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Before Breonna Taylor's name became synonymous with police violence against Black Americans, she was an emergency medical technician in Louisville, Ky. The 26-year-old Black woman's friends and family say she was beloved, and relished the opportunity to brighten someone else's day. Exactly one year ago, Louisville police gunned her down in her home. Now, her name is a ubiquitous rallying cry at protests calling for police reforms, and many social justice advocates point to her story as an...

By Elizabeth Crouch, Elizabeth Radcliff, and Melinda A. Merrell, et al., Child Abuse & Neglect, February 27, 2021 Abstract Background: Examination of racial/ethnic differences in positive childhood experiences (PCEs) is needed, as the absence of supportive factors may hinder children from healthy processing and mitigation of adversity. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of PCEs in a nationally representative sample of children and determine whether PCE...

By Olivia Weeks, The Daily Yonder, March 11, 2021 In recent decades, the number of women incarcerated in North Carolina has skyrocketed. In 2017, the state’s female prison population totaled 2,634, almost six times its 1978 number. In the early aughts, programming for women reentering society lagged behind growing incarceration rates, said Benevolence Farm Executive Director Kristen Powers in a phone interview. In 2008, social worker and Benevolence Farm founder Tanya Jisa put together a...

By Molly Oswaks, The New York Times, March 13, 2021 The Yale happiness class, formally known as Psyc 157: Psychology and the Good Life , is one of the most popular classes to be offered in the university’s 320-year history. The class was only ever taught in-person once, during the spring 2018 semester , as a 1,200-person lecture course in the largest space on campus. That March, a free 10-week version made available to the public via Coursera , titled “the Science of Well-Being,” also became...

By Colleen Connolly, The Imprint, March 7, 2021 Since he first began studying the brain in stroke patients using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, cognitive neuroscientist Damien Fair has become a star in the field of pediatric and adolescent brain development. His work has led to a greater understanding of mental health disorders and the impact of trauma, including intergenerational trauma, on the young brain. Last fall, Fair was named as one of the 2020 MacArthur “genius”...

One of the blessings for me was learning about Steve and Dorthy Halley’s work through their company, Family Peace Initiative (FPI). As Licensed Master Social Workers, their work for nearly 30 years has centered on facilitating batterers intervention programs (BIP). In other words, they help people who have been involved in committing domestic violence against a spouse or partner.

By Akintunde Ahmad, Columbia Journalism Review, February 26, 2021 I n 2017, Michael Tubbs made history as the youngest and first Black mayor of Stockton, California, home to some three hundred thousand people and considered the most diverse city in America. A graduate of Stanford University, Tubbs began his political career on the city council of Stockton, his hometown; during his mayoral campaign, he received an endorsement from Barack Obama—and more than 70 percent of the vote. During his...

By Laura Testino, Memphis Commercial Appeal, March 10, 2021 At the end of 2020, Memphis' ACE Awareness Foundation , a five-year-old organization that has provided free counseling and community resources to parents and families across the city, announced that it would fold at the end of March. The foundation won't be returning, but one trademark free mental health resource will. Called Universal Parenting Places, or UPPs , the five Mid-South locations provide mental health resources and...

From American Psychological Association, March 2021 As growing vaccine demand signals a potential turning point in the global COVID-19 pandemic, the nation’s health crisis is far from over. One year after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic , many adults report undesired changes to their weight, increased drinking and other negative behavior changes that may be related to an inability to cope with prolonged stress, according to the American Psychological...

There’s a NEW and DIFFERENT way for your clients to naturally and permanently heal from trauma in as little as four minutes a day.... Without them having to directly revisit past traumas… Which can often lead to overwhelming emotion and retraumatization. It’s called Ventral Vagal Integration. And it’s based on the breakthrough research from a world renowned traumatologist who has trained over 100,000 mental health professionals in the healing of traumatic stress. It’s very different from the...

By Jacey Fortin, The New York Times, March 13, 2021 For nearly three decades, teaching yoga in Alabama’s public schools has been forbidden by the state’s school board. One lawmaker, Jeremy Gray, has been trying to change that since 2019. He made progress on Thursday, when the state’s House of Representatives passed a bill that would override the ban. The bill, which was approved by a vote of 73 to 25, will soon be taken up by the Senate. Mr. Gray, a Democrat representing Opelika, has taught...

By Eva Lopez and Leila Rafei, American Civil Liberties Union, March 15, 2021 Like other essential workers, domestic workers are bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic without the luxury of being able to telework, social distance, or even take a sick day. They also face unique and challenging circumstances due to the nature of their work, which is undervalued and under-regulated by the U.S. government. As a result, domestic workers often endure horrific abuses that go unchecked. Many are...