Giving Compass' Take:

• In this conversation at The Whole Story, two Temple University students discuss their solutions journalism project on addiction and recovery.

• One important lesson from this project is that listening to community members is a vital part of helping those battling addiction and removing stigmas.

• Want to support more solutions journalism initiatives? Here's how.

Holly Wise, SJN’s director of journalism school engagement, recently conducted an email interview with Temple University students Jenny Roberts and Julie Christie who oversaw a solutions journalism project, “Covering Addiction.” Roberts and Christie served as the executive editor and managing editor, respectively, of the second iteration of the project, which is based out of the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University in Philadelphia and led by Professor Jillian Bauer-Reese.

HOLLY WISE: Could you explain the Covering Addiction reporting project?

JENNY and JULIE: Throughout the spring 2018 semester, the two of us, along with about a dozen other students, reported on addiction and recovery stories in our city. We wrote about topics, like treatment programs for mothers and pregnant women, housing for people using medication-assisted recovery and new approaches being taken by police officers to help people with addiction.

With each story topic, we wrote about the problems and barriers people face, as well as potential or already existing solutions. Our goal was not to sensationalize the issues we were covering, but to responsibly and compassionately share the stories and knowledge of our sources with readers in the hopes of educating them on the landscape of addiction and recovery in our city.

Read the full article about Temple University's "Covering Addiction" course by Holly Lynn Wise at The Whole Story.