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

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  • Homicides dropped after Philly gangs signed a 1974 peace pact. What can we learn from the org that brokered the truce?

    December 14, 2020 |

    Billy Penn |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    The House of Umoja in West Philadelphia, created in the late 1960s in response to high rates of gang violence, succeeded in helping thousands of young men through a residential treatment program, mediating disputes peacefully, and brokering a gang truce credited with lowering Philadelphia violence in the 1970s. The program was based on Afrocentric customs and family structure (its name means unity in Swahili). The grandson of the founders is now trying to revive the home as part of the city's multiple anti-violence initiatives.

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  • As Harlem Children's Zone moves to export its model nationwide, Obama's Promise Neighborhoods offer cautionary tales

    December 11, 2020 |

    The Hechinger Report |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Under the Obama administration, the Promise Neighborhoods initiative was launched. It granted over $430 million in multiyear grants to nonprofits across 17 cities. The success of these grants have been difficult to measure. Two of the programs that were awarded grants highlight the differences in communities, and how success can’t be measured one way, but across a spectrum. “These first five years are like finding yourself,” said Lepore. “It’s an opportunity to find out what’s working, what isn’t and what we need to invest in.”

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  • Musical Empowerment bridges technological divide to teach local students

    October 20, 2020 |

    The Daily Tar Heel |

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    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: United States, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

    Musical Empowerment provides mentors for children who do not have access to music education in their community. About 160 student-teachers mentor children in instruments like guitar, piano, violin, brass, saxophone, and even voice. The group uses grants and donations to help with technological and internet disparities, as well as provide instruments if needed. Learning music helps young people in many areas of their lives, including self-confidence and self-discipline. Mentors are paired with a mentee based on instrument interest and compatibility, and also experience personal growth from the relationship.

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  • How a Chicago nonprofit cut gun violence by helping young men find work

    October 08, 2020 |

    The Philadelphia Citizen |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

    Chicago's CRED program (Create Real Economic Destiny) blends effective violence-intervention strategies with economic empowerment, life coaching, therapy, and education to provide the kind of opportunity so often lacking for young men prone to committing or suffering violence. While Chicago's citywide gun violence has increased by half, the neighborhood CRED serves has seen it fall by one-third. Even low-paying jobs are enough to lure the men off the street and out of danger so that they can benefit from the menu of services that rebut the notion that policing alone can solve the problem.

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  • Wooster's virtual tutoring program offers educational aid to students during pandemic

    October 08, 2020 |

    Knox Pages |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Wooster, Ohio

    A collaboration between Ohio's Wooster City Schools and the College of Wooster has allowed for an enhanced educational experience for many students during the coronavirus pandemic. The partnership not only provides tutoring services to the K-12 students but has also "strengthened the bond between the college and its surrounding community."

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  • 'It's like family': Swedish housing experiment designed to cure loneliness

    September 15, 2020 |

    The Guardian |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Sweden, Helsingborg

    A multigenerational housing program in Sweden aims to combat social isolation of seniors and increase understanding between native Swedes and the young refugee population. About half of the 72 residents are over 70 and the rest are aged 18-25 from culturally diverse backgrounds. To live there, residents must agree to socialize for at least 2 hours a week. The coronavirus revealed a need to ensure all residents take precautions to protect the higher-risk seniors but is also revealed the strength of the relationships formed, where the younger residents helped run errands and care for their senior neighbors.

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  • Atlanta's Trying to Support, Not Punish, Its Teenage Water Vendors

    September 15, 2020 |

    Next City |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Atlanta, Georgia

    Teens selling water on the sweltering streets of Atlanta are typically dealt with by police officers who often crack down on "unpermitted sales of water by youth." In a new approach, city officials convened a council to offer alternatives to police action and suggested ways to promote and develop the entrepreneurial spirit in teens through a variety of programs. The council looked to a similar program in Baltimore that re-engaged windshield-washing teens in school and re-directed others to full-time jobs.

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  • Suicide hotline offers young people hope and a chance to talk with peers

    August 31, 2020 |

    Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Phoenix, Arizona

    In Arizona, a teen-run suicide prevention hotline connects teens who need someone to talk to with a peer operator who works to listen to and calm the caller. The volunteer teenage operators don't offer medical advice but do undergo clinician-supervised training that includes active listening, collaborative problem solving and the ability to connect with callers.

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  • At Platinum Divaz, Black Girls Are Mentors And Leaders

    August 27, 2020 |

    Colorado Public Radio |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Aurora, Colorado

    Platinum Divaz builds leadership skills and self-confidence among young people. While boys and all ethnicities are welcome to participate, the program focuses on raising the self-esteem for Black girls through dance. Divaz are assigned teammate mentors, typically teenagers, who teach dances and help younger girls with day-to-day struggles like school, bullying, and self-confidence. Practices like saying what they like about each other helps build each girl up with confidence and self-esteem. Supportive adults are also available as mentors to the girls.

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  • Program offers alternative for youth who commit misdemeanors

    August 05, 2020 |

    Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

    Choose 180 channels Seattle-area young people into an alternative to court and jail when they commit relatively minor offenses. This "offramp" from the traditional justice system, serving a disproportionately Black and brown clientele, helped 400 clients in 2019, 87% of whom did not commit new offenses. Research shows such diversion programs have a better track record for preventing future crimes. A Choose 180 "sentence" comes in the form of a workshop introducing young people to mentors and giving them a chance at the stability and frame of mind they need to seek more lasting change in their lives.

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