Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • ‘Life Changing Food': This eatery hires only people recovering from addiction

    DV8 Kitchen in Lexington, Kentucky has twenty-five employees, all of whom are in recovery from drug addiction. The eatery's "second chance hiring" policy and general business take into consideration the special needs of those in recovery, including closing when employees need to go to recovery meetings and splitting tips evenly into employee paychecks. The owner also engages in a workshop series for the employees, covering topics such as health and wellness, financial responsibility, and mindfulness.

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  • Tech Helps Disabled People in India Find Love and Freedom

    Web applications designed for people with disabilities have helped users to live fuller lives and reduce the stigma attached to living with a disability. The apps have spread information, make education more effective, and created connections between people.

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  • Training the Brain to Stay out of Jail

    A nonprofit in Charleston, South Carolina, uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help formerly incarcerated men shift their mindsets in order to meet the hefty challenges they face re-entering society. Turning Leaf Project actually pays students to take at least 150 hours of CBT and connects them to entry-level jobs in the city and county. So far participants have stayed out of prison, but keeping students in the program is challenging.

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  • In Italy, how one cooperative is trying to counter the Mafia's influence

    A cooperative in Italy has repurposed land once owned by the Mafia to produce pasta and organic vegetables, and its employees are using this land to reclaim their lives. Beyond the Dreams’ provides meaningful work for former prisoners, mental patients, and addicts, who cultivate these agricultural products. The revitalization of the ruined land and employment opportunities deliver symbolic blows to organized crime.

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  • Police in Illinois Are Helping Substance Abusers Get Into Rehab Instead of Arresting Them

    Dixon is the second police department in the United States to stop jailing drug addicts and start helping them check into rehab centers instead. “We’re changing the way law enforcement views addiction — to see it as a disease, not a crime,” says Police Detective Jeff Ragan. At least 267 people have gone through the Safe Passage program so far, some multiple times, but the program seems to be working. Residential burglaries, retail thefts, and drug arrests have dropped.

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  • Inside Job: The Gourmet Restaurant in a Colombian Women's Prison

    Time served in prison often means the end of opportunity and hope for the incarcerated, but a special restaurant run from within the San Diego women's prison in Cartagena is working to change that. The women are trained by professional and even celebrity chefs to prepare gourmet dishes - or they can work in the garden or as waitresses - ensuring they have dignity and opportunity on the other side.

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  • How Chicago Created ‘Community College' for Special Ed Students

    After students with intellectual and developmental disabilities from Chicago's West Englewood neighborhood complete four years in traditional high school, they are eligible to attend Southside Occupational Academy for four additional years - the transition center "is not [a] replacement for traditional, integrated high school, it’s a complement to it." Southside provides vocational training and training in basic life skills to students.

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  • The New Co-op Helping Ex-Inmates Find Work—and Recover

    Washington D.C. struggles with the highest incarceration rates in the nation that already imprisons more people than any other country in the world. But a few determined individuals, including ex-offender Juan Reid, are working to break the cycle by empowering former inmates to join their business cooperative, Tightshift, catered specifically to those reentering the system by providing job training and paid work, as well as critical emotional healing and support.

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  • Training For A Better Life

    Overwhelmingly, individuals who have been incarcerated will spend the rest of their lives dragging in-and-out of prison, with few resources to help break the cycle and get them back on their feet. But one program called "New Leash on Life" stands out for helping dramatically slash recidivism rates for inmates in Pennsylvania prisons by teaching inmates to train and care for formerly "un-adoptable" rescue dogs, building empathy, job skills, and giving both human and dog a second chance at life.

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  • 'Some people believe disability is contagious': breaking down barriers in Mozambique

    In Mozambique, people with disabilities face a series of barriers to success and independence, ranging from education to the workplace. In partnership with Young Africa, the international organization Light for the World is working to give people with disabilities the training and resources they need to make a living.

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