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

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  • PA should follow California's lead and mail ballots to every registered voter in the state

    Governor Gavin Newsome in California ordered vote-from-home ballots be sent to all registered voters for the November 2020 election due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While some states allow people to vote by mail for any reason, a ballot is usually obtained only by request, which evidence shows does not lead to the same increased voter turnout as automatically receiving a ballot. Absentee voters do tend to be white and upper-middle class, but some voter-rights organizations such as Committee of Seventy have shifted priorities to getting everyone who is eligible to request a vote-from-home ballot.

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  • Virtual house calls flourish in the age of coronavirus

    A community health care clinic in Oregon’s Wallowa County has been able to offer mental health services to its clients during the coronavirus pandemic thanks in part to an already-established virtual practice. In place to better serve the rural community, the clinic's telehealth option has gained even more popularity since social distancing became a necessity. Although the practice isn't without its limitations, such as access to internet, overall, the expanded access has helped reduce the impacts of isolation.

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  • Formerly Incarcerated Women Launch Worker-Owned Food Business During COVID-19

    ChiFresh Kitchen is a worker-owned cooperative that gives formerly incarcerated people an income, and a second chance, under a corporate structure that attacks high unemployment from the ground up. Formed as a catering business on Chicago's West Side just as the pandemic shutdown began, ChiFresh shifted its intended clientele from nursing homes and schools to food-relief programs distributing free meals. The co-op, initially formed by mostly black women with hopes of scaling up to about 100 worker-owners, echoes the sorts of enterprises formed in response to Jim Crow restrictions of the past.

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  • Can Vote by Mail Work in Low Income Minority Neighborhoods?

    Maryland and Ohio recently held elections almost entirely by mail and their different approaches provide insight into the impact on low-income voters, particularly those without permanent addresses. All registered voters in Maryland were sent mail-from-home ballots whereas Ohio voters had to request a ballot. Despite some reports of issues, turnout in Maryland increased 10 percentage points overall and 6 points in Baltimore City, indicating no widespread disenfranchisement in poorer counties. In Ohio, the extra step created a barrier for many voters and turnout decreased from 43.6% in 2016 to just 22.6%.

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  • Closed-down Maine schools are still serving students meals

    The rate of food insecurity has increased during the pandemic, and elementary schools in Maine are doing their part to make sure as many families as possible have access to meals. Some schools have given teachers and staff designated routes to deliver food to door steps, others set up times that parents can drive to the school or designated sites to pick up daily meals and didn't require students picking up food to be enrolled in the district. The goal is to make food as easy to get to for hundreds of students and their families, while keeping everyone safe.

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  • Amid Covid-19, a Call for M.D.s to Mail the Abortion Pill

    Amid the pandemic, medical researchers and an abortion-rights advocacy group in the U.S. are working to make the abortion pill available via mail. Although there is ambiguity surrounding the rules and regulations of how the pill must be distributed to patients, some doctors have helped efforts by agreeing to register with F.D.A.-approved manufacturers and a handful of states are allowing the pill to be mailed after an in-person ultrasound has been conducted.

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  • The breath of life Audio icon

    Scientists from Uganda and Australia have worked together to come up with a device that produces oxygen without the use of electricity. Although this solution was originally intended to help address the high rate of children suffering from pneumonia, it is now also relevant for those suffering from respiratory issues due to COVID-19, especially in rural areas.

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  • Stifled Progress

    Less than two years after Florida voters abolished the state’s lifetime ban on voting by anyone with a felony criminal record – a law that disenfranchised more than 10% of the state's voting-age people – an estimated 50,000 affected people had registered to vote and organizers were working to register the balance of the 1.4 million newly eligible voters. Amendment 4, the Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative, won widespread voter approval and initially survived an attempt by legislators to undermine it thanks to a grassroots movement organized by formerly incarcerated people.

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  • Appalachia's Front Porch Network Is a Lifeline

    Counties in Appalachia are meeting increased food assistance needs due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In some school districts, bus drivers continue their routes delivering free meals - and a familiar face - to any family who requests it. Kanawha County Schools provided more than 12,500 meals in the first week. Some school buses are also equipped with free wi-fi so that children without access to the internet can complete homework assignments. Traditional food banks in the area have also worked to meet increased demand and have had to adapt their practices for contactless distribution.

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  • Catalyst Life Services provides masks to staff for deaf and hard-of-hearing clients

    Lip-reading is very important for clarification for those who are deaf and hard-of-hearing, but the masks mandated by the coronavirus pandemic hinder that. In response, the nonprofit Catalyst Life Services (which currently serves about 90 deaf and hard-of-hearing people in Richland County) created masks that feature a "window" over the mouth made of clear plastic so that the wearer stays protected and interpretable. So far the nonprofit has made 20 for their community and another 100 for local first responders, but they are looking for more donations and help going forward.

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