The Mental Health of Inmates: An Approach to Jail Reform

The aim in this phenomenological study was to understand the impact the jail environment, policies, and procedures have on incarcerated individuals. Mental health problems are common among individuals in jail. Furthermore, the jail environment, harsh policies, and isolation from the public are believed to have a negative impact on inmate mental health. Elevated percentages of inmates experiencing psychiatric difficulties during their incarceration have been supported by research. It is suggested that the elevated percentages of psychiatric demands promote the lack of mental health assistance inside jails. A methodical analysis of literature was conducted to identify the circumstances of the jail environment and jail’s effects on inmates’ mental health. This phenomenological analysis emphasized the complications that evolve from the adverse impact of the jail environment on inmates’ mental health. Some research suggests that harsh jail environments provide safe and secure facilities that promote positive inmate behavior. However, there is a need for additional research in this area as many mental illnesses remain obscure within the jail. To abstain from the exacerbation of mental health problems in jail, the administration and staff should have a holistic view of the mental health issues of inmates through research. In addition, the appropriate collaboration of jail administrators and mental health professionals can provide resourceful and innovative steps to improve jail environments and inmate mental health

Using Knowledge Of The Adolescent Brain To Increase Motivation And Build Relationships

The research question addressed in this project was, how can we use knowledge of the adolescent brain to increase motivation and relationships? Adolescents are experiencing a plethora of changes that impact their ability to learn. Therefore, it is crucial to consider ways to provide them with optimal success in their academics and beyond the walls of the classroom. This Capstone provides literature supporting the value in developing the adolescent brain and using the knowledge to help increase motivation and build relationships. In addition to the literature, this Capstone provides a project that implements brain-based strategies into a curriculum in order to cater to how adolescents learn. The project provides a toolbox of strategies for supporting the adolescent brain, increasing motivation, and building relationships. It also includes a unit curriculum for a 7th grade English class that integrates the various strategies. The curriculum provides educators with the tools necessary to implement strategies within any curriculum to support the growth of adolescents outside of teaching content. By using knowledge on the development of the adolescent brain as a tool for supporting adolescents, this Capstone seeks to improve the way teachers approach teaching content by incorporating brain-based strategies

Post-Pandemic, but Not Post-Racial

The Fair Housing Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act have had measurable success in providing opportunities to address intentional discrimination in housing and voting contexts. Plaintiffs with evidence of direct illegalities have clear frameworks under which justice may be sought, and both Acts provide a path for relief upon violations of housing and voting rights because of one’s membership in a protected class. However, the disparate impact theories that are cognizable under both Acts have been scrutinized for lackluster results. Practitioners and academicians have written about and experienced the difficulties plaintiffs face in successfully proving that a particular housing practice or policy is the cause of specific discriminatory outcomes, given the interrelated factors that give rise to segregation. Similarly, the gutting of the preclearance requirements in the Voting Rights Act, coupled with the onslaught of voter suppression legislation in the last few years, create obstacles to satisfy the complicated “totality of the circumstances” test required to evidence disparate impact under the Voting Rights Act. In addition to critiquing the limits of each Act, this Article explains how racial disparities in poverty and health are exacerbated by these limitations. Systems and individuals seeking to exploit people of color through oppressive housing and voting laws rely on the failure of the Fair Housing Act and Voting Rights Act to eradicate segregation, with determinants in each sphere perpetuating the discrimination within the other. The Article sets forth federal action that can be taken to mitigate these inequities

The Agricultural Urbanism Toolkit: Using Health and Wellness to Create New Urban Infrastructures

Poverty, obesity, and vacant land are characteristics of neighborhoods lacking adequate access to healthy, affordable food, frequently referred to as “food deserts” or “food swamps” (USDA, 2013). While small-scale local food efforts such as community gardens are often present in these areas, they are often isolated and not connected to systems including production, processing, and distribution. The Agricultural Urbanism Toolkit links these aspects of agricultural systems with underutilized spatial assets and local food efforts to create more comprehensive healthy food systems. This paper presents results from the first year of the Toolkit

Affordable Housing for Sustainable Cities: A North American Perspective, Detroit Metropolitan Area and Montreal (Quebec)

Housing is an integral part to elevating and maintaining a quality of life to ensure a healthy and productive citizenship. The overwhelming number of citizens in Montreal and the United States who are unable to find housing that is less than 33% of their income stifles that economic progression of individuals and the society in which these individuals live. The ability for cities to dictate their own plans for creating and maintaining affordable housing without mandates from the federal vacillates among the various levels of government with each level having certain positive and negative elements. Although city autonomy can provide tailored solutions, the financial and logistical pitfalls of a narrow city-centered approach to affordable housing will not eradicate the affordable housing crisis in any country. In this paper, specific housing policies of two North American cities in or near Montreal and Detroit are deconstructed to provide insight into the financing and creation of affordable housing and examination of the effect on the sustainability of the areas. This paper compares and contrasts economic development policies initiated by the city of Detroit and their effects on surrounding suburbs with the legal framework of affordable housing in Quebec