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Free Our Youth

Jessica Press

January 28, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia’s Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project (YASP) offers support for youth experiencing incarceration. Funded by personal donations and grants, they offer art workshops and classes on how to navigate the justice system, manage funds to bail individuals out, and advocate for criminal justice reform. Their advocacy also helped end the practice of sentencing juveniles to life without parole.

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Books behind bars: Pilot Pell Grant program helps inmates look toward the future

Kelan Lyons

January 24, 2020 |

The Connecticut Mirror |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Suffield, Connecticut

At Connecticut’s MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, people experiencing incarceration have the opportunity to participate in postsecondary classes, even completing a certificate or degree. They’re able to do this because of the Second Chance Pell pilot program, started in 2015, which offers financial aid for inmates to access education. With bipartisan support, there’s hope that the pilot program will grow, as current research shows how the programming reduces recidivism and saves tax dollars.

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How to stop youth violence: Role models, mentors, glimpses of life's possibilities

Natasha S. Alford

January 23, 2020 |

syracuse.com |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Syracuse, New York

At Syracuse, New York’s Hillbrook Detention Center for youth, the Thinking For A Change program provides kids with classes – taught by mentors with similar backgrounds – like conflict resolution, anger management, problem-solving, and how to recognize signs of abuse. The program is part of a national shift toward rehabilitation and community-based programming, which is associated with a decrease in the number of youth experiencing incarceration.

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Rewriting the narrative

Angela K. Evans

January 16, 2020 |

Boulder Weekly |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Boulder, Colorado

At the Motus Theater, formerly incarcerated individuals participate in JustUs – a performative program that gives them the space to share their stories. The Boulder-based program aims to complicate the narrative of those that commit crimes, surfacing the systemic, punitive nature of criminal justice. For those that participate, it provides them a literal platform to share their pain, trauma, and growth.

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In Reversal, Counties and States Help Inmates Keep Medicaid

Max Blau

January 08, 2020 |

Stateline |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

If incarcerated, low-income individuals who are reliant on Medicaid typically lose access to their benefits which accelerates the difficulty of reentry. To help close the gap, the National Association of Counties and the National Sheriffs’ Association have joined together to implement stopgap measures to help inmates either retain their benefits or have them only suspended instead of terminated.

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How Philadelphia Flipped: Second Chances for Youth

Zari Tarazona

January 08, 2020 |

YR Media |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia has made a concerted effort toward reducing the number of youth being arrested in schools. Leadership, including the school police commissioner and district attorney, changed procedures so that youth, instead of getting arrested, are enrolled in diversion programs. While there’s been pushback from some law enforcement, early studies have pointed to a decline in arrests without a decline in safety.

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Baltimore crime crisis: How about trying something that worked before?

Dan Rodricks

January 01, 2020 |

The Baltimore Sun |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

When Baltimore put the necessary resources behind a “call-in” program that intervenes with people likely to commit gun violence, from 2006 to 2012, homicides dropped by 30% and shootings by 40%. The program, which no longer is used in the city consistently enough or with sufficient resources, summons people on probation or parole for gun crimes. A panel of law enforcement, social workers, and community members pairs the threat of federal prosecution and imprisonment with social services to help people build a new life. This approach has been shown in many cities to be effective at reducing violence.

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Marketing Psychiatric Drugs to Jailers and Judges

Max Blau

December 31, 2019 |

The Atlantic |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington

Drug companies that market long-lasting psychiatric drugs have found new clientele in courtrooms and prisons, as a means to treat mental health issues for those that have been incarcerated. Although the practice of targeting judges and prison officials is controversial, several jails have attested that having free samples of the drugs has led to positive outcomes such as reducing barriers for inmates to receive medication and decreasing the likelihood of reoffending.

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Boone County Drug Court addresses racial disparities and trauma through grant

Sarah Haselhorst

December 17, 2019 |

Columbia Missourian |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Columbia, Missouri

In Boone County, Missouri the Habilitation Empowerment Accountability Therapy (HEAT) program offers young men an alternative to incarceration for drug-related offenses. The program works primarily with black men, many of whom bring issues of childhood and generational trauma, to work together toward their treatment plans, finding employment, and behavioral therapy. Fundamental to all of HEAT’s programming is the consideration of underlying factors like education, exposure to violence, and socioeconomic forces.

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An Airbnb for the Formerly Incarcerated

Lauren Markham

December 16, 2019 |

The Atlantic |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

The Homecoming Project in Oakland provides people recently released from prison with a soft landing by giving them free housing for six months, along with a menu of support services, in private homes willing to take in the formerly incarcerated. The recently released are at high risk of both homelessness and recidivism, two factors the program addressed successfully in its first group of tenants. With fundraising challenges, the program remains small. But it is developing a tool kit to help others replicate its model.

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