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In the 1950s, several high-rise complexes were constructed in Chicago with the seemingly noble aim of creating affordable housing for the city’s poor. But these “projects,” it soon became clear, were more like warehouses than homes, and continued the long tradition of segregating and isolating poor, black Chicagoans in the worst parts of town. By the 1990s, bad design, neglect, and mismanagement had made some of these buildings unlivable. In the Robert Taylor Homes on the South Side, for...

How many police officers are bigots who patrol their beats, guns on their hips, with animus toward blacks, Hispanics, and other disproportionately abused groups, even as prosecutors, judges, and juries assign unusual credibility to their claims? San Francisco officials were forced to ponder that question last year when an investigation revealed that five veteran cops were texting virulently racist messages to each other. “My office is conducting an immediate assessment of every prosecution...

Eve Mosher was getting frustrated. Her children, ages 4 and 6, encountered rules everywhere they went to play in New York City. Even at parks and playgrounds, expressly built for the purpose of play, they were chastised for digging in the dirt or climbing trees. Mosher, a native of the Houston suburbs, says that her city kids had “no sense of ownership over a space; there’s no sense of independence and self-confidence that comes from playing on their own.” [For more of this story, written by...

Melissa Merrick gets frustrated with stories of individuals who shine in spite of multiple adversities—the kid from the rough side of town who miraculously makes it to Harvard. “We don’t talk enough about the mentors that kid had, the universal pre-K, all the behind-the-scenes and contextual factors that might have enabled him to thrive,” she says. Melissa hopes the MARC communities and collaborative will help create a new narrative: “that we all have a role in raising children and that my...

A landmark trauma-informed education bill to address “chronic absences of students” in the state’s public schools was signed by Governor Kate Brown last week. The bill, H.B. 4002 , requires two state education agencies to develop a statewide plan to address the problem and provides funding for “trauma-informed” approaches in schools. While bill’s $500,000 in funding falls vastly short of the original $5.75 million requested for five pilot sites in an earlier version (H.B. 4031), it provides...

There’s a women standing in front of me at the grocery store. I can see her fidgeting, shifting her weight back and forth. She glances my way and gives me the “what is taking so long” look as she rolls her eyes. I shrug and smile. She turns back around. I notice she doesn’t have much in her cart. After the person in front of her is finished, the cashier asks, “How is everything today?” Of course the cashier had no way of knowing what was coming next. This woman begins to unleash a verbal...

Here is an interesting article on anxiety and how it impacts us. According to the article, about 40 million adults are affected in the United States. It is a significant problem, as one who has experienced anxiety over my life. Sometimes it can actually become debilitating and prevent us from making decisions. With an adult population in the U.S. of about 245 million [ LINK HERE ], we know that anxiety impacts over 16% of our population. That’s a huge number. Research in the field of anxiety...

The Alaska State House Health and Social Services Committee, chaired by Representative Paul Seaton, took testimony on HCR 21, titled "Urging Governor Bill Walker to join with the Alaska State Legislature to respond to the public and behavioral health epidemic of adverse childhood experiences by establishing a statewide policy and providing programs to address this epidemic." [ LINK HERE ] HCR 21 now goes to the House Finance Committee but it has no fiscal note, so that shouldn't be an...

Whites in America are being discriminated against. To victims of actual racism, that's a laughable assertion, but it's widely accepted among sizable segments of the population. In a survey taken last year, half of white Americans—and 60 percent of white working-class Americans—expressed the belief that discrimination against whites has become as big a problem as discrimination against minorities. (One can only guess at the percentage of Donald Trump voters who hold that opinion, but it's no...

Siri received a much-needed update this month, just days after researchers noted that four popular smartphone digital assistants had lackluster responses to questions about sexual assault and other personal emergencies, according to Apple . As of March 17, Siri understands the phrases “I was raped” and “I am being abused.” In response, Siri puts iPhone users one click away from the National Sexual Assault Hotline . Apple worked with the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), which...

Victims of childhood trauma can take a survey to determine how much the abuse has affected their adult lives. The Adverse Childhood Experiences Survey asks such questions as “Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often … Swear at you, insult you, put you down, or humiliate you?” or “Act in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt?” Yes or no? If yes, check a box at the bottom of the page. [For more of this story, written by Travis M. Whitehead, go to ...

When terrorists indiscriminately kill scores of people, as in the recent attacks in Brussels and Lahore, Pakistan, we tend to assume they are monsters. Anyone who could do this, we tell ourselves, is someone we can't possibly understand, let alone relate to. But is that really true? Haven't you ever felt that you don't fit in anywhere? That you're being victimized? That you can't find your purpose in life? Recently published research suggests those are precisely the feelings that make...