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There are disappointingly few shows on network television right now that could air the kind of episode Black-ish aired on Wednesday. Not only did Hope consist entirely of black voices discussing police brutality, the shootings of unarmed civilians, and a legal system that seems geared toward protecting bad cops; it also managed to be a funny sitcom at the same time. This was despite the fact that it took place in one room and bore the marks of a very special episode, the kind of preachy...

Immigrants who live and work in New Orleans havent always had the rosiest relationship with their citys police force. But by the end of February, that strain will undergo a much-awaited change, as the citys new immigrant-friendly, bias-free policing policy finally goes into effect. [For more of this story, written by Tanvi Misra, go to http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2016/02/new-orleans-immigrant-police-policy/470679/]

The gender pay gap is a worldwide problem, but women in some places have it worse than others. A new report from the Institute for Womens Policy Research (IWPR) reveals that working women in the South suffer some of the harshest inequalities in the U.S., not only in terms of how much they are paid, but how they are treated in the workforce. [For more of this story, written by Aria Bendix, go to http://www.citylab.com/work/2016/02/how-gender-inequality-affects-southern-women-the-most/470880/]

Many states have made moves to end the fruitless cycle of arrest and incarceration by moving nonviolent defendants out of prosecution and into more productive intervention programs. One New Orleans judge has seen just how effective this approach can be. Petite, with thick-framed glasses and short, stylish hair, Judge Desiree Charbonnet has an upbeat, officious manner appropriate for someone who presides over a courtroom. During her eight years on the bench, she has cultivated efficiency to...

The towering red brick islands of Stuyvesant Town; the geometric blocks of the Williamsburg Housesaffordable housing in New York City is so often pictured from the outside, a series of buildings around which crime and despair and poverty abstractly swirl. Its a fraught system, and a changeable one. Yet while city government and advocacy organizations negotiate the need for progress against the scarcity of finances , one thing remains constant: these buildings are places that people call...

A group of middle and high school students in Compton have filed a first-of-its-kind federal lawsuit saying violence at home and in their neighborhoods has impaired their ability to learn at school. The students, along with three teachers who are also plaintiffs, allege the Compton Unified School District has failed to recognize and address their trauma-induced disabilities, and therefore has denied their legal right to an equal education. [For more of this story, written by Robin Urevich,...

On February 22, Dr. Josh Gettinger (Family Medicine doctor & Faculty with MAHEC Family Medicine Residency) along with Melissa Baker (Director of Community Population Health at MAHEC) gave a presentation to a group of retired individuals about the science of ACEs. This was part of Hermann Gucinski's class at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville campus. "The Best Science Changes the Way We See the World" ... this was the title of the first slide, over an image of the...

As someone with post-traumatic stress, I've experienced a good deal of anxiety, wound tightness and being easily startled. But with age, I see anxiety less as a threat and more as a thermometer telling me my temperature has changed. It would be a total lie to say I welcome or enjoy anxiety. Because. No. I do not. But I am grateful to what anxiety is attempting. I wrote about my own changing relationship with anxiety for Psych Central. Here's an excerpt: "I refuse to hate you. Im not going to...

As a research topic, Intimate Relationships are not well understood in Indian Country. This article, [ LINK HERE ] soon to be published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, is a first small step in addressing this gap. Decades ago, I spoke about the difficulties of parenting when you had no examples to emulate. As a boy, I changed diapers, fed babies, soothed fussiness and performed scores of other child care tasks. During one of our early morning talks, my Mother told me that she was...

A Thrive Summit was held this week in Ketchikan, Alaska. Childhood Trauma was the topic. It's great to see communities coming together in an effort to understand the impact of childhood trauma in their collective lives. AGENDA LINK HERE

When Rosa Ana Lozada trains probation officers in San Diego County, she asks, How many of you have heard the term trauma-informed care? Then she says, The good news is that youre already doing it. This is how we hope youll be more mindful about how to do it. The four-hour training, which covers early childhood trauma and its reach across the lifespan, behavioral symptoms of trauma and effective strategies to avoid re-traumatizing youth, has reached more than 700 of the countys 1100 sworn...

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has been been tasked by President Obama with tackling heroin and opioid abuse in rural America. It turns out he has some personal experience with that problem in his family. Secretary Vilsack talks with Here & Nows Robin Young about the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agenda for 2016. Note: This is the first part of a two-part conversation. Part two will air tomorrow in the 1 p.m./3 p.m. Eastern hour of the show. Interview Highlights: Sec. Tom...