The Fight For Lights In SE Albuquerque

One-third to half of those killed by police are disabled, a recent report says. “Our problem isn’t with police,” one mental health advocate says, but both sides say officers need more training.

Many young Latina women live their lives in fear of gang violence. The Montgomery County Street Outreach Network rescues girls in danger and offers services to them in order to help them change their chances of success.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, a domestic violence court offers funnels perpetrators into programs that offer counseling and other services to address the root causes of their behavior. Its two tracks focus on first-time offenders to short-circuit any escalation into chronic abuse, as well as those with multiple domestic violence charges. Judges work closely with participants to encourage them and call them out when they aren't meeting their obligations, and recidivism rates among those who complete the programs are far lower than those who do not.

In Jackson, Mississippi, a series of community-led cooperatives are creating opportunities for affordable home ownership. This is part of a trend across the country to create community land trusts. They are financed through donations, other community businesses, or commissions. Though each land trust faces hurdles, they are collectively allowing more access to wealth and ownership in historically low-income neighborhoods.

FEMA’s response to Puerto Rico post-Hurricane Irma has been the “longest sustained domestic airborne food and water mission in the nation’s history. The agency has never distributed more food or installed more generators.” However, due to bureaucracy and delayed decision making, there are still thousands of Puerto Ricans who have not received aid, or were underserved.

Solar power is a great advancement for renewable energy, but traditionally relies on connecting to a grid in order to function correctly. So when hurricanes hit Puerto Rico, even those with solar panels lost access to electricity. A micro-grid offers an alternative solution, however, by relying on battery power.

A solar workgroup in Virginia is inviting developers to present information on the best ways to build solar and battery storage projects for the region; a new approach they are taking after previous failures in getting solar projects off the ground. Despite a lack of funding and local developers in the area, solar advocates are hopeful that the passage of a new energy law in the Commonwealth could be an economic incentive for commercial-scale solar projects.

It turns out the old adage of knowing your neighbor really can help make your neighborhood safer. A study of more than 250 cities found that a key factor behind a drop in crime in the last 20 years was the mobilizing of citizens by nonprofit organizations like block clubs. In Milwaukee these “urban guardians” have helped bring communities together and foster safer spaces that also address urban blight.

Solar energy is a clean, cheap, renewable, and land-efficient resource, making it a valuable technology to scale up in the face of climate concerns and clean energy. Diversifying the supply chain for creating and sourcing solar panels can help make solar energy more reliable when faced with geopolitical and human rights issues.

The elder abuse task force is a specialized unit of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department that provides critical services to older residents and issues abuse-related warrants. Since its founding in 2018, the unit has served nearly 2,000 elderly residents and issued over 275 warrants; now, this abuse-prevention model is being scaled statewide.