A Depression Fighting Strategy That Could Go Viral

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/a-depression-fighting-strategy-that-could-go-viral

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

4 December 2014

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A strategy for stopping widespread depression in developing countries should be as obvious as one for combatting epidemics. A new strategy aims to downshift jobs to local workers to act as peer therapists.

Caring for mentally ill: 3 counties' success stories

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/caring-for-mentally-ill-3-countiesrsquo-success-stories

Brian M. Rosenthal

The Seattle Times

6 October 2013

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There is a mental-health capacity crisis gripping Washington state. The area’s response approach, crafted over two decades, centers on a set of intensive outpatient and early-intervention programs aimed at preventing hospitalizations.

Doctoring, without the doctor

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/26/health/rural-nebraska-offers-stark-view-of-nursing-autonomy-debate.html?_r=2

Sabrina Tavernise

The New York Times

25 May 2015

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There is a shortage of medical practitioners in thinly-populated rural states like Nebraska. But new laws now allow nurses with advanced degrees to practice without requiring a doctor's oversight.

Farmers markets reaching more consumers who get nutritional benefits

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-farmers-markets-food-stamps-20140609-story.html

Lee Romney

Los Angeles Times

8 June 2014

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Through creative financing and new technology, a non-profit in San Francisco is making farmers markets more accessible to residents who rely on federal nutrition benefits.

Guiding Families to a Fair Day in Court

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/29/guiding-poor-families-to-a-fair-day-in-court

David Bornstein

The New York Times

29 May 2015

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Millions of families of arrested individuals do not know what to do to help, how to obtain a lawyer, or what the process entails in the court system. Created by Albert Cobarrubius Justice Project, participatory defense is a type of community organizing that teaches and empowers people who face criminal charges. Individuals know how to work with attorneys in order to navigate the system and ultimately feel equipped to become drivers of their own change.

Houston's solution to mental health system problems offers a case study for Milwaukee

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/houstons-solution-to-mental-health-system-problems-offers-a-case-study-for-milwaukee-b9928490z1-210715811.html

Meg Kissinger

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

8 June 2013

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In Houston, TX, many individuals with mental illnesses cycled in and out of emergency care while arrested or incarcerated. Houston’s police department has decreased the number of incarcerated who have mental illness by opening a division to mental health called the Chronic Consumer Stabilization Unit. Now Milwaukee seeks to replicate Houston’s results.

How can Milwaukee County's broken mental health system be fixed?

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/chronic-crisis-how-can-milwaukee-countys-broken-mental-health-system-be-fixed-229974841.html

Meg Kissinger

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

5 November 2013

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Milwaukee County’s mental health system put more resources in expensive emergency care rather than invest in programs that offer continual care. As a result, Milwaukee County identifies nine solutions from other cities that have had success in repairing mental health systems. Solutions include the ending of reliance on emergency care, expand community support programs, change laws, and supportive housing.

Improving School Lunch by Design

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/16/rethinking-school-lunch

Courtney E. Martin

The New York Times

16 October 2013

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The San Francisco Unified School District is piloting a collaboration with the design firm IDEO to re-imagine the school food system and help combat childhood obesity by better designing the space and the experience of how children eat, as much as the type of food they consume.

Crime and blight still remain

http://www.fayobserver.com/article/20140222/News/302229724

Greg Barnes

Fayetteville Observer

22 February 2014

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Civic leaders in the U.S. struggle to effectively help their distressed neighborhoods. East Lake, Atlanta, created a replicable model that mixes residents of differing socio-economic status, and focuses on education and health in the area.

From Young Adult Book Fans to Wizards of Change

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/21/from-young-adult-book-fans-to-wizards-of-change

Courtney E. Martin

The New York Times

21 March 2012

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Global social and economic problems are difficult to change. However, fan-activism fuels the interests of fans of popular young adult fiction. Books such as Harry Potter and the Hunger Games have inspired activist groups that raise awareness of global hunger, reading, and relief supplies to impoverished nations, among others. Being a fan has served as a bridge to become politically active and solve the world’s problems.