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Suicide hotline offers young people hope and a chance to talk with peers

Molly Bohannon

August 31, 2020 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Phoenix, Arizona

In Arizona, a teen-run suicide prevention hotline connects teens who need someone to talk to with a peer operator who works to listen to and calm the caller. The volunteer teenage operators don't offer medical advice but do undergo clinician-supervised training that includes active listening, collaborative problem solving and the ability to connect with callers.

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Ex-gang members draw on their past to stop Fort Worth shootings before they happen

Nichole Manna

August 28, 2020 |

Fort Worth Star-Telegram |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Fort Worth, Texas

Inspired by a news story about a successful violence-intervention program in Richmond, California, and alarmed by a surge in gun violence in 2019, city officials in Fort Worth created VIP FW to deploy formerly incarcerated men and former gang members as mentors and mediators. In the program's startup phase, its mediations interrupted 18 potential shootings. Led by a man who pleaded for solutions at city council meetings, VIP FW intervenes in the lives of young men deemed at risk of committing violence who aren't reached by other community programs or by police enforcement.

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At Platinum Divaz, Black Girls Are Mentors And Leaders

Taylor Allen

August 27, 2020 |

Colorado Public Radio |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Aurora, Colorado

Platinum Divaz builds leadership skills and self-confidence among young people. While boys and all ethnicities are welcome to participate, the program focuses on raising the self-esteem for Black girls through dance. Divaz are assigned teammate mentors, typically teenagers, who teach dances and help younger girls with day-to-day struggles like school, bullying, and self-confidence. Practices like saying what they like about each other helps build each girl up with confidence and self-esteem. Supportive adults are also available as mentors to the girls.

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Gun Violence Left a Mark on His Childhood. He Says People Like Him Should Lead Efforts to Reduce It.

Ann Givens

August 13, 2020 |

The Trace |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

The South Central Leadership Academy was started in Los Angeles by a college student who believes that gun violence survivors like him should lead the community response in finding solutions to violence. Its first year of paying more than a dozen student survivors to learn community organizing skills succeeded in attracting funding to expand to Nashville, Baltimore, and Atlanta. COVID-19 put the latter two expansions on hold, but LA and Nashville continued with well-attended classes learning remotely. Founder Marco Vargas hopes to turn this startup into a national network of youth leadership academies.

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A West Philly grandmother decided to save summer with a PlayStreet. Then, tragedy struck.

Samantha Melamed

August 08, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia's PlayStreets program is a nearly 60-year-old program that began as a meal service during the summer "hungry season," when school lunches are not served, but has evolved into a summer camp on 300 city blocks. Fifty blocks are designated "super streets," where high levels of poverty and violence are met with extra resources. On top of the usual meals and games, the city provides play equipment, DJ dance parties, and mural making. In a summer of extreme violence, neighbors say it also provides a sense of security and normalcy, which police credit as a violence-preventive measure.

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ASU study: 'Team Kids' may improve perception of police through cop-kid activities

Anthony Wallace

August 06, 2020 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Compton, California

About 170,000 schoolchildren in four states have participated in the Team Kids Challenge, which promotes healthier relations between youth and police by pairing them in charity work to solicit and distribute donations. Based on research showing Black and Latinx youth distrust police much more than white children do, the program was found in a new study to significantly improve kids' perceptions of police. The study did not measure how long this effect lasts or why it fails, when it does. A researcher also cautions that real trust in police must be earned through good policing.

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Program offers alternative for youth who commit misdemeanors

Anthony Wallace

August 05, 2020 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Choose 180 channels Seattle-area young people into an alternative to court and jail when they commit relatively minor offenses. This "offramp" from the traditional justice system, serving a disproportionately Black and brown clientele, helped 400 clients in 2019, 87% of whom did not commit new offenses. Research shows such diversion programs have a better track record for preventing future crimes. A Choose 180 "sentence" comes in the form of a workshop introducing young people to mentors and giving them a chance at the stability and frame of mind they need to seek more lasting change in their lives.

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Virtual LGBT+ support group creates a space for youth

Angelica Cabral

July 30, 2020 |

The Salinas Californian |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Salinas, California

When in-person meetings became impossible during the pandemic, Epicenter's youth-run, drop-in resource center for youth made its LGBTQ+ support group virtual, and attendance went up. The group, called Our Gente, provides a place for youth to support each other. Those trapped at home with families that are unsupportive can still participate online using text chats, rather than having to speak aloud. Youth at the center create their own programming, but work closely with Epicenter's deputy director, who grew up queer, non-binary in a family that at first did not support them.

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The Perks of Roommates With a 50-Year Age Difference

Daniel J McGraw

July 10, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Intergenerational home sharing is a mutually beneficial option for seniors and young people. There are about 60 programs, run by cities, nonprofits, and platforms in the style of Airbnb, that connect seniors and young people for cohabitation. Seniors benefit by being able to stay in their homes, collect income, and have someone to help with social isolation and household chores. Young people benefit from access to affordable housing options in high-cost areas and engaging in rich relationship building. Home sharing services are facing legal challenges and the Covid-19 pandemic made cohabiting more risky.

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From Settlement to University

Veronika Folentová

June 22, 2020 |

Denník N |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Slovakia, Levoca, Presov

The Romani Education Fund in Slovakia is helping children from the Roma community, which has a history of social and economic disadvantages as well as being subject to ethnic discrimination, overcome challenges to finish high school and pursue higher education. The REF works by providing qualifying students with a stipend to pay for educational supplies, as well as providing school guidance and personal mentorship to help both students and parents overcome the social hurdles that impede the student's desire or ability to fulfill their potential.

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