More HOPE for Youth in School-to-Prison Pipeline

Ann Georgescu

HOPE, a program started by IU professor Theresa Ochoa, is designed to help youths in juvenile-detention facilities across Indiana. Anne Georgescu follows up her first article on HOPE, showing how the only mentorship program of its kind in the country continues to help break the school-to-prison pipeline for juvenile offenders. Click here to read the full story.

February 16, 2017

Local nonprofit Justice Unlocked offers legal services on a sliding scale so people don’t have to fight for justice alone. | Illustration by Penina Gal

Justice Unlocked Fills a Financial Gap in Legal Services

TJ Jaeger, Penina Gal

A paternity hearing could be just another day in court for some lawyers. But for a parent about to lose custody of their child, it could be the most important day of their lives. Local nonprofit Justice Unlocked offers legal services on a sliding scale so people don’t have to fight for justice alone. Click here to read the full story.

October 31, 2016

A handful of social-service organizations in southern Indiana, including Bloomington's Indiana Recovery Alliance (IRA), are using harm reduction in response to the current drug epidemic to try to reshape the way people think about addiction, drugs, risk, and community health. | Photo by Natasha Komoda

Harm Reduction: A Challenging New Approach to the Drug Scourge

Paulina Guerrero, Natasha Komoda

The drug-addiction epidemic in southern Indiana has defeated almost every effort people have tried to address the problem. But writer Paulina Guerrero looks into how some groups, such as the Indiana Recovery Alliance, are finding that a new method, called harm reduction, often has better results than the decades-old war on drugs. Click here to read the full story.

September 27, 2016

Dorian Phillips shares his experience in the Monroe County CASA program at the CASA Day rally at the Indiana Statehouse in March. His CASA of three years, Jim Shelton, stands with him in support. | Photo by Ann Georgescu

Former Foster Child Says CASA Had Huge Impact on His Success

Ann Georgescu

When children enter the legal system due to neglect or abuse, they often confront an ever-changing stream of caseworkers, counselors, and more. As Dorian Phillips learned, their one constant throughout the process is their Court Appointed Child Advocate, or CASA, who stays with each child until the case is closed. Click here to read the full story.

April 26, 2016

Helping Offenders Prosper in Employment, or HOPE, mentors (l-r) Haley Clements, Jesse Cooperman, and Sarah Swank, are each paired with an incarcerated youth at the Madison Juvenile Correctional Facility, the only maximum-security facility for girls in Indiana. The program, developed by Indiana University Professor Theresa Ochoa, is designed to help the girls learn skills they’ll need to finish school or find a job after leaving the facility. | Photo by Ann Georgescu

Mentorship Program Tries to Break School-to-Prison Pipeline for Juvenile Girls

Ann Georgescu

IU Professor Theresa Ochoa developed HOPE, a mentorship program at the Madison Juvenile Correctional Facility, Indiana’s only maximum-security detention center for girls. Each juvenile is paired with a college student to learn skills she’ll need to finish school or find a job after she leaves the facility. Click here to read the full story.

February 5, 2016

Many local bars have staff members responsible for intervening in situations that appear to be dangerous. For example, The Atlas Ballroom says it hires more door staff per square foot than any other bar in town. | Photo by Natasha Komoda

Managers of Local Bars Say Preventing Sexual Assault Is More Art Than Science

Sarah Gordon, Natasha Komoda

While alcohol is called the single most common date-rape drug, at least one study shows that the culprits of unwanted sexual contact in bars are usually sober. In this report by Sarah Gordon, the people who run three bars in Bloomington and the prevention programs coordinator at Middle Way House talk about preventing sexual assault. Click here to read the full story.

December 15, 2015

Ethical stewardship among diggers and careful monitoring by conservation officers have kept Indiana’s ginseng population relatively healthy. | Photo by Dan J. Pittillo, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Public Affairs

Diggers, Dealers, and Appalachian Outlaws: Unearthing Indiana’s Ginseng Trade

Susan M. Brackney

Susan M. Brackney explores the often misunderstood world of hunting wild ginseng and how ethical stewardship among the diggers and careful monitoring by conservation officers have kept Indiana’s ginseng population relatively healthy — despite the portrayal of supposed ginseng diggers on reality TV making it look adventurous and lucrative. Click here to read the full story.

November 13, 2015

A Teenager’s Murder Still Breaks Hearts and Boggles Minds 50 Years Later

John Mikulenka

Fifty years ago, 16-year-old Sylvia Likens was found tortured to death in the Indianapolis home of her caretaker, Gertrude Baniszewski, who was later convicted of first-degree murder in what’s been called the most terrible crime ever committed in Indiana. In this essay, John Mikulenka ponders how the case went from a local tragedy to something affecting people worldwide. In his video, he interviews the newspaper reporter who covered Baniszewski’s trial. Click here for the full story and video.