Blog

By Cheryl Corley, National Public Radio, August 5, 2019 In Kentucky, running away from home or constantly skipping school could get a kid locked up in a juvenile hall for days. Those acts, called status offenses, aren't serious crimes, but for years Kentucky and other states treated them as though they were. That first brush with the juvenile justice system can often lead to more trouble if authorities focus on punishment, not the underlying reasons for the bad behavior. But there's growing...

A healthy relationship — one based on love, compassion and caring — is one place a trauma survivor can learn positive ways to experience sexual pleasure, desire and consent. Healthy relationships for trauma survivors can be tremendous places to heal.

In prisons across California, inmates are unlearning toxic masculinity. It might be the answer to the state’s recidivism problem. It’s been 10 years since George Luna was behind bars, but he still goes back to correctional facilities on a regular basis. He has spent most of his life cycling in and out of the justice system in Northern California. Now, he says he’s out for good and he’s looking to help other inmates do the same. The former inmate is a facilitator of a prison rehabilitation...

By K. Hecht, P. Berman & A. Hosack The gang has invested too much money in me. They are never going to let me go. Mr. Spargus had been wearing an even finer suit than he had brought for Larry. The attorney had also been wearing a gold watch, a big gold ring, and cufflinks; everything about him spoke money. He had fixed Larry’s past record and it sounded like he had fixed the parole hearing somehow. Only lots of money could be making this man work to get someone like Larry out of jail.

By Arundhati Parmar, MedCity News, July 30, 2019 As the founding executive director of the Penn Center for Community Health Workers, a national center of excellence, Kangovi wants to translate nationwide the success Penn Medicine has seen in implementing the community health worker program she helped develop. “If you look at the map of the United States there are hot spots where where we can clearly see life expectancy being determined by where you live and your income. So If you drill into...

By Gabriel Spitzer, National Public Radio, August 3, 2019 Mark Lloyd pulls up to a group of 10 tents near a freeway on-ramp, pops his trunk and pulls out his supplies: cat litter, a small military surplus tent, toilet paper, sanitizer, and a 5-gallon plastic bucket, complete with toilet seat. This is the rudimentary toilet setup that Lloyd has been assembling and delivering to homeless encampments for about three years now. He guesses he has given away between 75 and 100. "It's something...

By Jessica Mark and Najaf Ahmad, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, July 22, 2019 There is growing evidence that safe and secure housing is a critical factor in achieving good health. Where we live can determine whether we’re connected to: safe places to play and be active; quality jobs and schools; and transportation to get us where we need to go. Yet millions of people in America live in substandard or overcrowded housing, temporary shelters, in cars, and on streets. Disadvantages also exist...

The Networks of Opportunity for Child Wellbeing (NOW) is excited to share the third episode of In the Arena with NOW , a podcast series that lifts up the voices of community leaders who are “in the arena” -- in classrooms, playgrounds, Congressional halls, hospitals, and neighborhood streets -- working to make sure that all children and families can live healthy, thriving lives. In our third episode, we speak with members of the California Consortium for Equity in Early Care and Education...

Home to the Center for Disease Control, Atlanta is a city full of great minds focused on all issues related to public health. Despite this, a group of students and faculty at neighboring health professional schools including Emory School of Medicine, Emory’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Georgia State University, Morehouse School of Medicine, Mercer University School of Medicine, and the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, found that education and awareness around...

Connie has lived in Tarpon Springs for over 40 years. During that time, she has served as Interim Director of the Chamber of Commerce and “cut the ribbon” for many new businesses. It was here that she came to know and love the people of Tarpon Springs and developed a heart for both the youth and elderly. As one of the founders of “Wellness Ministries”, Connie works with folks experiencing homelessness by providing food, clothing, medical and spiritual support. She volunteered for over 17...

By Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times, August 3, 2019 Jackie Rath says she was sexually assaulted by four different men, including a stepfather and a stepbrother, by the time she was 16. That is also when her mom went to prison for murdering a boyfriend’s lover. Rath, now 38, was the third generation in her family to endure a traumatized childhood that led to poverty, and now she is a single mom with six children of her own who might also be at risk. But she is part of an experiment...

By Healthy Children, American Academy of Pediatrics, July 2019 After any disaster, parents and other adults struggle with what they should say and share with children and what not to say or share with them. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) encourages parents, teachers, child care providers, and others who work closely with children to filter information about the crisis and present it in a way that their child can accommodate, adjust to, and cope with. No matter what age or...