Tag: Washington

This Photographer Is Shining a Light on the Dignity of Indigenous Women

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Indigenous women face disproportionate levels of violence. 84 percent of them experience some form of violence during their lifetimes, and one study found that in certain regions, native women face murder rates more than 10 times the national average. One photographer is using her art to call attention to the issue — and, in her own way, fight back against it.
“People go missing on the reservation like it’s going out of style,” says Toni Roth, a photographer and resident of the Yakama Indian Reservation in Toppenish, Wash.
Roth has been a photographer for the last five years, but recently her work took on an entirely new meaning. In January, Roth started taking portraits of women and girls from the Yakama tribe decked out in their traditional regalia. The photos are striking — colorful, regal and almost ferocious — and she hopes they’ll drive awareness and action on the epidemic of missing and murdered native women.  
“I wanted to portray them in their natural state,” Roth says, “showing that these women are strong, they’re independent, they’re needed in their community [and] they’re just as important as anybody else.
“I feel like if more people brought light to the situation and took it seriously, then maybe more people would get involved, and actually realize that this is an epidemic,” Roth says. “This is real, and it’s something that needs to be taken care of.”
Watch the video above to see Roth’s work and find out how you can help fight the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women.

If you have information on the whereabouts of missing individuals on the Yakama reservation, please contact the Yakima Police Department at 509-575-6200.

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The Sure-Fire Way to Get Millennials Interested in Public Service

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The Peace Corps sends young Americans to 141 countries, but its number of volunteers is less than half the record high it reached back in 1966. The state of Washington, however, continues to churn out an impressive number of civic-minded youth interested in the program.
For several years running, the Evergreen State’s colleges have claimed the highest number of Peace Corps volunteers, consistently sweeping top spots in categories for large, medium and small colleges alike. The University of Washington, with second-place showing of 73 students in 2016, has taken first or second place for all but one year since 2005. For medium-sized colleges, Western Washington University, with 48 volunteers, nabbed second. And among small campuses, University of Puget Sound tied for second, with 13 new recruits.
Recent changes to the application process, like letting a person choose the country where they wish to live, boosted the number of applicants. Still, the nation should look to Washington for some ideas on how to foster a global commitment among the next generation.
At the University of Washington, a master’s student who completed a Peace Corps mission abroad is a constant presence in the school’s career center. “Over the course of four years of undergrad, students are going to see and hear from the Peace Corps a lot,” says Patrick Gordon, who served in Bulgaria. “It’s become a part of the overall environment of the campus.”
Despite a decade-long strong performance, U of W doesn’t hold top honors for contributing the most Peace Corps volunteers. That designation goes to the University of California-Berkeley, which has sent 3,640 alumni, compared to Washington’s 2,981.
 

The Impoverished Often Choose Between Buying Furniture and Food. This Group Makes Sure They Have Both

Posted on by robbie

Dr. Mark Bergel hasn’t slept in a bed since 2008. But thanks to his efforts, many of his neighbors have.
While volunteering at a Washington, D.C. nonprofit that delivered meals to impoverished residents, Bergel noticed that many families lacked enough beds for all of a household’s residents — or they didn’t have any beds at all. Learning that many of those living in poverty forgo basic furnishings in order to put food on the table, he started A Wider Circle.
The organization’s largest initiative, Neighbor-to-Neighbor, accepts donated furniture and distributes it to low-income residents across the Washington, D.C., area. A Wider Circle also operates the new Wraparound Support program, which enlists up to four volunteers to focus on one individual or family as they seek to rise out of poverty.
Watch the video above to see why Bergel sleeps on his couch and how A Wider Circle is making life better for almost 16,000 adults and children each year.
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This Woman Has Collected 40,000 Feminine Products to Boost the Self-Esteem of Homeless Women

Posted on by robbie

Many homeless women can’t afford food and housing, let alone necessary feminine items like bras and menstrual hygiene products. Yet, these products are essential for any woman to feel good about herself, since they boost one’s dignity.
Dana Marlowe, a mother of two who runs a disability advocacy and consulting company, decided to do something about it. Since homeless shelters rarely receive donations of bras and feminine hygiene products, Marlowe started the organization Support the Girls. During her free time, Marlowe collects these important items, organizing house pick-ups and dropping everything at shelters in the Washington, D.C., area where she lives.
So far, she’s collected more than 8,000 bras and almost 30,000 feminine hygiene products. Learn more about what Marlowe does and how she got the idea by watching the video above.
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The Difference Between Life and Death for LGBT Homeless Teens? Access to a Cell Phone

