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The Quinault Indian Nation’s Family Wellness Court provides a culturally relevant alternative to traditional Western court systems that focuses on healing rather than punishment. 100 of the 400 tribal courts in the country have wellness courts for adults, families and youth, providing substance use disorder support, mental health care, and other family support services.

After the Oregon Legislature voted to reverse a law decriminalizing drug possession for personal use in response to a spike in overdoses, advocates attributed the legislation’s failure to poor implementation, complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and inadequate time to produce results.

In response to varying abortion bans across states, nonprofit organizations are emerging to help women in states with strict abortion laws access the care they need. Nonprofits like the Center for Reproductive Rights, Northwest Abortion Access Fund and Indigenous Idaho Alliance provide women with free abortion pills, help them travel out of state for care and even challenge local courts attempting to pass strict trigger laws.

First Day Forward provides support and assistance to people with substance use disorders who are reentering the community after incarceration in seven rural counties. The program is driven by peer-support specialists who have lived experience to provide trusting support to those seeking assistance. The program has been shown to work as the recidivism rate for those who’ve successfully completed it has dropped to 23.5%, compared to 53.2% in a nearby county.

Healing Justice brings exonerees, crime victims and family members from a variety of cases together to share stories, play games, connect and heal together while facing the traumas of wrongful convictions. Since 2015, Healing Justice has hosted 17 retreats, where exonerees and crime victims gather for three days to work through their traumas together.

Kukana is a weekly radio show that helps locals who struggle accessing the legal system voice their grievances on the radio and get connected with local support and lawyers to find solutions. Over the past seven years, the Kukana team helped address grievances, from land disputes to human rights issues, for more than 100,000 people.

Judges in Roanoke, Virginia, are ensuring children have a voice in the courtroom to improve the way cases are handled and the outcomes for children in foster care. They encourage children to speak up, ask them what they want, prepare them in advance with worksheets and letters, and even offer them gifts like a book or stuffed animal.

Volunteers with CourtWatch LA attend court sessions throughout the county to take notes on proceedings, which help to inform the Rate My Judge platform run by de-carceration nonprofit La Defensa. Watchdog groups like CourthWatch LA provide oversight on the criminalization of income and race in court, as Black and Latino residents are disproportionately effected by unjust rulings and treatment.

The police department in Altavista, Virginia, installed traffic cameras in school zones that help catch people going 10 miles per hour or more above the speed limit during the beginning and end of the school day. The $100 tickets issued for speed violations deter the behavior and reduce the occurrence of accidents involving pedestrians.

Genderdoc-M (GDM) partners with a local lawyer to offer legal support to members of the LGBTQ+ community in an effort to promote human rights and continue to work toward a more inclusive society. Every year, about 40 people seek legal advice from GDM on matters ranging from workplace discrimination to physical abuse.

In an effort to foster community amidst divisive gang violence, locals formed the group Unifying Las Cañas to host soccer tournaments with teams from the upper and lower sides of the city. The soccer tournaments connect residents from both sides and build a sense of community over sports.

Women in Recovery is a diversion program for women who would otherwise face prison time for drug-related offenses. The comprehensive program lasts 18 months and helps participants restore their mental health, reunite with their children, develop skills that help them get jobs, secure housing and reenter the community. Women in Recovery helps reduce recidivism rates and 70% of women who start the program complete it and graduate.

With the new statewide Medicaid expansion, the Department of Adult Correction is working to ensure fewer people reenter society after incarceration and enter a healthcare coverage gap by helping people apply for Medicaid before release. With the Medicaid expansion, 80% of the 15,000 people released from prison each year are now eligible for coverage, and prison staff submit about 100 Medicaid applications each week.

En Bogotá, una iniciativa llevada a cabo por jóvenes recupera, poco a poco, una zona catalogada como problemática y peligrosa. Se llama Ciudad Bolívar y, ahora, con sus grafitis reflejan el arte callejero.

Phola uses narrative therapy practices to empower women to overcome gender-based violence by sharing their stories and connecting with others. Participants report that Phola has helped ease their anxiety and depression and has given them the strength to leave harmful situations at home. The project began in 2016 and the Phola methods are now used in 40 countries.

Oakland California’s Ceasefire program brings together the police department, other government agencies, community organizations, and residents to address violent crime. Organizers give resources and incentives to people involved in crime to encourage them to stop participating, if that doesn’t work the police move forward with making arrests.

Rivers of Hope provides counseling and support services to youth who have experienced or witnessed violence at home. A primary goal of Rivers of Hope is to teach youth what healthy relationships look like and empower them to build and seek out healthy connections. The program started in 1991 and provides support and education to about 150 to 200 students each year, free of charge.

The Youth Violence Reduction Initiative at Bartram High School in Philadelphia brings together a team of staff, counselors, psychologists, and community partners to work with students who are most at risk of engaging in violence. The team addresses each student’s individual needs from helping with homework, to referring them to external resources, to showing up at their homes when they have an unexcused absence.

The Becoming a Man (BAM) and Working on Womanhood (WOW) groups take place in schools, providing a space for youth to talk, rest and receive mentoring and counseling from adults who relate to their experiences. This programming helps improve attendance, grades and well-being while preventing and reducing violent crime rates. BAM and WOW programs exist nationwide in seven major cities, serving about 13,000 students annually. Research shows that those participating in BAM or WOW are 50% less likely to be arrested for violent crime and 19% more likely to graduate on time.

Rather than prioritizing punishment, the No-Blame Approach focuses on shifting the social dynamics at the root of bullying, using group interventions to help students communicate and build empathy for one another. One study found the method effective in 87 percent of evaluated bullying cases.

A new program through Adams State University hires incarcerated professors to teach in prison bachelor’s programs, providing them training and income while giving more people access to education behind bars. Students report that they prefer learning from someone who understands their experiences and is available to connect with outside of formal classes.

The community-founded Claire Aid Foundation raised money on social media to rebuild houses that were destroyed in Jebbu Miango after a violent attack on the town left families displaced and unable to afford to return.

Residents of Philadelphia created a neighborhood watch and patrolled streets where violent crime is common between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. The initiative, Operation Hug the Block, aims to reduce gun violence and other crimes by keeping people with strong community ties present on the streets.

Copline is a hotline for law enforcement, run by law enforcement that gives on-duty cops a place to talk and vent anonymously with people who understand what they’re going through. Copline receives about 400 calls a month and those who call the hotline can also get recommendations for mental health services in their area, like AA meetings and outpatient treatment options.

Groups like Women in New Nigeria and Youth Empowerment Initiative (WINN), in collaboration with local leaders, are addressing stigma and providing support services for survivors of sexual and gender-based violencev(SGBV). These groups educate survivors on the violence they endured, provides them with a safe space to rest and engages them in the community to fight feelings of isolation SGBV survivors often face.