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There's No Uber or Lyft. There Is a Communal Tesla.

Patricia Leigh Brown

June 16, 2023 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Huron, California

In rural Huron, California, an electric vehicle ride-sharing program, called Green Raiteros, provides free rides for low-income residents who need to get to medical appointments. The organization's 120 clients can call in advance, or just show up when they need a ride.

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For the American Prison Writing Archive, a 'Shadow Canon' Sheds Light

Patricia Leigh Brown

April 17, 2023 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The American Prison Writing Archive documents firsthand accounts of living conditions inside roughly 400 correctional facilities in the United States. The collection includes more than 3,300 narratives that are used to build awareness around the realities of the criminal legal system.

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For People Just Leaving Prison, a Novel Kind of Support: Cash

Patricia Leigh Brown

July 07, 2022 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The Returning Citizen Stimulus program provides temporary cash assistance to people recently released from prison, who face steep barriers to finding jobs and stable housing when transitioning out of incarceration. The payments started in 2020 and have helped more than 10,000 former inmates get on their feet, with 42 percent of recipients finding employment within five months of their release.

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For Rohingya Survivors, Art Bears Witness

Patricia Leigh Brown

March 19, 2021 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Bangladesh

Artolution provides art education and supplies to Rohingya Survivors in Bangladesh refugee camps, all of whom experienced severe trauma, to create life-affirming and informative murals. Topics range from safe hygiene practices to the dangers of domestic violence. The group trains artists to become muralists and teachers and pays them an annual stipend. The murals help artists heal, provide important public health information to the community, and amplify the cultural traditions they had to hide for so long. The nearly 200 murals are on almost all surfaces of the refugee camp from latrines to “monsoon walls.”

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The 'Hidden Punishment' of Prison Food

Patricia Leigh Brown

March 02, 2021 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Charleston, Maine

Mountain View Correctional Facility in Maine has turned its food service into a farm-to-table experience, sourcing healthier, more appetizing meals from its own apple orchard and vegetable garden and from local farmers. Prison food is traditionally a "hidden punishment" of bland or inedible fare that has poor nutritional value. By eating locally, cooking from scratch, and training incarcerated people in horticulture and cooking skills, the prison is fostering an atmosphere that's healthier physiologically and psychologically.

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From life in prison to out on parole: One group easing the transition

Patricia Leigh Brown

August 14, 2020 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

California, home to an unprecedented number of prison "lifers" who served decades since their teens and then were released under revised parole policies, created the Peer Reentry Navigation Network (PRNN) to have fellow former lifers coach and hold accountable the newly released. Now in 28 communities, PRNN has formed a community of peer mentors helping the formerly incarcerated remake their lives on the outside after lives of violence and trauma. The mentors' 24/7 help covers behavioral advice, job leads, and rebuilding family relationships. Despite some missteps, most mentees have stayed out of trouble.

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Leaving Gun Towers and Barbed Wire for a Healing House

Patricia Leigh Brown

August 07, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

A New Way of Life Reentry Project creates homes for women as they leave prison, providing a refuge and programs to help ensure a more successful transition into life on the outside. The network of small group homes, started in Los Angeles and expanded to 16 houses in multiple states, boast a 90% success rate. New Way’s approach prizes ordinary homes in residential neighborhoods, unlike jail-like settings common in transitional housing, which generally caters to men. Classes include careers, therapy, and family reunification.

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What Would a World Without Prisons Look Like?

Patricia Leigh Brown

March 06, 2020 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

Deanna Van Buren and her nonprofit firm Designing Justice/Designing Spaces use architecture to advance social justice and criminal-justice-reform ideas, designing workplaces, meeting places, and homes nationwide founded on the notion of "what a world without prisons could look like." The firm's projects, often planned with input from the people directly affected, have included privacy-enhancing temporary living units for people recently released from prison, a "peacemaking" space in Syracuse, N.Y., and two of the first restorative-justice meeting places for crime victims and those who harmed them.

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In Appalachia, Crafting a Road to Recovery With Dulcimer Strings

Patricia Leigh Brown

January 03, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Hindman, Kentucky

To help those struggling with opioid addictions, an apprentice program in Kentucky uses art and music taught by local artisans to provide participants with a path forward. After learning various skills as part of the program, a local instrument company also considers the new apprentices for hire as part of a “recovery-friendly” employment movement.

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Inside the secret food bank that keeps farmworkers from going hungry

Patricia Leigh Brown

December 20, 2019 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Santa Cruz, California

In Santa Cruz County, California, Dr. Ann López, of the Center for Farmworker Families, organizes a secret monthly food bank for marginalized farmworkers who are mostly indigenous and undocumented. Organized completely by word of mouth to avoid deportation threats from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, the food bank helps defray farmworkers' costs, which include about 75% to 80% of their typical salaries in rent.

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