Blog

By Patrick Smith, WBEZ Chicago, October 11, 2021 Chicago’s plan to bring down its staggeringly high levels of gun violence leans hard on an anti-violence strategy known as street outreach. The outreach workers, often former gang members, try to intervene in ongoing gang conflicts by convincing young men to put guns down, to forgo revenge. They have “lived experiences” that give them the perspective and reputation needed to gain entry into the groups driving the city’s gun violence. Judy...

Forward-Facing Freedom Healing the Past, Transforming the Present, A Future on Purpose The evidence is undeniable: toxic stress in our daily lives is wreaking havoc on our physical and mental health. Our relationships are suffering. Chronic illness has skyrocketed. Trauma is infiltrating our lives and being passed down within families and throughout generations. The research is clear—stress and anxiety are increasing exponentially for us. What would it mean for your life if you learned how...

Coping with the terror of our reality, recognizing all that is unknown and known, I hold to what defines me - attachment, goodness, & logic. Those three keep me focused, and are my guides, wherever they lead. And while not everyone may have attachment, goodness and logic are necessary - and the evidence shows this world neither understands nor focuses on them. If the world did, while there is no guarantee of the outcome, the world would at least be trying to be who we want to be and...

This is an online course offered over three 75-minute sessions. In addition, there are short videos that will be sent to registrants before each class. Thursdays, October 21, 28, & Nov 4, 5-6:15pm PDT. Reserve your spot now - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/180385115737 Reimagining Resilience 1: Using a Trauma Lens helps adults build positive relationships with children who have experienced trauma. We will explore the impact of adverse experiences and the effect they have on developing...

By Patrick Wall, Chalkbeat Newark, October 7, 2021 Last Friday, a chilling text message flashed on Vernon King’s phone. It was from his daughter’s high school, Newark Collegiate Academy: A student had brought a loaded gun into the building . The text message informed families the situation was under control. But with little other information, King and other parents still rushed to the scene. “My daughter, she’s not used to nothing like that,” he said. “So it was very frightening for her and...

Register here! https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZApcuGuqjssGNCWSrzGLRqi4kfzDwQ-h4y3

By Alyssa Lukpat, The New York Times, October 3, 2021 “Anyone recognize him?” the police in Winter Haven, Fla., asked on Facebook last month. Photos with the post showed a man walking out of a Walmart without paying for his items after several of his credit cards were declined, the police said. Among the items in his cart were boxes of diapers. “When your card is declined and you try another one with the same result, that is NOT license to just walk out with the items anyway,” read the...

From Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, October 4, 2021 Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 65, the California Momnibus Act , designed to improve maternal and infant outcomes – particularly for families of color. Authored by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) with support from maternal health and racial justice groups across the state, the bill will improve research and data collection on racial and socio-economic factors that contribute to higher rates of maternal and infant mortality in...

Are we no longer a society of compassion or of mercy? Is our criminal justice system solely based on retribution?

Funding Up to $3,000,000 available for community collaboration and innovation microgrants over two (2) years. Each RAC shall receive up to $425,000 per year for community innovation microgrants There will be a Non-Mandatory Informational Bidders Conference for this RFP On October 19, 2021 at 12:00PM on Zoom. Questions are due by October 15, 2021 at 12:00 PM Bids are due: November 10, 2021 at 12:00 PM https://www.nj.gov/dcf/providers/notices/requests/2021_RFP-ACES.Innovation.Grant.10.8.21.pdf

By Hayley Zhao, Next City, October 6, 2021 D allas, Texas is the biggest winner of this year’s Police Reform and Racial Justice Grant Program, created by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in partnership with Target, taking home $175,000 in grant money for the city’s effort in police reform. The amount will be used to expand the existing Rapid Integrated Group Healthcare Team(RIGHT) Care program that dispatches clinicians and social workers along with police officers when responding to 911 calls...

By Jason DeParle, The New York Times, October 9, 2021 To understand the problems Democrats hope to solve with their supersized plan to make child care better and more affordable, consider this small Southern city where many parents spend more for care than they do for mortgages, yet teachers get paid like fast food workers and centers cannot hire enough staff. With its white pillars and soaring steeple, the Friendly Avenue Baptist Church evokes an illusory past when fathers left for work,...