Posted on by robbie

At least half a million American teens — estimates range between 550,000 and 2.8 million youth — experience homelessness each year, advocates estimate. Lacking resources to find housing on their own, they’re continually at high risk of experiencing a night on the street.
An unexpected factor that unites the group? At least one in five identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, but the demographic could make up as much as 43 percent of the homeless youth population, according to a national survey of 350 agencies. Instead of waiting to move out before they drop the news about their sexual identity, these teens are coming out of the closet earlier. It’s a sign of society’s increasing acceptance, but their youthful independence often comes with consequences. If they face abuse at home or are kicked to the curb, teens are forced to seek shelter at emergency drop-in centers, in abandoned buildings or with friends. Already unsure of their identity, some are wary of receiving assistance from shelters (possibly religious) or social workers (possibly unsympathetic), leaving LGBT homeless teens in danger of physical violence, prostitution, substance abuse and suicide.
Connect 4 Life, a new pilot project launching in Washington, D.C., believes there’s one simple thing these kids need to stay safe from harm: a cell phone.
“Overwhelmingly, youth said that is their lifeline,” says Christopher Wood, executive director of the LGBT Technology Partnership. “It makes a lot of sense. We use our cell phones every day,” Wood adds. “Why would it be any different? Why wouldn’t it be even more crucial for someone that doesn’t have a home to have a phone? That’s why we started this project.”
Wood co-founded the organization, which lobbies on behalf of LGBT groups for greater access to technology, just three years ago, so they’re starting small, distributing 25 phones throughout the capital.
“Making sure they have consistent contact or the ability to connect to the internet greatly improves their outcomes,” Wood says, explaining that the mobile device helps determine whether the teens are able to return to school, find work or establish a stable place to stay. A phone is “their lifeline not just to supportive services, but just the ability to call a friend and say, ‘I need a place to sleep.’”
Connect 4 Life is leaving it to the service providers who interact with homeless teens on a daily basis to determine how the phones are distributed. One program is giving their share of the phones to the kids who seem at the greatest risk, so they have an instant connection to their case manager; another is using it as a kind of reward, offering their mobile devices to those with the greatest motivation to succeed. The phones come with free minutes, texting and data for 10 months. The only catch? LGBT Tech Partnership asks the teens to respond to regular survey questions. If they don’t, the phones aren’t taken away; if they do, they get to keep the devices and free plan for an extra two months.
Wood knows from personal experience how valuable those midnight calls can be. Senior year in high school, he found himself simultaneously outed and thrown out of his home.
Raised in a military family in northern Virginia, Wood was the commander of his high school’s JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps). “When I was 17, I was a really good kid. I didn’t do drugs, I didn’t get into trouble,” he recalls. But he guarded the secret of his sexuality and a private love for his boyfriend. One night Wood invited his boyfriend over and fell asleep in his arms on the couch. He woke up early in the morning to find his father bellowing at him. His parents “didn’t understand, they were afraid,” he remembers. “Later that morning, I was being kicked out of my house.” Carrying a hastily packed bag of clothes, Wood didn’t know where to go next. His basic cell phone proved the “crucial” element to finding spare bedrooms and fold-out couches with friends until things smoothed out at home, he says.
“I could text and call people on it. My ability to use a cell phone meant finding a warm place to sleep after that morning. It meant putting myself back together to go to school,” he says. “That changed my entire life trajectory.”
In our increasingly connected world, these phones are proving essential to helping a wary and highly mobile group of at-risk teens safely navigate their way back to safety. It’s a low-cost answer that shelter staff has recognized for years — they’ve often paid for the plans out of their own pocket — and that’s a strategy that’s being adopted nationwide. Google has donated the devices to homeless individuals in the Bay Area, and Ohio’s state government recently asked Wood about bringing the pilot west — ensuring help is only a text message away.
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In These 8 States, Students Are Going to Be Served Healthier School Lunches

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A new pilot program aimed at encouraging states to purchase locally-sourced food will bring more fresh produce to school meals across eight states.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced California, Connecticut, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin will be able to use some of their USDA Foods allocation toward unprocessed fruits and vegetables from local farms rather than going through the USDA Foods program.

The Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables, which falls under the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill), was created to not only promote farm-to-table meals, but also help schools strengthen relationships with vendors, growers, wholesalers and distributors, according to the USDA.

USDA Foods comprises about 20 percent of foods served in schools, with schools using their allocation from a list of 180 items including fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, rice, low fat cheese, beans, pasta, flour and other whole grain products. Under the new program, schools will be able to substitute those allocations for fresher, local options.

“Providing pilot states with more flexibility in the use of their USDA Foods’ dollars offers states another opportunity to provide schoolchildren with additional fruits and vegetables from within their own communities,” says Kevin Concannon, USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services.  “When schools invest food dollars into local communities, all of agriculture benefits, including local farmers, ranchers, fishermen, food processors and manufacturers.”

