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In Portland's Self-Governed Dignity Village, The Unhoused Make Their Own Rules

Roshan Abraham

November 17, 2022 |

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Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

Dignity Village is a self-governed community in Portland, Oregon, where people experiencing homelessness can live as long as they want. The village houses 65-80 people who pay $75 a month and put in 10 hours of community-related work a week to live there.

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‘Safety First' Drug Education Program Acknowledges the Failings of ‘Just Say No'

Roshan Abraham

June 17, 2021 |

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Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

Studies show that abstinence-based prevention drug programs like D.A.R.E don't work. To provide another option, the Drug Policy Alliance, a non-profit, developed its own curriculum called “Safety First.” The 15-lesson curriculum was piloted in five schools under the San Francisco Unified School District.

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People in Solitary Confinement and Volunteers Team Up to Garden, Imagine a World Without Prisons

Roshan Abraham

May 27, 2021 |

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Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

The Solitary Gardens project started in New Orleans and has been copied in multiple other places as a combination art exhibit and therapeutic link between incarcerated people and the outside world. People on both sides of the prison walls collaborate in pairs to design a garden that grows flowers and herbs chosen by the incarcerated person. The gardens match the tiny dimensions of a solitary-confinement cell. The healing herbs are used to help others, and the exercise overall gives incarcerated people a sense of connection to the earth, part of the project's prison-abolition message.

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Michigan's New Clean-Slate Law Makes State a Leader in Criminal Justice Reform

Roshan Abraham

January 27, 2021 |

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Response Location: United States, Michigan

A new law in Michigan will automatically expunge misdemeanors and felonies after several years, making it easier to find employment for those who have a record. The automatic nature of the expungement removes the barriers of cost and time for successfully completing the long application process. A clean slate makes it easier for people to improve their lives through better housing and higher pay, leading to lower rates of recidivism.

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How Oregon's Radical Decriminalization of Drugs Was Inspired by Portugal

Roshan Abraham

January 05, 2021 |

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Response Location: Portugal

After Portugal decriminalized hard drugs in 2001 to treat drug use as a health problem and not a crime, the country expanded treatment services that produced sharp drops in drug-overdose deaths and HIV infections. Its numbers of people incarcerated on drug charges also dropped by nearly half. The Drug Policy Alliance studied Portugal's approach and made a modified version of it the model for Oregon, where courts and prisons have been the gateway to the state's limited treatment services. Oregon voters approved decriminalization and a vast increase in treatment programs that will roll out in 2021.

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New York City Pilots Mobile Methadone Program to Help Treat Addiction

Roshan Abraham

May 20, 2020 |

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Response Location: United States, New York, New York

New York City is piloting a methadone distribution system for residents struggling with opioid addiction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially intended to avoid unnecessary visits to medical centers, the model is now championed by policy experts as a permanent solution for reaching more patients. “It’s amazing, unprecedented, ground-breaking, and will be something that we’ll continue to fight to make sure that it stays in place after COVID has passed,” one proponent said.

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