For immigrants in the Dominican Republic, access to HIV treatment is difficult to obtain

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – AIDS Healthcare Foundation works to provide treatment for people living in the Dominican Republic. But for Haitian migrants, access to care can be difficult.

Stanley Payoute, a doctor with AIDS Healthcare Foundation Haiti, drives across the Haitian border into the Dominican Republic to meet with Cronkite News reporters on March 5, 2023, in Dajabon, Dominican Republic. Payoute drove with two patients and a nurse from his clinic in Cap-Haitien, Haiti. (Photo by Albert Serna Jr./Cronkite Borderlands Project)

Arizona Adaptive Watersports provides fun-filled lake days for people with disabilities

SCOTTSDALE – Arizona Adaptive Watersports helps people with disabilities get out on the water and do activities like water skiing and wakeboarding.

Arizona Adaptive Watersports volunteer Matt Borup helps a group of children prepare for a tubing adventure, encouraging them with a thumbs up and a smile. The group went out on Bartlett Lake on Sept. 22, 2023. (Photo by Hunter Fore/Cronkite News)

One·n·ten organization serves LGBTQ+ youth by providing mental, emotional and physical well-being resources

PHOENIX – One·n·ten, a nonprofit Phoenix organization, serves LGBTQ+ youth by providing resources for mental, emotional and physical well-being. Members share their personal stories and talk about the importance of having safe, inclusive spaces for the LGBTQ+ community.

One·n·ten, a nonprofit organization, operates a center in downtown Phoenix for LGBTQ+ youth, offering safe, inclusive spaces and resources for young people to be themselves. (Photo by Oakley Seiter/Cronkite News)

Biden kicks off Tribal Nations Summit with order streamlining funding access

WASHINGTON - More than 100 Indigenous leaders gathered this week for the Biden administration's third Tribal Nations Summit, where President Joe Biden vowed to strengthen relationships with tribes and signed an executive order to improve their access to capital.


Little Amal, Queen of the Monarchs and symbol of human rights in 360

A November event in Inglewood, California, celebrated resilience and new beginnings with a powerful dance, music and spoken-word performance. Director and choreographer Debbie Allen created a kaleidoscope of swirling monarch butterflies, echoing Amal’s migration journey. Little Amal is a 12-foot puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee child that has become a global symbol of human rights, especially those of refugees.


Organizations help immigrants reunite with families from Mexico

PHOENIX – Raíces del Sur and Esperanza en la Frontera assist Mexican parents who have adult children in the U.S. in obtaining visas to visit their families, regardless of the children’s immigration status.


Phoenix successfully clears its largest homeless encampment by deadline, shifts focus to long-term solutions

PHOENIX – Phoenix cleared its largest homeless encampment, The Zone, by Nov. 4, addressing the urgent need to relocate nearly 1,000 unhoused individuals. Now, the city focuses on implementing lasting solutions for its homeless population.

Officials from the city of Phoenix block off 12th Avenue between Jefferson and Madison streets on the morning of Oct. 20 to facilitate the clearing of a homeless encampment under a court order issued earlier this year. (Photo by John Leos/Cronkite News)

Restoration: Tattoos removed from sex trafficking survivors

SCOTTSDALE – Over half of sex trafficking survivors have a branding mark on their skin that affects their mental health and impedes their self-healing and reintegration into society. A Scottsdale tattoo artist has established a network of volunteers in the U.S. to remove trauma’s marks.

Soul Survivors Ink founder Gina Jernukian removes a tattoo that was a branding mark from a survivor of human trafficking. The process includes brightening the skin in the inked area and camouflaging the mark. (Photo by Hunter Fore/Cronkite News)

New Mexicans speak out against gun violence

ALBUQUERQUE – At the unveiling of a mural to prevent gun violence and after the renewal of a public health order on guns, conversations around how to stop gun violence continue in New Mexico.

New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence unveiled a new mural outside San Pedro Library in Albuquerque on Nov. 4, 2023. When viewed through a phone camera, the mural comes to life and names appear thanks to augmented reality technology. (Photo by John Leos/Cronkite News)

As Santo Domingo develops, vulnerable people are left behind

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – As the Dominican Republic invests in development and climate resiliency, government projects aimed at improving quality of life and guarding against climate change are having a negative effect on some of the very people they were designed to help.


Arizona activists work to hold the criminal justice system accountable through court watching

PHOENIX – Activists with Mass Liberation Arizona have attended the state’s high-profile police brutality and racial discrimination cases – including hearings for former Maricopa County Attorney’s Office prosecutor April Sponsel – to support marginalized defendants and make their presence known to attorneys and judges.

Matt Aguilar takes notes while listening to April Sponsel’s disciplinary hearing on Oct. 23, 2023. Aguilar is part of Mass Liberation Arizona, a watchdog group that focuses on the criminal justice system. (Photo by Kevinjonah Paguio/Cronkite News)

Business owners hopeful as Phoenix meets deadline to clean up ‘The Zone’

PHOENIX – The city of Phoenix has fulfilled a court-ordered Nov. 4 deadline to remove all tents and makeshift structures from the area around the Human Services Campus known as “The Zone,” and business owners in the area are hopeful.

A sign at 13th Avenue and Jefferson Street, next to Old Station Sub Shop, declares the area is “closed to camping.” (Photo by Hunter Fore/Cronkite News)