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Julian Adler, co-author of Start Here, and Judge Victoria Pratt discuss alternatives to jail, including community service, social services and even personal essays. TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. My guest Judge Victoria Pratt is known for having done her best to avoid sending people to jail by offering alternatives such as community service, social services and even writing a personal essay. She served as chief judge of Newark's municipal court and presided over...

American society has long been split across the fault lines of class and race. William Julius Wilson famously observed that poor African Americans who comprise the “truly disadvantaged” remain substantially isolated from the rest of society and the American economy. But not only are Americans divided by race, we are divided by how we travel about the city for everyday activities like shopping, visiting friends and family, working, or going out to eat. Race is the defining element of this...

At a Montana school, a fifth-grader threatened to strike his teacher with a chair. In many schools, the child would be suspended, expelled, or arrested, leading to missed school, further alienation, and possibly a criminal record. But that’s not what happens here. But this student is in one of Montana’s 10 Wraparound program schools. So instead, the student and his teacher at this school that serves mostly Native American kids, met with Stephanie Iron Shooter, director of the Montana Office...

Who hasn’t been affected by the divisive nature of our political discourse these days? Friends, neighbors, and family of different political persuasions won’t talk to each other about controversial issues for fear of causing offense or being shunned. Meanwhile, the national dialogue increasingly takes place within social media silos, leaving us feeling disconnected from our fellow citizens. What’s to be done about this? According to Joan Blades, co-founder of Living Room Conversations , you...

Last month, we spoke to two of the grannies who are part of Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden , a group of hundreds of grandmothers protesting family separation and immigration policies. They have organized a caravan from New York to the US/Mexico border, with rallies planned at stops along the way. Michelle Clifton , a 74-year-old granny on the trip, has been documenting the journey for us, sending us dispatches from the road. [To listen to this story by The Takeaway, go to...

According to a recent report from Harvard University only 43 percent of black adults in the U.S. own homes compared to 72 percent of whites in 2017. In this segment, we'll examine what drives racial disparities in homeownership, including "redlining," a government sanctioned practice that made it difficult for African Americans and immigrants to purchase homes. And we want to hear from you -- what questions do you have about the history of redlining, bank deserts, and discriminatory banking?

More than three decades ago courageous people took to the streets, demanding that the government invest in preventing and treating AIDS. What followed was the development of: City Departments of AIDS Prevention County Programs on AIDS Treatment School Board Policies on AIDS Training programs on AIDS for every teacher, police officer and health care provider Federal and State Funding for AIDS Prevention and Treatment Today, we are living in an epidemic of childhood trauma, abuse, neglect and...

Here is a link to one of the best articles I have read about trauma-informed teaching in a long time! The Trauma Informed Teacher – Silent Front Line

How the nation and Kentucky’s first data-driven and cross-sector ACEs Prevention Program was launched. Dominic Cappello has been working in the arena of childhood health and safety for decades, advocating for the safety of children through numerous organizations including CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates). The challenges associated with ACEs have always been clear but until I read the book Anna, Age Eight , I was not sure how we would mobilize an entire county around prevention that...

Working to shift the culture of adult mental health and substance abuse residential care.

As America’s baby boomers are hitting 65 at a rate of 10,000 a day, and healthier lifestyles are keeping them in their homes longer, demand is escalating for a little talked-about — yet critical — health care-related job: Transporting people to and from nonemergency medical appointments. “It’s going to become a massive phenomena,” said Ken Dychtwald, founder and chief executive of Age Wave , a consulting firm specializing in age-related issues. “This is an unmet need that’s going to be in...

Amid the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) recent emphasis on policies that increase employment among assisted renters, understanding housing-based self-sufficiency programs is more important than ever. Although proposals to increase work through requirements and minimum rent increases have attracted attention, HUD already offers programs through which housing authorities and private owners can encourage and support residents in making economic progress. Through a...