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

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  • The High Price of Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Life

    Young adults who decide to abandon their cloistered Jewish communities have only one another to help them navigate the alternate reality of modern-day New York. 'Footsteps', is a nonprofit organization that brings formerly ultra-orthodox people together to talk and learn to navigate their new worlds, while also bringing in social workers and providing GED classes. For individuals leaving their families, life can be extremely difficult, but this group seeks to create a more positive transition to the secular world.

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  • Mothers in Charge grads exchange prison uniforms for caps and gowns

    A program in Philadelphia works with formerly incarcerated women for an intensive 10-week period where they focus on life skills and changing thought patterns. Women get support and mentoring to examine how they wound up in prison, such as addressing past abuse that undermined their self-esteem. They go through a formal graduation program and learn ways to face challenges as they work to change their lives.

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  • From Protests Past, Lessons in What Works

    As protests begin to develop nationwide in opposition to a Trump presidency, Tina Rosenberg provides key reminders on good protesting. By highlighting lessons such as diversifying tactics, generating an inclusive brand, and having a concrete plan, the author provides an informative guide of effective organizing strategies.

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  • Years with no nation, 90 days to become a Minnesotan

    Thousands of refugees are navigating hurdles of integration in the United States. Organizations like the Minnesota Council of Churches provide comprehensive support in a number of areas - from housing to job applications to health insurance paperwork - but all with the end goal of helping the relocated families towards independence and sustainability in their new life.

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  • When parents of people with disabilities reach the breaking point

    Part 1 of the Caregivers Crisis series: As parents of adults with disabilities face their own struggles with aging, health, and mobility they often find themselves at the frayed end of their resources. The Parent Support Project brings these parents together to provide counseling, information on resources, financial counseling, moral support, and renewed energy to keep moving forward with their lives.

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  • Abolish the police? Organizers say it's less crazy than it sounds. Audio icon

    Police abolitionism, an idea that strikes many as fanciful and dangerous, lies at the root of many community projects in Chicago that have demonstrated on a small scale the ways that problems can be solved without police involvement. Run by acolytes of Mariame Kaba, these projects provided dispute resolution services, mental health responses, and a bond fund that uses donated money to bail pretrial defendants out of jail. The key idea is to demonstrate ways to scale back police powers, rather than wait for institutions to reform themselves.

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  • Meet the Full-Service Social Media Secretary for Prisoners

    "A social secretary for people who have been deprived of the forms of communication that are now ubiquitous almost everywhere except for prisons," Renea Royster is part of a network of organizations (including Pigeonly, Infolincs, Inmatefone, and Phone Donkey) helping prisoners keep in touch with people on the outside.

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  • In Philadelphia, healing trauma is intense, difficult work: Pathways to Peace

    Healing trauma has never been an easy process but programs like Healing Hurt People help to promote recovery in traumatized, angry young men. This program, in partnership with local medical services, aims to provide therapy in place of violence, which would only cause more trauma down the road. Those who stick with the program have found great success in overcoming their pasts.

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  • How a Police Detective Helps Inmates Prepare to Live on the Outside

    In the United States, the incarcerated feel like they have no voices and their mistakes that led them to jail go unacknowledged. A documentary film spotlights the IF Project, a writing program that encourages female inmates and recently released felons to write down what they would have done to change the path they went on. With police and teachers as mentors, the convicted have support transitioning into society and can reflect on what they can do to change their lives for the better.

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  • Meet the Thai Sex Workers Fighting for Their Right to Earn a Living

    Empower, a sex workers' rights organization with over 50,000 members, has been steadily pushing to improve the working conditions of women in the sex trade in Thailand. In addition to advocating for decriminalization of the trade as the best option, Empower focuses on equipping sex workers with the tools they need to assert their independence, including English classes and HIV prevention. The organization's approach is starkly different than other popular theories, such as brothel raids or the Nordic model of criminalizing the customers.

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