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  • In recovering urban areas, homeownership makes all the difference

    November 16, 2020 |

    The Connecticut Mirror |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Connecticut

    State programs that provide assistance with down payments have a significant impact on homeownership for economically disadvantaged communities. Homeownership not only increases generational wealth, it also makes neighborhoods safer.

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  • Where the COVID-19 Pandemic Might Finally Ignite Change in the Bail Bonds System

    November 16, 2020 |

    70 Million |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Miami, Florida

    The spread of COVID-19 in jails prompted many releases from custody and a surge in donations to bail funds that pay for people's release. But those fixes have done little to address the underlying challenges of detaining millions of people before trial, either because they cannot afford cash bail or because risk-assessment tools deem them a threat to public safety or unlikely to return to court. In two South Florida jails, the struggles over containing the virus, providing due process to criminal defendants, and ensuring public safety have brought the debate into sharper focus.

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  • Why Las Vegas Is at the Heart of Western States' Water Conundrums

    November 15, 2020 |

    Truthout |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Las Vegas, Nevada

    After running out of water during a drought in 2002, the Southern Nevada Water Authority and Las Vegas Valley Water District took proactive steps to conserve the region’s water for future generations. Thanks to public service campaigns, outdoor water usage limits, and turf replacement programs, the region’s water usage per capita has dropped by 46 percent. However, many people still don’t fully comply with the city’s water regulations and the region continues to grow at an expanding rate. Yet, similar conservation efforts could be a model for other arid regions around the United States.

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  • A Watchdog Accused Officers of Serious Misconduct. Few Were Punished.

    November 15, 2020 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    New York City established its Civilian Complaint Review board in 1993 to strengthen its police-discipline system, a response to complaints that police officers rarely were punished for harassment and brutality, especially in Black and brown neighborhoods. In 6,900 cases in which the board recommended the toughest punishment, however, police officials overruled it more than 70% of the time over the past two decades. The result is a disciplinary mechanism designed to instill trust but that instead "has become all but toothless" because of how it is structured and how police leaders responded to oversight.

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  • From individual sessions to taking a real-world approach, here's how teachers are adapting to the pandemic

    November 15, 2020 |

    The Boston Globe |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

    Teachers are having to restructure the way they teach due to the pandemic imposed challenges of virtual classes. This story chronicles how three different teachers adjusted their instruction. From having students break out into chat rooms, to changing the material they teach, these teachers are adjusting as they go along to accommodate learning.

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  • Manhattan Mental Health Court offers lifeline to those with serious mental illness — but they have to get in

    November 14, 2020 |

    New York Daily News |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    Manhattan Mental Health Court was created in 2011 to divert felony criminal cases to treatment, and away from prison, for people in need of mental health treatment. But few people with serious mental illness ever benefit from it. Too few defense lawyers know to request the intervention or do it correctly. Prosecutors act as gatekeepers in deciding who gets the help, and many do not see its value. And, once cases are admitted to the court, they can sometimes take years to be resolved. Covid restrictions on the courts have only aggravated these problems.

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  • What happens after the police stop? People of color with disabilities face higher risks

    November 11, 2020 |

    Flatland |

    Multi-Media |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Kansas City, Missouri

    Crisis intervention training for Kansas City police officers does not reach the majority of the department and can fail to address a critical reason that police might use excessive force on people with disabilities. Although the 40-hour training includes a segment on dealing with people with autism and developmental disabilities, the combination of racial bias and some people's eccentric behavior can cause officers' "compliance culture" to kick in and make them overreact to perceived threats. Training without culture change, advocates say, is doomed to have short-lived effects.

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  • Disinvested: How Government and Private Industry Let the Main Street of a Black Neighborhood Crumble

    November 11, 2020 |

    ProPublica |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

    A series of government programs designed to rebuild a neighborhood badly damaged by the 1968 Chicago uprising not only failed to achieve their goal, but actually made it worse. Hundreds of businesses in the Madison Street area of Chicago's West side were destroyed in days of rioting. Programs that emphasized clearing "blight" over building anew left vacant lots where new businesses might have emerged. Overall, "efforts turned out to be too scattered, too small and too susceptible to shifting politics to make a lasting impact," while opportunistic businesses cashed in without improving conditions.

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  • Tracking incomplete grades moves students forward – with extra focus from educators

    November 09, 2020 |

    WAVY-TV |

    Broadcast TV News |

    Under 3 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Norfolk, Virginia

    Norfolk Public Schools had a unique approach to addressing student performance post-pandemic—giving students an incomplete instead of failing them. The move revealed racial disparities that allowed the district to respond. “Of the 12,455 incomplete grades submitted, 71% went to Black students.” The district acted on that information and gave devices to students, limited instruction to four times a week to prevent teacher burnout, and placed a bus driver at every school to send staff to communities.

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  • Where Housing, Not Jails, Is the Answer to Homelessness

    November 09, 2020 |

    70 Million |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

    Even while Los Angeles police criminalize homelessness with "sweeps" to clear encampments from public property, state and local programs have helped thousands of people find housing and receive services like counseling and criminal record expungement. Programs like LA DOOR and Project Roomkey use public-health and housing-first approaches to address people's underlying problems rather than subject them to endless cycles of arrest and incarceration, all of which cost far more than the helpful strategies while remaining far less effective. Street outreach is done without police escorts, to build trust.

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