States were selected on criteria including a commitment to farm-to-school efforts, previous promotion initiatives, the variety and abundance of fruit and vegetable growers in the state on a per capita basis, as well as how diverse the state’s educational agencies are in size and geography.

For states like Connecticut, the program not only promotes the local economy, but also helps children form more nutritional habits of buying fresh, local produce.

“Connecticut’s participation in this federal pilot is great news for our farmers, our economy and our children,” says Governor Dannel P. Malloy. “Our state is home to thousands of farming operations responsible for billions in economic activity. By increasing the amount locally-sourced healthy food options for our students, we help lay a foundation for lifelong successful habits.”

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The Latest City to Build an Elevated Park Is…

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Washington, D.C. has high hopes of building a park to not only attract more tourists, but also unite two very different parts of America’s capital city.
The 11th Street Bridge Project, a plan for an elevated park similar to New York’s High Line, is designed to sit atop a bridge over the Anascostia river. To the west of the river is D.C.’s more familiar parts, dotted with museums and monuments on the National Mall, while the east side is home to a part of the city forgotten in the economic and housing boom. Predominantly African-American, the Anascostia community has been home to black leaders including Frederick Douglass and former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, who was a city councilman for Ward 8 until his death last month.
“Looking at Ward 8, there are a lot of struggling families in the community,” says Rolanda Wilson, a Ward 8 resident and project volunteer. “So to be able to bring something so monumental to the neighborhood and to be able to give people [from both neighborhoods] a chance to connect is more important than anything.”
Park planners want the project to be more of a destination than a walkway, much like the High Line, which is built on an abandoned elevated rail bed on Manhattan’s west side. Using public and private money, D.C.’s bridge park is the size of three football fields laid end to end, erected atop piers that previously held up a freeway bridge over the river, according to Governing.
The park features space for three waterfalls, gardens, a boat launch, an environmental education center, an auditorium and a cafe. The winning design was created by Netherlands-based OMA and OLIN of Philadelphia and is shaped as an “X” over the river.
Project planners have four goals in mind for the 11th Street Bridge Project including: improving community health, encouraging locals to connect with the Anascostia river, uniting neighborhoods on each side of the river and also creating new jobs and economic opportunities, reports Governing.
For example, a new canoe and kayak launch promotes exercise and brings more people to engage with the river, while a waterfall is not only a picturesque spot, but also improves river water quality.
The District of Columbia has already committed $14.5 million toward the project, covering half of construction costs while community leaders from across the city, Virginia and Maryland have gotten on board, along with the federal and municipal governments. Planners aim to raise a total of $45 million in order to include money for pre-construction planning and an endowment to pay for programming at the park, according to project director Scott Kratz.
If all goes according to planned, D.C. residents could find themselves in a new park in 2018, at the earliest.
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This City’s Police Want to Protect Your Right to Privacy

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What did the Seattle Police Department do when an activist requested their entire archive of patrol car videos — all 1.6 million videos? For the hometown of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, the answer was easy: Seattle’s cops went to the computer nerds.

Law enforcement agencies are promising body cameras will bring a new era of accountability by capturing cops’ every interaction on film in Seattle, Los Angeles, New York and other cities encouraged by Obama’s promise of $263 million in funding. But all that video presents a technical problem: how can a department possibly sort and release so many hours of footage? Stepping up its commitment to transparency and collaboration, Seattle’s police asked 80 local tech wizards from Amazon, Microsoft and Evidence.com to streamline the disclosure process at its first department-sponsored hackathon earlier this month.

“We’re having a conversation about transparency and privacy. How do the two intersect?” Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, a spokesperson, tells the The Seattle Times. “How can the Seattle Police Department share terabytes of information we’re storing?”

Citizens only feel cameras increase accountability if they trust the devices are used properly, if they cannot be switched off at critical moments or if the video won’t be buried by scandal-averse commanders. But police departments cannot simply post raw video of every arrest to YouTube. To protect individuals’ privacy, state law prevents police from releasing details like the faces of juveniles or sexual assault victims as well medical details or mental health history, explains Mary Perry, the police department’s counsel.

But currently, removing a simple cut from a one-minute video “can take specialists upward of half an hour, whereas more complicated edits — like blurring multiple faces or pieces of audio — can take much, much longer,” an S.P.D. statement says. That’s a problem when the police are already burning an average of 7,000 DVDs every month and will have even more as body cams are rolled out for the entire force.

