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During a four-day sweep last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials targeted so-called sanctuary cities, arresting nearly 500 people nationwide, including 28 in Maryland and at least five in Baltimore. While ICE claims that it targeting people with criminal histories, a Sun staff editorial points out that all of the 28 Maryland detainees were […]

In a Baltimore Sun op-ed on Tuesday, Andrew Vetter, director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, said the city intends to expand the OSI-sponsored Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, which diverts drug users into treatment instead of the criminal justice system. “We are seeking to expand existing programs like Safe Streets and Law […]

Today on WYPR’s Midday, host Tom Hall interviewed Paul Butler, a former federal prosecutor, Georgetown and Harvard Law Professor, and author of the new book Chokehold: Policing Black Men, who will speak at OSI’s Talking About Race event (register here) on Tuesday. The conversation ranged from the systemic problems in policing in the United States and […]

At Tuesday’s meeting of the Baltimore City Council’s public safety committee, Gabriel Auteri, deputy chief of staff of the city health department, outlined a plan to double the number of city residents who can access addiction treatment medication buprenorphine. On Friday, the Sun ran a staff editorial supporting the move, suggesting that “[e]xpanding buprenorphine access […]

Recently, 2014 OSI Community Fellow, Van Brooks, was named Director of The Governor’s Office of Service and Volunteerism. Brooks, who founded Safe Alternative Foundation for Education Inc (SAFE) to help young people from the Franklin Square neighborhood by promoting education and life skills, will continue to lead the foundation while in this new position. Brooks […]

On November 9, Baltimore Green Space will host “Fantastic Forest Forum” from 9am-2:30 pm at the Vollmer Center at Cylburn Arboretum. The day will include TED Talk-style information sessions on the importance of forest patches as well as a panel on policy. Baltimore Green Space was started by 2007 OSI Community Fellow, Miriam Avins to […]

Last week, Tara Huffman, director of OSI’s Criminal and Juvenile Justice program, took part in a panel discussion hosted by the Innocence Project, “Innocence Denied: Exploring the Intersection of Race, Bail and Guilty Pleas” at the Congressional Black Caucus. The panel, which also included Rodney Roberts, an exoneree and founder of the Rodney Roberts Foundation; Adam […]

On Friday, the first day of the Baltimore Book Festival, OSI Community Fellow and Circle of Voices founder J.C. Faulk (above right), OSI Communications Director Evan Serpick, and philanthropist Pat Bernstein (above left) appeared on the Enoch Pratt Free Library Children’s Stage to talk about their collaborative project, Hidden Voices: Illuminating Baltimore’s Secrets. The project, launched […]

This month’s Baltimore Magazine features a great piece on the Baltimore Youth Kinetic Energy Collective or BYKE, which was started by 2015 OSI Community Fellow, Chavi Rhodes. Rhodes and co-founder Alphonso Blackstone wanted to create a safe space for young cyclists that also gave them an opportunity to learn bicycle mechanics, practice respectful safe ridership […]

Baltimore City Paper named Baltimore Youth Arts, founded by 2016 OSI Community Fellow Gianna Rodriguez, “Best Artists” in its 2017 Best of Baltimore issue, calling them “the most radical arts collective in the city right now.” The after-school program helps young people involved in the juvenile justice system express themselves through art in many forms, […]