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  • Oakland's Homeless Community Knows How to End the City's Housing Crisis. Will Its Leaders Listen?

    July 14, 2020 |

    Law at the Margins |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

    The city of Oakland and local activists use a similar response to the problem – building encampments of "tiny houses" – but there are critical differences between the two programs. An activist group called The Village has taken over parkland or vacant lots to build 23 tiny structures at the heart of self-governed communities that activists hope alleviate homelessness in the short term and lead toward permanent solutions. The city has torn down most of The Village's structures and erected its own two-person sheds in camps governed by the city, an approach that has had mixed success for the people it served.

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  • The Perks of Roommates With a 50-Year Age Difference

    July 10, 2020 |

    Reasons to be Cheerful |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Intergenerational home sharing is a mutually beneficial option for seniors and young people. There are about 60 programs, run by cities, nonprofits, and platforms in the style of Airbnb, that connect seniors and young people for cohabitation. Seniors benefit by being able to stay in their homes, collect income, and have someone to help with social isolation and household chores. Young people benefit from access to affordable housing options in high-cost areas and engaging in rich relationship building. Home sharing services are facing legal challenges and the Covid-19 pandemic made cohabiting more risky.

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  • Former D.C. inmates use virtual meetings for support, encouragement as they adjust to life outside prison

    July 09, 2020 |

    The Washington Post |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

    Freed from prison after serving at least 15 years, often much longer, for crimes committed when they were teens, a group of men holds twice-monthly Zoom meetings to lend structure and peer support to their lives during a time when COVID-19 restrictions foreclose other face-to-face meetings. Under Washington, D.C.’s Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act, 42 men have been released. At least 22 of them meet regularly to share leads on possible jobs, discuss their frustrations, and encourage each other to stay focused on the positive.

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  • Renters are rising up to unionise and take on dodgy landlords

    July 09, 2020 |

    Wired |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United Kingdom

    Renters' unions in the United Kingdom have provided more aide recently because the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated problems facing renters. The Association of Community Organisations for Reform Now is one of the largest renters’ unions in the UK and has been helping members fight illegal evictions and stop landlords from breaking lockdown rules. The group fears a “glut of evictions” when the government lifts restrictions. There are many renters’ unions in the UK, which might dilute their effectiveness, and the combined membership in the thousands is just a small fraction of Britain’s 4.5 million renters.

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  • As protests against police brutality go global, these Latina moms fight in memory of their sons

    July 07, 2020 |

    Los Angeles Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Los Angeles County, California

    Mothers of young Latino men killed by sheriff’s deputies in East Los Angeles have struggled to pry information from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, but along the way they have formed a network of support groups helping fellow survivors cope with their grief and trauma. The loosely organized groups, populated mainly by women who hardly consider themselves activists, respond to the scenes of police shootings and engage with the mothers of victims in the weeks and months afterward. They have formed a sort of accountability watchdog brigade for a department that resists oversight.

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  • 'Black At' Instagram accounts put campus racism on display Audio icon

    July 06, 2020 |

    The Hechinger Report |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Students at colleges across the U.S. are taking to social media to confront racism and biases at their campuses. Over 40 "Black at" Instagram accounts were launched in June on which students share their personal stories of racism on campus, educate interested parties through reading lists, and share resources for those wanting to confront their biases and be actively antiracist. Many of the accounts have garnered large followings, and some have even raised thousands of dollars to support defense funds and community centers.

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  • As Domestic Abuse Rises, U.K. Failings Leave Victims in Peril

    July 02, 2020 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: England

    Ignoring the pleas of victim-aid groups and the examples set by other countries, the British government and courts failed to protect domestic violence victims during the pandemic. Italy, Spain, Germany, and New Zealand provided for emergency shelter for victims trapped at home with their abusers or made other preparations a formal part of their lockdown plans. But in England, where at least 26 deaths and multiple cases of abuse are blamed on the government’s failures, shelters overflowed and orders of protection went unenforced because of a lack of funding and effective planning.

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  • Voting justice group Common Power turns to tech in time of COVID to reimagine outreach

    July 01, 2020 |

    GeekWire |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Washington

    Common Power has over 2,000 volunteers, mostly white retirees, who reach out to voters and lobby elected officials for things like widespread mail-in ballots. The small, racially diverse paid staff run many traditional voter engagement programs, such as phone banks and voter-registration drives. The organization also focuses on partnering with local organizations and provides extra capacity in the form of trained volunteers for campaigns in 20 states. All programming has become virtual due to the Covid-19 pandemic and substantial time has been spent training volunteers on the new technologies.

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  • What We Can Learn from Costa Rica's Embrace of Migrants

    July 01, 2020 |

    Yes! Magazine |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Costa Rica

    Despite its own troubled economy, Costa Rica has embraced a large influx of Nicaraguan refugees out of a recognition that immigration is an economic boon. The absorption of more than 28,000 migrants in one year, in a country of only 5 million people, has been aided by Costa Rica's existing population of Nicaraguans who fled earlier rounds of political and economic upheaval in their country. Those earlier migrants formed a network of aid organizations providing new arrivals with basic necessities, educational opportunity, connection to social services, and mental health support groups.

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  • Malian women creating alternatives to charcoal and firewood

    June 28, 2020 |

    Inkline |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Mali, Bamako

    As Mali’s population increases and urban centers grow, women in the West African country are coming up with different solutions to reduce their consumption of charcoal and wood and reverse the worsening effects of climate change and deforestation. For example, some women use a wire roll for cooking that allows them to slow the amount of charcoal burned. While making the roll isn’t as environmentally-friendly, the wire rollers allow people to avoid buying a lot of charcoal. Other solutions include creating affordable solar cookers and thermos baskets.

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