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Can Genetic Engineering Bring Back the American Chestnut?

Gabriel Popkin

April 30, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

Researchers successfully genetically engineered American Chestnut trees to resist the blight that decimated the species. Using a resistance-conferring gene from the wheat plant, the trees are grown in the lab and then can mate with trees in the wild to produce hardier blight-resistant trees. Although there are several regulatory hurdles to clear, and some environmental activists oppose the use of genetic modifications, the group continues to receive substantial grants and the trees have passed years of safety and efficacy tests showing they are safe and can even contribute to a healthy diet for many species.

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“We Are Not Lost Causes”

Mark Obbie

March 05, 2020 |

Longreads |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Rochester, New York

In Rochester, NY, the Center for Teen Empowerment, a nonprofit that trains youth in community organizing, personal development, and anti-violence, is working to bring kids off the street and into safety. The program, which started in Boston, is centered on four ideas: jobs (paying the youth hired as organizers), teamwork, agency (letting them build their own activist agendas), and peer influence. While hard to evaluate because of its situational, qualitative nature, city officials, including law enforcement, point to the program as a factor in the decrease in violence across the city.

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UnitedHealthcare tackles homelessness as a root cause of poor health, and Philly is a test bed

Herald Brubaker

February 21, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The health insurance company, United Healthcare, has started a program called myConnections that funds housing for Philadelphia citizens experiencing homelessness and chronic illness. United Healthcare will pay for rent as well as wraparound social services like transportation and food stamps. The program, which has spread to a dozen states, recognizes health as a key driver of poverty, and is bound by the idea that addressing housing can shift people out of poverty and poor health, and will save health insurance companies money too.

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How a Beloved Bird Is Helping Save the Chesapeake Bay

Libby Sander

February 18, 2020 |

Hakai Magazine |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chesapeake, Maryland

The Natural Lands Project works with local landowners to turn hundreds of hectares of marginal croplands into native grasslands. The grasses offer refuge for the northern bobwhite quail and grip the soil, which helps prevent erosion and keeps agricultural runoff and sediment out of the Chesapeake Bay. The quail population has grown to 450, a 39% increase from 20 years ago. The project works with landowners to convert small parcels of their land for the habitat. The landowners receive a small payment and help planting and maintaining the native vegetation. Many species have flourished in the new habitat.

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How Fines and Fees Reform Became a Priority for Cities Across the Country

Emma Coleman

February 06, 2020 |

Route Fifty |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Durham, North Carolina

From North Carolina to California, states and cities are taking a new approach to fines and fees – people are having their charges dismissed, warrants for minor offenses cleared, and many municipalities are actually saving money by spending less on collections. With a system that was built because it provided cities and states with revenue, there has been a realization that it disproportionately targets communities of color and often keeps people stuck in cycles of debt. With this national awakening, resources and networks are being created so other places can implement the same change.

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How to stop youth violence: Role models, mentors, glimpses of life's possibilities

Natasha S. Alford

January 23, 2020 |

syracuse.com |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Syracuse, New York

At Syracuse, New York’s Hillbrook Detention Center for youth, the Thinking For A Change program provides kids with classes – taught by mentors with similar backgrounds – like conflict resolution, anger management, problem-solving, and how to recognize signs of abuse. The program is part of a national shift toward rehabilitation and community-based programming, which is associated with a decrease in the number of youth experiencing incarceration.

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Important lessons for Philadelphia from Chicago's three-year decline in gun violence

The Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board

January 10, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Since 2016, Chicago has seen a 37% decrease in homicides with a comprehensive, targeted approach toward violence. The city developed a multi-pronged approach, including a collaboration between foundations and funders, a partnership that analyzed police decision-making, resource allocation toward a new gun-violence-focused prosecution unit, and targeted investment in high-risk individuals. With such success, cities like Philadelphia – also experiencing an increase in homicides – look to Chicago for lessons learned.

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'Fixing this takes more than arrest': Riverside County forgives warrants, fines to help homeless

Nicole Hayden

December 27, 2019 |

Desert Sun |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Indio, California

In Indio, California, the Community Outreach Resource Program (CORP) partners law enforcement with social supportive services as a way of holistically working with people experiencing homelessness, mental health issues, or drug abuse. The collaboration partners select officers, mental health professionals, transition and homeless shelters, detox centers, affordable housing, caseworkers, amongst other services, to make sure that those enrolling in the program have the highest probability of sustained success.

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Breaking the cycle: Fulton's first all-female program works to address recidivism

Sarah Haselhorst Sarah Straughn

November 19, 2019 |

Columbia Missourian |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Fulton, Missouri

The Fulton Community Supervision Center in Missouri provides trauma-informed, gender-specific care and services to women who face the risk of recidivism. Participants live at the center, where they receive services like cognitive behavioral therapy and classes that teach coping mechanisms and personal and professional development. Core to much of the programming is helping women find their self worth.

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Fresh Data Shows How Focused Deterrence Can Keep At-Risk Individuals from Crime

Champe Barton

November 06, 2019 |

The Trace |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

In 2013, Detroit’s law enforcement agencies started using focused deterrence – a method that uses data to identify at-risk individuals – to decrease the rate of violent crime in the city. The method, part of the national program, Ceasefire, partners police departments with social workers and other city services to deter people from criminal behavior. A new study in the journal, Crime and Delinquency, has been published that links the strategy to decreased crime rates and recidivism.

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