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The 2016 Arizona Youth Survey was conducted by the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission in collaboration with Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy and NORC at the University of Chicago. The survey is primarily intended to assess health-risk behavior and measure the prevalence of substance use and other behaviors such as bullying, violence and gambling among Arizona’s eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders. More than 57,000 students from all 15 counties in the state took...

Reducing the stigma associated with opiate addiction is critical to the willingness of a person to access treatment. Emilie van Eeghen, the vice president for behavioral health at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta, shared that message with more than 100 people during the United Way of Kennebec Valley’s annual breakfast Thursday morning. Van Eeghen said recovery is possible and resources are available to those in need. “Stigma contributes toward the difficulty (an addicted person) has in...

There can be a lot to worry about when it comes to our careers. Anxiety can arise from toxic co-workers, unstable working conditions, financial uncertainty, and distress about not performing up to par. Some anxiety is healthy and keeps us motivated, but if anxiety becomes persistent and excessive it can disrupt our daily performance and our overall quality of life. [For more of this story, written by Joe Wilner, go to ...

A new national survey of more than 50,000 teenagers charts a surge in abusive and hateful behavior among young people since the beginning of the presidential election campaign. “Our biggest takeaway was that 70 percent of all respondents had witnessed bullying, hate speech, or harassment since the 2016 election,” said Allison Turner, assistant press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, a prominent LGBT advocacy group that conducted the survey. HRC polled a large, though not...

The Iowa ACEs Advocacy Coalition kicked off the Iowa legislative session with efforts to promote a Resilient Iowa. With a growing advocacy coalition of community based organizations, associations, advocacy groups, philanthropy and business, the group advances joint policy priorities to prevent ACEs and promote resiliency and trauma-informed care. Last week, the coalition held its first advocacy day at the Iowa Capitol, educating elected officials on Iowa ACEs data. The group also promoted an...

The BUILD Health Challenge will award up to 21 grants to communities across the country. Who is eligible? To be eligible for a BUILD Health Challenge award, the lead applicant must meet the following criteria: Assemble a partnership including (at minimum) a hospital or health system, local health department, and nonprofit community organization or coalition of organizations; The participating hospital(s) or health system(s) must demonstrate a 1:1 match met through direct cash support or a...

Katherine Pachkowski, a registered psychiatric nurse and an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatric Nursing at Brandon University, is currently conducting exploratory research on exploitation and mental illness as it pertains to isolated communities – including many areas in Westman where mental health resources aren’t easily accessible. For Pachkowski – whose resume includes a Master of Science (bioethics specialization) from McGill University – what she’s finding is that a lot...

In a land scarred by decades of conflict, people are used to fighting and to being attacked. During these times, lives go on. Living continues. Daily routines are carved into the framework of war. Tomorrow’s sun is the horizon for the hope of peace. Yet, when the battle is an internal struggle and there is no peace during the day nor the night, a person cannot rest. The suffering of mental illness is Afghanistan is a silent war. The causes of such suffering are shrouded in stigma, creating...

Parents of children born with serious heart defects may be at high risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health problems, a new study suggests. PTSD refers to anxiety and fear triggered by a past stressful event. Mental health issues in parents can put their children at risk for long-term health and behavioral problems, the researchers added. "The parents need extra support and mental health treatment that is feasible and accessible, and one thing that we propose is...

A Utah lawmaker has introduced HCR10 , a resolution encouraging Utah state agencies to become aware of and identify Adverse Childhood Experiences in the children and adults that they serve. The bill also details the impact of ACEs on survivors, and the importance of awareness on our ability to address trauma. The bill was drafted by the Utah Essentials for Childhood effort The Utah Coalition for Protecting Childhood (UCPC) and passed unanimously out of committee yesterday. The legislation...

SEE MORE HERE: http://rwjf.ws/2krNVFG DEADLINE: March 01, 2017, 3:00 p.m. ET Release Date: February 1, 2017 Purpose The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is seeking proposals from organizations who can serve in the role of a coordinating office to enhance hospitals’ role in population health. The Foundation (RWJF) is committed to building a Culture of Health in America, which includes fostering cross-sector collaboration to improve population health, well-being, and equity. We recognize that...

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Today, the first day of Black History Month, faith leaders from across New Jersey are joining together to condemn one of the major injustices of our time: the stark racial disparities within our state’s youth prisons. These grave racial inequities were laid bare in a recent report by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, entitled “ Bring Our Children Home: Ain’t I A Child .”...