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Cops, crisis calls and conflict over who should help

David Kroman Sara Bernard

January 28, 2021 |

Crosscut |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Seattle Police Department's crisis response team answers some of the city's many 911 calls for people in distress, pairing police trained in handling such calls with mental health professionals. The aim is to counter the default policing approach to problems that usually involve mental illness or substance abuse, which is to control people. It doesn't always work, due to the complexity of the calls, the nature of policing, and the department's limited resources devoted to the program. But, when it works, it can help rather than escalate situations, and avoid the ultimate failure, the use of excessive force.

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An Oregon city's decades-old alternative to police

David Kroman Sara Bernard

January 28, 2021 |

Crosscut |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

Like many cities, Seattle is looking to Eugene, Oregon, for a model to shift resources from police to unarmed crisis responders handling 911 calls about mental health, addiction, family conflict, and other non-criminal problems. Eugene's CAHOOTS program has been doing such work for half a century, and since 1989 sending medic-and-counselor teams on calls. In 2019 it saved $8 million in police costs and $14 million for ambulances and emergency room visits. But, while taking police out of situations where they might cause more problems than they solve, it's only as good as its region's social services.

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How reform gave way to ‘Defund the Police' in Seattle

David Kroman Sara Bernard

January 28, 2021 |

Crosscut |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Seattle spent nearly a decade reforming its police department and branding itself as an example of how to fix a broken system prone to violence and racial bias. Public trust improved and the use of force declined. But the protests of 2020 changed perspectives in Seattle so much that now it is a leader in taking money from the police to fund community-based responses to social problems and low-level crime. The community is divided, largely along racial and ideological lines, over whether to "defund" the police, whether police reform is even possible, and how to reimagine public safety.

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Harnessing People Power to Protect Alaska's Last Remaining Wilderness

Breanna Draxler

January 27, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Alaska

A viral campaign from Indigenous activists, TikTok creators, and documentary filmmakers led to about 6.3 million letters being sent to federal agencies encouraging them to halt fossil fuel development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. They created social media content and a toolkit for creators to use on their platforms that made it easy for the message to spread.

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Local group gives LGBTQ, BIPOC communities and allies inclusive recovery space

Billy Jean Louis

January 26, 2021 |

Charlottesville Tomorrow |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlottesville, Virginia

Diversity in Recovery created an inclusive space for the LGBTQ community, Black and Indigenous people, people of color, and allies, many of whom report negative experiences because of their race, sexuality, and/or gender in other recovery groups. The group provides a safe and affirming space to support each other in recovery and discuss issues that also impact recovery, including conversations about trauma and current events, such as racial injustices and political insurrections. Because of Coivd-19, the group meets twice a week on Zoom, which has enabled people from outside the city to attend.

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How Promotoras De Salud Are Fighting Vaccine Conspiracies In Chicago's Latino Communities

María Inés Zamudio

January 26, 2021 |

WBEZ |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Promotoras de salud, also known as community health workers, are helping to connect Latino immigrants with reliable and factual information about COVID-19. Using a peer-to-peer outreach model, a team of seven promotoras de salud from Centro San Bonifacio have "interacted with more than 4,000 Spanish speakers in Chicago."

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Drive-thru vaccinators in state getting creative

Neal Earley

January 25, 2021 |

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, England, Arkansas

While drive-thru testing sites became fairly commonplace during the coronavirus pandemic, a local pharmacy in a small town on the Arkansas Grand Prairie has now converted a church into coronavirus vaccination drive-thru clinic. The site is able to vaccinate up to 70 people per day, and residents say that it's not only easier to be able to stay in their car, but that they appreciate getting the shot from a pharmacy that has already earned their trust.

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In Eugene, Oregon, civilian response workers—not police—are dispatched to nonviolent crises

Caitlin Yoshiko Kandil

January 19, 2021 |

The Christian Century |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

Eugene's well-established CAHOOTS program for replacing police as first responders to certain types of 911 calls has become a model for multiple cities as they seek to replicate its success in an era of questioning the role of police. While it saves its city money and replaces arrests and possible violence with social and health services for people needing housing or mental health care, or suffering from addiction, CAHOOTS is somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of programs responding to these challenges. Communities' differences will dictate what works best for them.

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With women-only transport, South African city tackles sexual abuse

Kim Harrisberg

January 18, 2021 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: South Africa, Cape Town

To combat high rates of sexual violence in the Cape Flats neighborhood, an entrepreneur steeped in activism founded a women-only driving school. Hundreds of women have learned to drive without having to fend off assaults or harassment from male instructors, while gaining a skill that frees them from the risks inherent in taking public transportation or taxis. To tackle the latter risk, the same entrepreneur, Joanie Fredericks, recently started Ladies Own Transport, an all-female taxi service.

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Brno pomáhá integraci cizinců. Jak funguje oceňovaný projekt, o němž se nemluví?

Fatima Rahimi

January 14, 2021 |

Deník Referendum |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Czech Republic, Brno

Integrační centra jsou v Česku často podfinancovaná, nejsou dostupná všem potřebným a zaměřují se především na tlumočení. Brno přišlo se změnou. Tamní magistrát do své struktury přímo zakomponoval supinu interkulturních pracovníků, která pomáhá s integrací cizinců. Její členové vytváří pomyslný most mezi veřejnými institucemi a zástupci cizineckých komunit. Pracují jak v terénu v rámci komunit, tak prostřednictví sociálních sítí. Podporují začlenění imigrantů do společnosti tím, že jim pomáhají osvojit si místní sociální normy, a zároveň informují instituce o jejich potřebách.

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