mothers. Training is free for the client as well as for the doulas, with trainees also receiving mentorship and full benefits. To date, the organization has raised nearly $1 million for operational expenses from a variety of channels including "foundations, a city-managed health plan, and revenue from a local sugary drinks tax."

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  • Kalamazoo police look to violence intervention program and community partnerships to halt shootings

    In their Group Violence Intervention program, Kalamazoo police use "custom notifications" to intervene before street violence erupts. Working in tandem with community groups, the police tell likely shooters that more violence will get them arrested and imprisoned, but stopping now will be rewarded with job help and other services. Progress is slow. It gets measured one by one as young men get jobs and stay out of trouble. The pandemic disrupted the program, followed by a surge in violence. Community members praise the approach as an alternative to overly aggressive policing, but want more services programs.

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  • Illinois advocates work to ensure ballot access for jail voters during pandemic

    Many people who are currently incarcerated still retain the right to vote, and as the 2020 election approaches advocates in Illinois are making sure that those who are in Chicago’s Cook County Jail have access to ballots. Under a newly implemented law, Cook County Jail was designated as a polling place, which increased access for pretrial detainees and those serving certain misdemeanor convictions, and ultimately resulted in a higher voter turnout for the March primaries.

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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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  • As Trump Blames 'The Chinese Virus,' These Asian American Women Won't Stand For The Racism

    Responding to growing attacks on Asian Americans, based on racist reactions to the pandemic, one young woman self-published a handbook, "How to Report a Hate Crime," in multiple languages. Though limited funding kept its print run small, the booklet found an audience through social media. Then its author connected with the victim of a verbal assault, inspired her to push back against police department apathy, and sparked a number of new hate-crime reports and better training for Los Angeles police officers.

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