An Ohio Startup Rebuilds Lives One Piece of Fried Chicken at a Time

About 40 percent more people in the state are seeking treatment for addiction today than a year ago - but the number of deaths from heroin is going up. Local government is scrambling for both funding and awareness to combat the issue.

The use of a gun in a violent crime can carry a penalty of 30 years or more in prison. High Point, NC, has been using call-ins for 16 years - a carrot-and-stick approach aimed at reducing violent crime and drugs in the city.

A new juvenile justice center in Wyoming begins the movement to bring greater technological advancements to the education of the girls living there. The Wyoming Girls' School provides them with the state of the art tools they need to not fall behind while they fulfill their sentence.

Newly released prisoners often return to crime from lack of effective re-introduction programs. The Fortune Society in New York is a group home which offers resources and positive peer pressure to the ex-prisoners as they start over.

Crime is a result of many underlying social issues, but Crime Lab, a research organization with branches in New York and Chicago, is studying which simple solutions will have the most impact in their city. Cost-effective efforts such as tutoring combined with cognitive behavioral therapy have proven to be successful.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdoses are the leading cause of injury-related mortality. Naxolone, a drug used to revive overdose victims, is only available by prescription. However, private organizations have distributed Naxolone kits nationally, showing that the drug can save lives when it is more readily accessible.

Adolescent smoking remains a challenging health problem because of the allure of cigarette branding. Australia is piloting the transformation of cigarette packaging with a generic look that reduces the appeal of smoking. In Florida, the Truth campaign has exposed that cigarette companies targeted teenage consumers and, in response, created a set of new advertisements that presented the cigarette industry with transparency.

After incarceration, Black men and women have a difficult time re-integrating into society without financial and educational resources. A former Black Panther activist has created the non-profit Oakland &the World Enterprises to offer an urban farm as a prisoner re-entry program and community center. The Oakland project supports self-sufficiency, self-determination, and empowerment for Black people.

For first-time youth criminal offenders, the traditional American jury falls short in encouraging behavioral change and may even set the juvenile on a course for repeated crimes. Washington, DC’s Youth Court is a jury that tries juveniles for minor non-violent offenses and offers peer pressure to prompt positive behavioral change. The DC Youth Court is one of many in the United States that reduces crime and future court costs.

U.S. courts are offering war veterans who face jail time the choice of rehabilitation. This helps them adjust to civilian life and reduces repeat offences.