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

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  • How Detroit Gets People Around During a Pandemic

    The city of Detroit’s government spearheaded new partnerships at the start of the coronavirus pandemic to provide transit options for people living in city shelters and residents who don’t have cars to access COVID-19 testing. These partnerships among government departments allowed for transporting those experiencing homelessness to designated emergency shelters and hospitals to prevent the spread of the virus among shelter residents. Government officials anticipated as many as 450 shelter residents would contract the virus, but so far, only 154 people have tested positive with no deaths reported.

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  • As Europe comes out of lockdown, what lessons can be learned from Sweden?

    Sweden’s refusal to enact strict lockdown rules turned out to be far from an unqualified success, but in both its failures and modest benefits it offers lessons on managing through a pandemic while minimizing economic harm. The country’s responses were more nuanced and detailed than a simple hands-off approach. Its economy has not been spared a severe downturn, nor is its death toll anything to brag about. But, in numerous ways, Sweden’s softer approach lives up to its billing as more sustainable than many other countries’.

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  • Helping Tenants and Landlords Resolve Issues — Before Going to Court

    The city of Philadelphia piloted a mediation program that showed how landlord-tenant disputes could be resolved short of an eviction lawsuit. Though the program only lasted two months and heard just a handful of cases, it demonstrated that landlords will participate voluntarily in a system that can equalize a power imbalance and resolve disputes in ways that prove less damaging to both parties. Demand for the mediation program could ramp up if an expected wave of evictions hits because of the pandemic's effects on the economy.

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  • Outpatient Competency Restoration

    In Texas’ Travis County, a mental health court is helping divert people out of the criminal justice system and into treatment and outpatient programs. The collaborative process gives individuals the opportunity for rehabilitation, and upon completion, the chance to have their case dismissed. This approach has seen a 42% success rate, showing a decrease in recidivism and increased connection to treatment facilities.

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  • Solutions to restore inmates' mental health and get them to trial

    In Texas, legislators and advocates are working to address mental health concerns for individuals entering or in the criminal justice system. For those already in jail, telepsychiatry is being offered to help rehabilitate inmates. For those just entering the system, a mental health court in Travis County has been developed to connect people with needed mental health services so that they can stand trial and even have their cases dismissed.

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  • Locked In Limbo: Jail-based Competency Restoration

    Experts, advocates, and lawmakers are working within the Texas prison system to help individuals experiencing incarceration access mental health care. A promising practice has been the use of telepsychiatry, or virtual therapy, which has seen a nearly 50% success rate. While efforts are being made, it’s being done in pieces and without scaled, statewide support.

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  • Teachable Moments on the Dock

    A British Columbia project that includes education with regulations is a winning formula for rockfish conservation. Six cameras were placed strategically around the shoreline next to Galiano Island RCAs, and 46 information signs were posted at marinas and docks. The signs provide photos to help identify rockfish, show the boundaries of the RCAs, and offer specifics on the fishing rules. Team members also appear at community events to distribute information on RCAs, explaining how they work and what they are intended to achieve.

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  • Washington D.C. Works to Fill a Gap in Treatment for Justice-Involved Individuals

    Washington, D.C. is piloting an approach called Thinking for a Change to help break the cycle of recidivism. The approach itself has been around since 1997, and it brings together individuals involved in the justice system for facilitated small-group sessions on conflict resolution, social skills, and problem-solving. While still in the early phases in D.C, the approach has had demonstrable effects in other places, and early adopters in D.C. are pushing for more.

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  • A ‘Pandemic's-worth of Triggers' Are Causing an Increase in Relapses Across the Country. Here's How Appalachians Are Coping.

    Stay-at-home orders and social distancing can worsen opioid addiction problems, and so some health providers, social media, and agencies in opioid-heavy Appalachia have devised ways to turn a threat into an opportunity. To counter isolation and denial of in-person counseling, forums on Reddit have thrived as virtual support groups. Video conferencing has proved a boon to telemedicine and counselors, extending the reach of services. Treatment providers and even Kentucky's prisons are distributing medications in novel ways to help people maintain sobriety and avoid overdoses.

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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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