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The Prison Within

Katherine Hervey

August 22, 2020 |

Raw Love Productions |

Documentary |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, San Quentin, California

In San Quentin Prison, men convicted of murder attend a 72-week restorative-justice circle where they tell their stories of trauma: what they suffered in their lives, and how they turned that into harm they inflicted on others. The Victim Offender Education Group enables a form of accountability and healing that being locked up doesn’t, because of the dialogue among the men and with others’ victims of violence.

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Flint Community Schools is Going Door to Door to Find Hard-to-Reach Students

Carmen Nesbitt

August 20, 2020 |

Flint Beat |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Flint, Michigan

Staff from Flint Community Schools are taking a more door-to-door approach to find the close to 1,500 students who have not yet started attending virtual school when the fall semester started. FCS assembled "wellness teams" made up "social workers, behavioral specialists, nurses, and paraprofessionals" and sent them to neighborhoods with mapped routes to walk around neighborhoods and find students and their families, as well as help identify needs to assist with including food assistance, wi-fi hotspots, and other individual needs.

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With a truce brokered over Zoom, one D.C. neighborhood goes nearly 100 days without a shooting

Peter Hermann

August 19, 2020 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

Violence interrupters conducted a dozen meetings over Zoom to negotiate a truce between two warring groups in a neighborhood that went from 11 shootings in 5 months to none for at least 99 days following the truce. To mediate the personal disputes that had led to violent clashes, those leading the negotiations, from the D.C. attorney general's Cure the Streets program, used their knowledge of the community and their credibility as streetwise actors standing apart from police to strike an agreement. Truces like this often don't last long, but this one helped amid big increases in violence citywide.

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Sent to prison young, they found healing at northern Michigan camp

Angie Jackson

August 15, 2020 |

Detroit Free Press |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Ypsilanti, Michigan

The Youth Justice Fund sends formerly incarcerated men and women to a lakeside summer camp as therapy for the trauma they suffered growing up and during long prison sentences that started when they were teenagers and extended decades into adulthood. By enjoying water sports on Lake Michigan and taking classes in art and music on a 300-acre forested campground, the recently released people find a safe place to talk about their trauma and the challenges of reentering society. For some, these days represent the first real freedom and joy they have experienced as adults.

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From life in prison to out on parole: One group easing the transition

Patricia Leigh Brown

August 14, 2020 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

California, home to an unprecedented number of prison "lifers" who served decades since their teens and then were released under revised parole policies, created the Peer Reentry Navigation Network (PRNN) to have fellow former lifers coach and hold accountable the newly released. Now in 28 communities, PRNN has formed a community of peer mentors helping the formerly incarcerated remake their lives on the outside after lives of violence and trauma. The mentors' 24/7 help covers behavioral advice, job leads, and rebuilding family relationships. Despite some missteps, most mentees have stayed out of trouble.

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In Prison, Learning Magic by Mail

Annalisa Quinn

August 14, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

A community of incarcerated magic enthusiasts formed spontaneously around a column published by a magic magazine, thanks to their own initiative and the willingness of Joshua Jay, the magician/columnist, to respond to fan mail. The incarcerated people formed an underground exchange of tips on magic tricks and how to make props from the limited availability of materials in prisons. By perfecting their skills, this community used magic as performative art therapy, easing their sense of isolation and increasing their sense of power and personal worth. One even went pro after his release.

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Don't Call The Cops — Call CAHOOTS

Kate Archer Kent

August 13, 2020 |

Wisconsin Public Radio |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

In Eugene and Springfield, highly trained, unarmed mobile crisis response teams get dispatched by their cities' public-safety 911 systems to behavioral-health crises that do not require a police response. The 24/7 service, now in its 32nd year in Eugene, saves tens of millions of dollars per year by diverting cases from the criminal justice system and emergency-room care while defusing potentially violent interactions and getting people the care they need rather than the care imposed on them.

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Mental health training for cops is working in Tucson. Can we bring it to Philly?

Jessica Blatt Press

August 10, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tucson, Arizona

Tuscon police use a combination of training and expanded resources to resolve mental health crises by putting people in the hands of mental health professionals, an approach that in 2019 diverted nearly 4,400 cases away from arrests and jail. All police officers take a required 12-hour mental health first aid class, and most go through another 40-hour crisis intervention training. A specialized team gets more extensive training to handle court-ordered interventions, emphasizing patience and humane treatment. A 24/7 Crisis Response Center serves as an intake desk to decide what help people in crisis need.

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‘We're writing the book' - McCracken jail sees strong early success from vocational programs

Dave Thompson

August 09, 2020 |

The Paducah Sun |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Paducah, Kentucky

Vocational training and life skills classes at the McCracken County Regional Jail help prepare incarcerated people for stable jobs and living situations once they are released. Of the first 16 to complete vocational training, none have returned to jail and 12 are employed, despite the poor job market during the pandemic. Though the results so far are small and early, jail officials are working to expand the available programs to more people. Particularly useful not only to the incarcerated people but also to their families are cognitive skills classes, which vocational students are required to take as well.

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Scotland's 'Navigators' Transform Lives in the Emergency Room

Alasdair Lane

August 07, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Scotland, Glasgow

In Scotland, the Navigators program performs violence interruption work in seven hospitals, at the bedside of victims of violence, with counseling and connections to social services to nudge people into safer lifestyles. Because Navigators act independently of the police and other authority figures, and because their service follows clients into the community, they are able to win the cooperation of 65-90% of those they approach. A survey of 100 clients showed 23% fewer emergency room visits in the year after cooperating with the program. Navigators started after violence in Scotland raged in 2005.

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