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How Philadelphia Flipped: Second Chances for Youth

Zari Tarazona

January 08, 2020 |

YR Media |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia has made a concerted effort toward reducing the number of youth being arrested in schools. Leadership, including the school police commissioner and district attorney, changed procedures so that youth, instead of getting arrested, are enrolled in diversion programs. While there’s been pushback from some law enforcement, early studies have pointed to a decline in arrests without a decline in safety.

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Most of America's Farm Owners Are White. This Program Is Rooting for More Diversity

Monica Humphries

December 31, 2019 |

NationSwell |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Cultivating a more diverse generation of farmers requires training and mentorship. In New York, GrowNYC’s FARMroots program trains new farmers of diverse backgrounds. The FARMroots Beginning Farmer Program offers courses on everything from finances to driving tractors. The program also pairs the new farmers with an experienced mentor. Hailing from a range of backgrounds, the new farmers bring new crops, new ideas, and new skills to their communities.

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Reporting for Work Where You Once Reported for Probation

Ted Alcorn

December 13, 2019 |

The Atlantic |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Since 2012, the New York City Department of Probation’s Arches program has integrated “credible messengers” into its mission, diverting some energies toward helping instead of punishing. The term refers to people, often formerly incarcerated or on probation themselves, who apply their street knowledge to mentoring youth caught up in the criminal justice system. The movement has spread to a variety of government agencies, but usually is used in street-outreach crime prevention work by community organizations. A large body of research shows the effectiveness of the approach in lowered crime and recidivism.

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The Sandy Hook Nonprofit Fighting Shootings by Fostering More Inclusive Schools

Amanda Loudin

December 11, 2019 |

The Trace |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Ellicott City, Maryland

Start With Hello, an initiative from the NGO Sandy Hook Promise, gives students the opportunity to diversify who they know and interact with in a long-term effort to prevent school violence and shootings. The program, funded by public and private grants, has spread to 11,600 schools across the United States, with each school also getting training on inclusivity. While an impact evaluation hasn't been finished, early studies show that those who participate in the program respond better to mental distress.

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'Big Sisters' ride to rescue of Nepali child brides

Annie Banerji

December 11, 2019 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nepal, Surkhet

Support and counseling from trusted volunteers empowers young women to stay in school and out of child marriage. In Nepal, the Sisters for Sisters program was the result of a governmental effort to reduce child marriages. Volunteers, many of whom were child brides themselves, help fight stigma and cultural pressures by leading discussions with young women on topics like sexual health and life choices.

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Can basketball reduce gun violence? It did in Richmond, Virginia.

Larry Platt

December 06, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Richmond, Virginia

RVA League For Safer Streets uses a basketball league as "bait" to change young men's lives by teaching critical thinking and better ways to resolve conflicts. The Richmond, Virginia, program was co-founded in prison by a former drug dealer convicted of murder who learned the methods of cognitive behavioral therapy behind bars. Paroled after 23 years, he began counseling youth with an approach that police say contributed to a significant drop in Richmond's gang violence and other crime.

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At This Boston School, Friendships Lift More Students to Graduation Day

Ally Donnelly Jim Haddadin

November 27, 2019 |

WBTS-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

Boston Public Schools is embracing an approach called Building Assets, Reducing Risks that has proven successful in other U.S. school districts. In BARR, teams of teachers compare notes on students to ensure they are on the right track: "BARR doesn't rely on one superstar teacher to notice a kid in trouble. From the science teacher to the school counselor, they all take a seat at the table."

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This Baltimore anti-violence program courts youths most at risk of crime. ‘The alternative is death or jail.'

Jessica Anderson

November 26, 2019 |

The Baltimore Sun |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

In the first year of Baltimore's use of an anti-violence program for young men that has proven successful in Boston, the program successfully reached about half its targeted contacts, and from that group enrolled about 95, or just over 1%, in job training and education programs. Though extremely modest, the numbers indicate the challenges faced by a population in which several died, many got incarcerated, and many others resisted contact. The program, Roca, uses behavioral therapy to turn job training into life training. In Boston, large numbers get jobs and stay out of trouble long term.

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The judge, jury and lawyers are kids. But punishments at N.J. youth court are real.

Barry Carter

November 18, 2019 |

NJ Advance Media |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Newark, New Jersey

The 10-year-old Newark Youth Court has heard some 700 cases in which high school students serve as judge, jury, and lawyers in proceedings that avoid school discipline or criminal charges with creative exercises in personal accountability. Taking aim at fights, disruptive behavior, or more serious offenses involving weapons or drugs. the Youth Court seeks to encourage better life choices. Outcomes may exclude punishment altogether, imposing community service (including Youth Court jury duty) or other alternatives to jail, avoiding criminal records that can ruin someone's future.

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After positive results, Minneapolis looks to expand anti-violence program

Jessica Lee

November 18, 2019 |

MinnPost |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

About 40% fewer people were shot in gang-related disputes in Minneapolis during one interval in the first year of the city's Group Violence Intervention initiative. The program uses "call-ins" where people at high risk of shootings meet with law enforcement and other agencies. There they are offered incentives, including needed services, to stop the shootings. It also puts former gang members on the streets, without police involvement, to mediate disputes and counsel young men prone to violence. Based on the initial results, officials planned to expand the program to more parts of the city.

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