A Reflection on SJN

This story is a part of the Solutions Journalism Network Media Challenge, where we report on solutions to mental health issues within the juvenile justice and foster care systems.

Rachel Cabral: For the past semester, every Friday, Communities of Hope has brought to you a segment from the Solutions Journalism team. The team changed up the pace a bit from traditional journalism with a grant from the Solutions Journalism Network, an organization that’s really rethinking what journalism can do. Instead of just focusing on problems, solutions journalism asks: what’s working, who’s doing it, and what can we learn from it?

Macayla McDonald: Our team focused on solutions to mental health issues within the foster care and juvenile justice systems reporting on solutions across Rhode Island and beyond. Together, our team worked to produce stories that didn’t just inform but could actually contribute to change, or at least to better understanding.

So today we’re taking a step back from reporting on communities and reflecting on what we brought to you this semester and what we learned through it. My name is Macayla McDonald. I’m a criminal justice and psychology double major, and I’m the team lead and managing editor for the SJN team in Communities of Hope.

Working with the juvenile justice system, both in terms of incarceration and foster care has been incredible. This project started with a grant and a rough idea of who I thought would be interesting to look into, help, and start community conversations about, and it turned into so much more. We have been able to put together such a strong team, meet new people, and get involved with organizations bigger than ourselves.

Each of these conversations have opened doors for everyone involved and given us so many opportunities to connect and heighten our impact on vulnerable populations. As we connect and cover solutions to often overlooked issues regarding mental health within the system. Our goal is not yet accomplished.

We are putting out zines with accessible resources and columns from people who have been in these situations, either personally or with people closest to them. Our hope is that we can bring these resources to youth who are wards of the state and their families easing the turmoil and providing a light to keep in view.

Ultimately, we hope that those involved will not only be able to use these resources, but embrace them and continue producing them with our support. This project has meant so much to me. It aligns so closely to what I envision doing in my future and feels like it has truly made an impact and can inform people about the good that can come from paying a little more attention, caring a bit more about others, and ensuring that everyone has the resources they need to thrive, not just survive their circumstances.

Kate Tortolini: My name is Kate Tortolini, and I’m a journalism major at Roger Williams University. I joined the SJN team at the beginning of last semester when I first joined Communities of Hope, and I’m so grateful for that.

Working closely with youth Mental Health across the juvenile justice and foster care systems has been so incredibly inspiring and encouraging. While my favorite stories were the juvenile hearing boards and foster forward stories, I have enjoyed working on each and every story that our team has produced as they’re all unique and bring something new to the table.

With that, our work has provided me with hands-on experiences that I would not have otherwise imagined. I’ve attended and covered events and met the inspiring individuals behind the scenes of guiding you through life. While the semester’s coming to a close, it seems our work has only just started.

Emma O’Neill: My name is Emma O’Neill and I’m a legal studies and history major at Roger Williams University.

I joined SJN this past semester, working primarily as a research assistant and jumping in to help wherever my team needed extra support. I created research briefs, drafted interview questions for segments, and even had the opportunity to participate in interviews and live community events. My favorite stories to work on were our Foster Forward story, which has since been submitted to the Solutions Journalism Tracker and an upcoming segment on an organization called Cake4Kids.

Both of these organizations tackle real issues faced by foster youths providing creative and incredible services to their communities. It is so rewarding to publish stories that highlight the good that is going on in the world rather than focusing on issues with no way to move forward. I am so grateful I got to be part of this team.

I have gotten to meet so many amazing people working in the juvenile justice and foster care systems; two fields I hope to work in postgrad. SJN has given me useful tools to incorporate into my personal and professional life. It has taught me that not all solutions to overarching issues need to be the same.

Something as simple as Cake4Kids, providing foster youth with cakes on their birthday creates a positive impact that stays with youth forever. I will make sure to carry the skills I’ve learned here for years to come. So even outside of SJN, I can begin ways to help my community in unique and fun ways.

Meghan Harvey: My name is Megan Harvey and I’m a double major in Psychology and Legal Studies with a minor in Educational Studies. I joined SJN at the beginning of the Spring 2026 semester, working mainly in conducting research data on various topics that we’ve covered for our stories. I made research briefs and proofread articles to make sure that they were website ready.

I can’t really pick which story is my favorite, and I feel like all the work that we have done and the research conducted is all equally as important, and the way that we contribute to a community has been very rewarding. I’m so grateful to be part of this team and working with them has been such a pleasure.

SJN and Communities of Hope, Rhode Island has given me multiple skills to polish and enhance my professional development. Conducting research definitely will be beneficial for me post grad, and I hope to utilize these same skills that I’ve attained.

Kayley Dias: Hi, my name is Kaylee Dias, and I’m a Legal Studies and Psychology major.

I joined the SJN team at Communities of Hope at the start of the spring semester in January. My role at SJN is mostly a research assistant as well. Um, this past semester I contributed by creating research briefs, pulling quotes from stories, researching sources, drafting interview questions, and writing and recorded curated news pieces.

I also tried to step in and support the team wherever I was needed. I really enjoyed working on all of our stories, but one that stood out to me was the Juvenile Hearing Board. Seeing how it gives youth the second chance and opportunity to turn things around was really meaningful to me, especially because those kinds of approaches can have such a long-term impact.

Overall, I really enjoyed my work with SJN. Just being able to research and learn about all of these different programs have been so insightful. It honestly made me wish I had joined the team much earlier. This experience has also been really important to me moving forward as I plan to go to law school and focus on family law.

Everything I’ve learned here, especially about advocacy is something I hope to carry with me throughout my journey.

Rachel Cabral: Hi everyone. My name is Rachel Cabral and I am the investigative editor for the team. My work focused on planning stories, coordinating collaboration with organizations, and leading the team.

My favorite story this year was our story on juvenile hearing boards, which has since been published to the Solutions Journalism Network Story Tracker. The most similar story that the Tracker actually has on the topic is a 2014 New York Times article about girls court, making our work even more impactful than we could have possibly imagined.

The idea to do a story on juvenile hearing boards was brought to us last semester after an initial meeting with Kids Count Rhode Island for a completely different story. We hit the ground running this semester, starting with our juvenile hearing board story. What makes us work so impactful as someone who’s doing it is getting to meet the people behind the solutions.

I will say it’s very, very heartwarming and inspiring to get to hear the stories of people who dedicate their lives to helping youth navigate life, particularly when they are in complex situations like the foster care and juvenile justice systems.

Thanks for listening. This is the SJN team at Communities of Hope. Signing off for now.

Rachel Cabral, Kayley Dias, Meghan Harvey, Macayla McDonald, Emma O’Neill, Kate Tortolini