Technologies like image-recognition seem to be the police’s best bet for a quicker, cheaper way to systematically redact sensitive information. “Government agencies don’t jump out to me to be at the forefront of technology research,” says Simon Winder, head of Impressive Machines, a tech company focused on robotics, machine learning and recognition software. But with such huge tasks, cities are primed to adopt cutting-edge solutions. “There are so many ways we can yet use technology,” Seattle’s mayor Ed Murray responds. “We want to be the number one digital city.”

One of the recurring topics the hackers discussed was what to do when an algorithm makes an error in identifying a person or a frame of video, particularly because so many are shot in the dark of night or in the blur of pursuing a suspect. “The problem is you can’t just say ‘oops’ when you violate someone’s right to privacy,” says Brandon Arp, a software developer at Groupon who attended the hackathon. He proposed a “very conservative” system that hides more information from a clip than required by law but allows for a person to request a manual secondary review of individual redactions.

Ideas like this emerged over the five-hour brainstorming session (and free lunch) in the basement of police headquarters, prompting officials to predict they will become a national model. Officer Patrick Michaud says he was “blown away” by the hackathon. “Options came out of it, which is what we look for,” he tells The Seattle Times. “A different way to look for problems always works for us.”

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Could This Be the Next ALS Ice Bucket Challenge?

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Last month, a burglar broke into veteran Andrew Myers’s Seattle house. But as the security camera footage in the YouTube video “Mr. Wrong House – Robber Meets Paratrooper” shows, Myers tackled the robber, punched him and held him until police arrived. The story spread across the country, and the video has been viewed almost 4 million times.
“Part of the reason it became a national story is, gratuitously thanking veterans makes people feel good about themselves,” Myers tells KIRO Radio. “That’s my opinion as a soldier watching civilians. It makes people feel patriotic. It’s like warm apple pie to see veteran justice. Another element to it is, people love instant karma. It really seems like these low-level home invasions are a much bigger deal than I realized. So many of these comments are people with similar experiences.”
When some suggested Myers should try to profit from his new fame, he rejected the idea. But then he got to thinking about a grave problem facing veterans — the suicide rate of 22 deaths a day — and decided his video might be able to help. After all, he knew what it was like to have long lasting effects from military service.
Myers served in Afghanistan as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. When he returned home, he began to experience symptoms of PTSD. He soon contacted Paws and Stripes, an organization that provides service dogs to veterans with PTSD, and was matched with Hunter, an Australian shepherd. Myers instantly felt better with Hunter by his side. “I was 100 percent different person within two days of having the dog. I was like, ‘I need you.'”
So Myers set up a website, MrWrongHouse.com, where he invites people to take a donation challenge which involves uploading a black-and-white photo of themselves with their arms extended in a “come at me, bro” gesture that he makes in the security camera footage, making a donation to Paws and Stripes and nominating three other individuals to participate.
“Go on the porch, do the wingspan pose, take a black and white picture, and challenge your friends to do the same,” he says. “Keep the challenge going long enough to hit that viral-ity that will raise enough money to make a difference.”
After viewing the “Mr. Wrong House” video, our guess is many people will be inclined to do what Myers tells them to do.
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Meet The Woman Putting a Personal Touch on Health Insurance Enrollment

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With all the intricate details of the health care system, it’s easy to get bogged down and overwhelmed, making it next to impossible to choose the best insurance option. Which is why King County, Wash. is taking a different approach — they’re letting the people that know the community take the lead.
So instead of residents hearing about health care options in a general format, a representative of the community presents information catered to the individual area’s needs.
The woman behind the idea? Daphne Pie, King County’s manager of access and outreach at the Public Health Department for Seattle and King County. Her group of workers consists of 24 community leaders, including representatives from Cierra Sisters, Arms Perinatal Doula Program, Gay City health project and the Asian Counseling and Referral Service.
All of this began about four years when the County Council put forth their ‘equity and social justice’ strategic plan, according to National Journal. The measure has each county department focus on reaching the communities where there is the greatest inequity in their respective area of expertise.
For Pie, that meant finding a way to reach diverse groups about their health insurance choices. Her solution? For every community that had above average rates of uninsured citizens, a leader that spreads the message: “you can have health care insurance for free or at a very low cost.”
Communities in King County are quite diverse, featuring African-Americans, Native American tribes, Latinas and homosexuals, among others. Therefore, it’s useful to have a member of that community who can understand and address each group’s specific needs — whether it be HIV medication or natural childbirth.
The County’s commitment to this project isn’t just on paper, either. In 2013, out of the $1.6 million of federal grants King County received, $1.3 million of it went to community partners.
“You have to reach the uninsured where they live,” Pie tells National Journal. “We can’t expect these people to always come to us.”
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