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

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  • 'They probably saved my life' | Former inmate says nonprofit keeps him, others out of jail

    January 21, 2021 |

    KSDK-TV |

    Broadcast TV News |

    Under 3 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

    St. Louis' Concordance Academy of Leadership turns the traditional approach to prison re-entry programs on its head. Rather than pushing people just released from prison to find housing and a job, the academy pays its participants a living wage while it provides them with the counseling and other support they need not to slip back into trouble. Once their lives are stable, they focus in the 18-month program on employment. The 6-year-old program improves the chances of staying out of prison by more than 40%, according to one study. Concordance is raising the money it needs to expand to other cities.

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  • 'A chance to choose life': For some, drug courts break cycle of addiction and crime

    January 09, 2021 |

    Sentinel Source (The Keene Sentinel) |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Keene, New Hampshire

    Cheshire County Drug Court provides intensive drug addiction treatment, behavioral therapy, and other services to help people charged with crimes whose drug problems are their underlying problem. Since 2013, it has helped dozens of people avoid re-offending and put their lives on track. Like other drug courts, it is not suited to all circumstances and its coercive nature – jail is threatened for failure to follow the rules – has its critics. But graduates credit it with saving their lives. And it serves as a gateway to services that people might not otherwise have access to.

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  • How Oregon's Radical Decriminalization of Drugs Was Inspired by Portugal

    January 05, 2021 |

    Next City |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Portugal

    After Portugal decriminalized hard drugs in 2001 to treat drug use as a health problem and not a crime, the country expanded treatment services that produced sharp drops in drug-overdose deaths and HIV infections. Its numbers of people incarcerated on drug charges also dropped by nearly half. The Drug Policy Alliance studied Portugal's approach and made a modified version of it the model for Oregon, where courts and prisons have been the gateway to the state's limited treatment services. Oregon voters approved decriminalization and a vast increase in treatment programs that will roll out in 2021.

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  • In Brattleboro, a new kind of police patrol pushes treatment, not jail

    January 02, 2021 |

    Sentinel Source (The Keene Sentinel) |

    Multi-Media |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Brattleboro, Vermont

    Police officers paired with substance abuse counselors go onto Brattleboro's streets to offer no-strings-attached help to people using drugs. Without using arrests or other coercion, the Project CARE "recovery coaches" have connected dozens of people to rehab and other needed services since the program began in July 2018. Modeled on bigger, successful programs in Gloucester and Brockton, Massachusetts, CARE's effect on overdoses is unknown and the involvement of police is seen by some as a drawback. But the outreach has let the community know help is available for the asking – even from cops.

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  • Prosecutors try to keep people out of pandemic-clogged courts through diversion programs

    December 30, 2020 |

    Missouri Independent |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

    Missouri legislators passed a law in 2019 clarifying that prosecutors can divert criminal cases to social services and healthcare agencies even before charges are filed. Small experiments that had been taking place in recent years suddenly grew in St. Louis County to help the courts focus only on serious cases during pandemic shutdowns. Now those innovations are spreading, as more drug cases and other low-level cases avoid the courts altogether. This eases the burden also on people, who in traditional drug courts still get arrested and face employment barriers even if their cases eventually get dropped.

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  • Pima County program getting people out of jail quicker, speeding up chances for a new life

    December 29, 2020 |

    Arizona Daily Star |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Tucson, Arizona

    An array of services in Pima County, Arizona, greets hundreds of people getting released early from jail or helps keep them out of jail in the first place. By providing drug treatment, housing, job assistance, and other help that people need instead of incarceration, the county's Criminal Justice Reform Unit and Jail Population Review Committee saved the county $2 million in jail costs over just part of 2020. Drug use also declined and officials hope to see longer-range benefits in lower recidivism.

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  • COVID-19 Eased Drug Treatment Rules—And That Saved Lives.

    December 18, 2020 |

    Stateline |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Rules changes designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at drug-treatment clinics had the benefit of improving access to treatment, which experts say has saved thousands of lives. Although overdose deaths have increased during the pandemic, they would be far higher but for emergency rules allowing for telehealth consultations with medical professionals, fewer restrictions on the use and storage of long-term supplies of methadone, and insurance coverage of addiction medications. Though not everyone prefers telephone consults over in-person visits, enough do that advocates want to make the changes permanent.

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  • Summit Safe Syringe Exchange ‘plants just a little bit of hope' through harm reduction

    December 07, 2020 |

    The Devil Strip |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Akron, Ohio

    The Summit Safe Syringe Exchange provides free and clean needles and supplies to people who use drugs, while also providing access to testing and counseling and connecting people to housing and health care resources. Project DAWN saturated the community with naloxone, a drug that reverses opioid overdoses, and trains community members to recognize and treat overdoses quickly. Both programs have helped the Summit County Public Health integrate harm reduction strategies into the ways that officials address drug use and addiction.

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  • AA to Zoom, substance abuse treatment goes online amid pandemic

    November 28, 2020 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous are turning to Zoom and other telehealth tools to maintain a connection with clients during the coronavirus pandemic. While data are lacking about "the effectiveness of online rehabilitation compared to in-person sessions," many participants have expressed the digital tools to be crucial to their health while the pandemic has closed in-person options, and health professionals expect these tools to extend well-beyond the timeline of the pandemic.

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  • Alternative sentencing program offers resources for recovery rather than jail time

    November 23, 2020 |

    Richland Source |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Mansfield, Ohio

    The Richland County Community Alternative Center provides court-ordered drug and alcohol treatment in lieu of jail for people facing criminal charges related to their addiction. In 60-, 90-, or 120-day treatment terms, patients from across Ohio receive addiction counseling, therapy, work training, and other skills classes. Case managers help prepare people for re-entry when their sentence has been served. The center is run by the courts, which pay for treatment services, which makes it unusual.

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