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In Arizona, a radical change in juvenile detention

Ruxandra Guidi

September 20, 2021 |

High Country News |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Johns, Arizona

Unrealistic fears of a wave of youth violence left rural Apache County, Colorado, with an unused, costly youth detention facility. So the local courts decided to refashion the empty jail into the Loft Legacy Teen Center, an after-school hangout offering a "care-first" approach to teen problems. Mentors and a truancy prevention program help youth avoid trouble and get educations. Youth arrests have dropped, though that might also be credited to the state's risk-assessment tool that is meant to guard against overuse of punishment.

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Where Juvenile Detention Looks More Like Teens Hanging Out

Ruxandra Guidi

September 13, 2021 |

70 Million |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, St. Johns, Arizona

Apache County, Arizona, once had a costly, under-used juvenile detention center and a traditional philosophy that stern punishment would steer young people away from misbehavior. Now the abandoned detention center is The Loft Legacy Teen Center, an after-school hangout with mentors, connections to social services, and a place where youth can go to socialize – a rare commodity in this rural community. It's run and staffed by the court system and its probation department. But its methods are love and support, not threats of arrest and incarceration. Juvenile arrests are now way down.

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On-the-ground pollution data spurred stricter zoning in Los Angeles

Ruxandra Guidi

January 31, 2019 |

High Country News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boyle Heights, California

In Boyle Heights, a working class neighborhood of Los Angeles, members of the community have taken to the streets armed with clipboards and pens to document environmental hazards, zoning violations, and and other things that endanger their fellow residents. They then took this on-the-ground information, which they called "ground truths," to local politicians to advocate for change.

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Students explore nature in densely built Los Angeles

Ruxandra Guidi

September 24, 2018 |

High Country News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

A principal in one of the most park-poor and low-income areas of LA is imploring students to "find nature in the unlikeliest of places." By setting up a community garden, sharing a passion for birdwatching, and sparking interest in the schoolyard's habitat, Brad Rumble is instilling in future stewards the key principles of urban conservation.

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Reform Activists and a New DA Find Common Ground

Ruxandra Guidi

September 09, 2018 |

70 Million |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

In Texas' Harris County, the state's most populous county, a grassroots collective of criminal justice activists contributed to a political shift that led to reforms in prosecutions, jails, bail, and policing. Inspired by the movement sparked by the death of Michael Brown in Missouri in 2014, groups such as Houston Justice and the Texas Organizing Project backed the election of a reform-minded district attorney, who turned toward community collaboration and away from tough-on-crime solutions. The new DA, plus favorable court rulings and state laws, softened the country's rough-justice reputation.

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