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Gun Reform is on the Agenda. But Victims of Color Aren't.

Champe Barton

October 09, 2019 |

The Trace |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

With gun reform being a key legislative topic, the majority of time, energy, and resources have focused on preventing mass shootings, which amount to just 2-3% of gun-related homicides. The rest affect majority communities of color, which policy, lobbying, and reform efforts have largely ignored. Even with local violence-reduction efforts like Oakland’s LIVE FREE focused deterrence or a Chicago school’s focus on cognitive behavioral therapy showing impact, the allotted resources at the federal level continue to pass them by.

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A Decade Of Diversion: Franklin County's Court For Sex Trafficking Survivors

Paige Pfleger

September 25, 2019 |

WOSU |

Multi-Media |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Columbus, Ohio

Treating women who are coerced into human trafficking as victims provides opportunities for recovery. Alongside the passage of legislation against human trafficking in Ohio, Franklin County courts have implemented a recovery program. Changing Actions to Change Habits (CATCH), provides victims of human trafficking with support in the form of housing, food, and treatment for addiction and trauma. In exchange for participation in the program, women can have their records expunged.

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Do Deportations Lower Crime? Not According to the Data

Anna Flagg

September 23, 2019 |

The Marshall Project |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Nashville, Tennessee

A federal deportation program called Secure Communities has been around off and on since 2008, and is a collaboration between local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). While responding to a perceived connection between illegal immigration and crime, the heavy-handed approach to deportation hasn’t actually had any effect on crime rates, recent studies have shown. The research has also fact-checked another myth about the program – that it helps police solve crimes better – which hasn’t proven to have any distinct correlation.

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Reducing Gun Violence

Roxanne Patel Shepelavy

September 20, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

Oakland’s Ceasefire initiative takes a collaborative, comprehensive approach to reducing gun violence. City officials, community advocates, residents, and law enforcement work together by prioritizing data analysis, multi-stakeholder gatherings, personalized social services, specialized police training, and weekly reviews of shootings and meeting with victims. While this approach has shown success, it was hard to get started and required the community to organize around demands to stop gun violence. As Philly grapples with similar issues, it looks to Oakland as a model for grassroots change.

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The gun solution we're not talking about

Madeline Marshall

September 11, 2019 |

Vox |

Multi-Media |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Massachusetts

While most Americans and politicians from across the partisan aisle support universal background checks for firearm purchases, that system has shown to not be as effective as many think. Instead, states are implementing licensing systems that require individuals wanting to buy a gun to take safety courses, apply with local law enforcement, provide references, and have their background checked. States that have such systems in place have seen a steady decline in gun homicides and suicides.

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This Man Says His Anti-violence Plan Would Save 12,000 Lives

Mark Obbie

September 11, 2019 |

The Atlantic |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Buffalo, New York

With support for a New York-based grant program, Buffalo has been trying various evidence-based approaches to decrease violence, especially gun violence, in the city. The grant program, Gun Involved Violence Elimination, or GIVE, provides funding for police departments to adopt strategies like hot-spot policing, deterring those most at-risk, or street outreach to break the cycle of violence. While such strategies are linked to success, the process of implementing them, gaining support and trust from the community, and waiting for long-term change has proven challenging.

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Do plastic bag taxes or bans curb waste? 400 cities and states tried it out.

Matthew Zeitlin

August 27, 2019 |

Vox |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Across the world, countries are reckoning with its astounding single-use plastic bag waste by instituting legislation that taxes or all-out bans them. Research has shown that taxing the bags has been a more effective strategy with less unintended consequences, as banning often leads to a sharp increase in thicker plastics or paper bags. In places that have instituted the tax, they’ve seen a 40 percent decrease in usage, and arguably more importantly, a cultural shift away from single-use plastics.

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By the people: How Ohio citizens better their communities through direct action

Jim DeBrosse

August 27, 2019 |

Soapbox Cincinnati |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Ohio

Grassroots movements made up of ordinary citizens can go a long way in creating change. This article details several initiatives across Ohio that were led by citizens using a combination of lobbying, education, persistence, knowledge of government practices, and organization. Some things that were achieved using these methods are wage reimbursements and increased bus access.

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Portugal's Wildly Successful Decriminalization Experiment

Carlyn Zwarenstein

August 24, 2019 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Portugal, Porto

Since introducing both the decriminalization of a range of substances like heroin and cocaine and new harm-reduction strategies in 2001, Portugal has seen success in driving down HIV cases, overdoses, and needle sharing. The country attributes their progress to treating the issue of drug use as a human rights issue rather than a criminal one, because they consider external factors that contribute to addiction like gender, class, or race.

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When public lands become tribal lands again

Anna V. Smith

August 16, 2019 |

High Country News |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians Reservation, United States, Umpqua National Forest, Oregon

After decades of failed legislation, over 17,000 acres of public land was finally restored to the Umpqua Tribe with the passage of the Western Oregon Tribal Fairness Act. The land was a constant source of tension between the tribe, the government, and environmental conservation groups, “under the pretext that Native peoples didn’t know how to manage them.” But in December 2018, with the passage of the Act and the return of 3% of the land that was originally seized, a sense of justice was felt.

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