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Why Albuquerque's latest experiment in policing doesn't involve officers

Henry Gass

November 12, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque established a new city department, Albuquerque Community Safety, that handles some of the 200,000 calls to 911 every year for a range of low-level, non-violent problems that don't require a police response. Since its launch in August 2021, the department has fielded just two teams of behavioral health specialists on call during the day. The city plans to expand the team's hours and responsibilities, though some are uneasy about exposing the unarmed workers to the potential for violence. The city has a long history of police shootings of mentally ill people, and ACS is meant to curb that threat.

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For Afghan arrivals, a taste of the US at an air base in Germany

Anna Mulrine Grobe

October 26, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban were given a warm welcome at the American Air Base in Germany despite logistical challenges. The new arrivals have stepped up to help one another with everything from teaching to haircuts.

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Why a Swedish city with a violent crime problem looked to US for solutions

Erika Page

September 08, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Sweden, Malmö

Malmö's Sluta Skjut (Stop Shooting) program adopts a group violence intervention approach that has been used widely in the U.S. Gang members and others believed to be involved in street violence are summoned to "call-ins" to hear messages from law enforcement officials, community members, and social services providers. The overarching message: stop the violence, or go to prison; if you do stop, help is available to change your life. About 300 men have been called in, 49 of whom have accepted the offered help. Violence in the city has dropped since the program started.

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A couch is not a home: Where the hidden homeless get housing vouchers

Jingnan Peng

June 04, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

Boston used vouchers to help "doubled-up families" – those with school-age children sharing crowded apartments with other families – jump the line of people waiting for subsidized housing and get their own homes. Schools identify children living in this limbo status that often isn't visible or recognized as homelessness. They referred families to FamilyAid Boston, which put about 300 families into their own homes. Doubling up, which often violates leases and can quickly put families on the streets, is the most common homeless status of public-school students.

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Sew it goes: The Sewing Machine Project stitches lives back together

Richard Mertens

June 03, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Madison, Wisconsin

The Sewing Machine Project has helped thousands of people who rely on sewing as a livelihood. The organization refurbishes used sewing machines and sends them across the world. For some recipients, access to their own sewing machine can result in economic mobility and an improved quality of life.

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From LA jail, two inmates pioneer care for mentally ill peers

Francine Kiefer

May 18, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

At the Los Angeles County Jail, two men incarcerated on pending murder charges created a homegrown approach to improving the care and conditions of confinement for people with serious mental illness. Their approach is simple: showing love and care for people whose illness makes them feel like outcasts. By helping fellow incarcerated men attend counseling and other programs, and by tending to their personal needs, the initiative has contributed to a significant drop in people harming themselves. Fewer restraints are needed, and the pods where the program operates are notably cleaner and calmer than before.

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‘Bicycles kind of saved my life.' Najari Smith spins a community forward.

Erika Page

May 10, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Richmond, California

A bicycle shop owned cooperatively by its worker-owners is also a nonprofit that serves its community in a number of ways. Rich City Rides plans wellness events and programs in California in addition to social bike rides and food distribution.

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‘Blind date' for political rivals? TV show is breaking down barriers.

Sara Miller Llana

May 05, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada

The Canadian reality show, “Political Blind Date,” pairs two politicians from opposing sides to spend two days together visiting each other’s constituents and wrestling with difficult issues. Fifty politicians have participated over five seasons, averaging about 195,000 viewers per episode. The aim is not to get them to change their minds, but to humanize people with opposing political beliefs and break down the increasingly common ‘us versus them’ mindset in politics. Advocates say that this has a “trickle down” effect on viewers forging greater understanding and more respectful debate.

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This community garden in Southeast Washington grows far more than food

Noah Robertson

May 03, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

As a way to bring the community together and promote healing in Southeast Washington, D.C., residents created a garden known as Project Eden. Their garden has grown to a plot of land that grows roots, legumes, fruits, and greens with a greenhouse and aquaponics system that has fed thousands of people. The founders view the garden as a way to strengthen food security and encourage resiliency for an area where people have witnessed violent acts.

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CSI Houston: How a Texas lab has remade the science of forensics

Henry Gass

April 23, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

One of the first crime-lab scandals gave birth to a better way of ensuring the integrity and accuracy of forensic evidence. The Houston Forensic Science Center operates independently of law enforcement agencies, with a large staff of scientists and a healthy budget to correct some of the resource-related flaws of its police-run predecessor. Perhaps its greatest innovation is a system of regularly running blind tests as a quality check, to make sure the staff stays vigilant. The goal is to avoid the kinds of bad science that often contribute to wrongful convictions and other injustices.

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