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In a city where bullets too often hit kids, a program calls on young people to shoot cameras, not guns

Theresa Vargas

March 03, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

A group of D.C. teens produced a short film depicting life in their neighborhood, the final product of a pilot project that teaches filmmaking skills in order to lift up community voices and inspire youth to pursue a career. The program, "Don't Shoot Guns, Shoot Cameras," was started by the uncle of a homicide victim in a neighborhood where violence can feel more prevalent than positive inspiration. The program, which partnered with an existing nonprofit, is now seeking to expand.

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Here's What Happens When Social Workers, Not Police, Respond To Mental Health Crises

Christina Jedra

March 01, 2021 |

Honolulu Civil Beat |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

Honolulu could benefit from adopting the approach to mental-health crisis calls to 911 that Eugene, Oregon, uses. But it would need to make big changes first in its critical infrastructure. Eugene's CAHOOTS program sends counselors and medics on 17% of the calls coming to its city's 911 center, saving millions on police, ambulances, and emergency room visits. Non-police responders de-escalate potential conflicts and get people the help they need without arrest or violence. Honolulu is primed to examine this approach, as many cities have done, but it's not a simple matter to start it.

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One Relationship at a Time: Restorative Justice Initiatives in West Harlem are Rewriting Legacies of Violence and Mass Incarceration

Ellida Parker Cheryn Hong

February 26, 2021 |

Columbia Daily Spectator |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

The largest police raid in New York City history did little to resolve a decades-long conflict between residents of two Harlem housing projects, nor did it address the underlying problems causing violence in the community. So two community groups, supported by grants from the Manhattan district attorney, have deployed intervention teams to de-escalate and mediate disputes. They also provide an array of services to give young people alternatives to fighting and to assist people who were arrested in the raids as they emerge from prison.

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Cops and Hippies

David Byrne

February 26, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

The CAHOOTS program, which sends medics and counselors on certain 911 calls instead of the police, has become a national model in the wake of 2020's criminal-justice protests. But its roots reach back half a century, when a free medical clinic serving the hippie counterculture emerged as a public-health response to drug, mental health, and other non-violent emergencies. CAHOOTS has grown into a 24/7 service that saves Eugene millions in policing and medical spending, and saves many on the streets from unnecessarily punitive interactions with the police.

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How does Portland's Street Response Team compare with a similar program in Denver?

Dan Haggerty

February 24, 2021 |

KGW-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

Although Eugene, Oregon's long-running, successful CAHOOTS program serves as one model for the new Portland Street Response, a more relevant model can be found in Denver's STAR program. Like CAHOOTS, STAR responds to mental-health and other crisis calls with medics and counselors rather than police officers. But Denver's size, demographics, and homelessness make it much more analogous to Portland. In STAR's first six months, it handled nearly 750 calls without a single arrest. Both STAR and PSR are starting small, so more resources are needed if the pilot projects succeed.

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Oonee Wants to Fix New York Bike Parking with Free, Secure Storage Pods

Ira Boudway

February 11, 2021 |

Bloomberg |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

An early-stage startup with big plans to change bicycling culture and commuting habits has notched one victory already, with its first secure-parking pods in New York City: Out of 60,000 times they've been used, the pods have only suffered one theft, at a time of rampant bike theft. Startup Oonee provides an alternative to locking up bikes and scooters on the street during work hours. Parking in an enclosed shelter is advertising-supported, so it's free to users. Ultimately, Oonee hopes to surround parking with a suite of services useful to two-wheeled commuters.

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‘I'm Stronger Now:' Support Centers For Trauma Survivors Expanding In Illinois

Patrick Smith

February 08, 2021 |

WBEZ |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Illinois

Since 2017, two publicly funded trauma recovery centers in Illinois have helped violent-crime survivors cope with the emotional fallout that can accompany a loved one's murder or surviving their own violent attack. Case managers help people get group and individual therapy. They can also line up financial aid to help people pay for food and rent, when their trauma interferes with their ability to make a living. The centers, based on a model developed in California as a way to foster public safety through healing communities, will expand by three more in the state in 2021.

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Plan to beautify 50 vacant lots falls short nearly two years later

Manny Ramos

February 07, 2021 |

Chicago Sun-Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Since June 2019, Chicago's Grounds for Peace pilot project has begun cleaning up vacant, city-owned lots using an approach to urban beautification that has been shown in other cities, and in one Chicago neighborhood, to reduce crime and boost residents' feelings of safety. While the city and its contractors consider the project a success in the making, thus far only two of the original 50 targeted lots show signs of improvement. Project leaders blame funding shortfalls, disruptions due to the pandemic, and difficulties in removing abandoned vehicles.

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Denver successfully sent mental health professionals, not police, to hundreds of calls

Grace Hauck

February 06, 2021 |

USA Today |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

In its first six months, Denver's STAR program (Support Team Assistance Response) handled 748 emergency calls that in the past would have gone to the police or firefighters. Two-person teams of a medic and clinician helped people with personal crises related mainly to homelessness and mental illness. None of the calls required police involvement and no one was arrested. The city plans to spend more to expand the program, which is meant to prevent needless violence and incarceration from calls to the police that other types of first-responders can better address.

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Health care workers replaced Denver cops in handling hundreds of mental health and substance abuse cases — and officials say it saved lives

Li Cohen

February 06, 2021 |

CBS News |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

Denver's STAR program (Support Team Assisted Response) replaced police officers with health professionals on 748 calls for help. In incidents involving mental health, homelessness, and substance abuse, police backup was never needed, no one was arrested, and minor crises did not risk escalating into violence because of police presence. The six-month pilot project will expand to more parts of the city and more hours of the week, with an infusion of city money to supplement the private funding that got the program started.

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