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Can you help? A few weeks ago my friend and colleague killed herself by jumping off the St. John’s Bridge. She was a wonderful woman, an amazing mental health care provider, and a loving mother of two sets of twins. In response to her horrific loss, and trying to transform tragedy into hope, I envisioned this poster. I wrote the text and had the idea for the art content. Amanda Sloan is the graphic designer. The poster (which I am donating) can be used to increase awareness and raise funds...

By Bill M. Jesdale, Rachel Morello-Frosch, and Lara Cushing, How Housing Matters, September 4, 2019 Extreme heat events—which are becoming increasingly common in metropolitan areas across the country–have the greatest impact in places with dense roofs, driveways, sidewalks, and roads and less green space. These impervious surfaces create urban heat islands, but tree canopies mitigate them. This study explores the relationship between these physical elements and racial and ethnic residential...

By Elissa Nadworny, National Public Radio, September 4, 2019 For many college students settling into their dorms this month, the path to campus — and paying for college — started long ago. And it likely involved their families. The pressure to send kids to college, coupled with the realities of tuition, has fundamentally changed the experience of being middle class in America, says Caitlin Zaloom, an anthropologist and associate professor at New York University. It's changed the way that...

By Jason M. Lang and Phyllis Lee, Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut, September 5, 2019 Behavioral health problems are common, with 13-20% of all youth experiencing a diagnosable mental illness in the past year, and as many as half of all children experiencing mental illness at some point by the age of 181. Child and family-focused psychotherapy (“talk therapy”) is generally the first treatment indicated for most childhood mental illness, with outpatient and school-based...

By Elizabeth Williamson, The New York Times, September 4, 2019 After the first day of school at Mark T. Sheehan High School in Wallingford, Conn., Mackenzie Bushey, a 15-year-old junior, came home upset that a teacher enforced a no-cellphones policy by confiscating students’ phones before class. She needed her cell, Mackenzie told her family last month, to notify police should a gunman attack her school. And also, she said, “to say my final goodbye to you.” Mackenzie’s mother, Brenda Bushey,...

By Misha Valencia, The New York Times, September 5 2019 The bullying started with some teasing and mean comments, but escalated significantly when Mallory Grossman, 12, a cheerleader and gymnast from New Jersey, began middle school. It spread to social media where a group of children tormented her. They took pictures of Mallory at school, without her knowledge, posted them online and taunted her with text messages containing screenshots of the vicious comments made about her. “They called...

By Rachel Lambert, Aug 18, 2019 for Tap into Providence MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ - The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey recently awarded Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation $90,000 in support of a new program at Children’s Specialized Hospital. The goal of this project, which is a partnership between Children’s Specialized Hospital and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is to identify and support children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the Newark area who have faced...

By Randy Krehbiel, Sept 5, 2019, Tulsa World Health care, childhood trauma, infrastructure and education were among the legislative issues tagged for high priority at the annual OneVoice agenda meeting in downtown Tulsa on Wednesday. OneVoice is an advocacy initiative of the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce. It includes some 75 northeastern Oklahoma organizations, including chambers of commerce, local governments, school districts and higher education institutions. Issues are discussed by...

By Julia Carrie Wong, The Guardian, August 28, 2019 When Pinterest realized in 2018 that the search results for many health-related terms – such as “vaccines” or “cancer cure” – were polluted with non-scientific misinformation, the visual social media site took a radical step: it broke the search function for those terms. “If you’re looking for medical advice, please contact a healthcare provider,” a message on the otherwise blank page read. On Wednesday, Pinterest announced a new step in...

By Aditi Vaidya, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, August 20, 2019 While many think of the Bay Area of California as the center of big tech and wealth, my memories of Oakland take me back to its Port truck drivers. Working an average of 11 hours a day, waiting in long lines at the Port of Oakland to pick up their loads, truck drivers in the Bay Area were isolated—living in the rigs they decorated with photos of their children and families. You can guess all of the reasons this is...

By Zaidee Stavely, EdSource, September 3, 2019 For almost two years, Eva Morales moved from homeless shelter to homeless shelter. Sometimes she stayed with friends. On the worst nights, she slept in a friend’s car. It was hard for Morales, but harder for her two small children, who had to adapt with each move, only to be uprooted again soon after. Her son, who is now 4, angered easily. He didn’t want to play with his 2-year-old sister and he refused to eat most of the food at the shelter.

A new article about possible dangers to ACES screening that references a 2017 study on the subject. https://www.centerforhealthjournalism.org/2019/06/16/widespread-screening-aces-could-do-more-damage-good An excerpt from the referenced study (and generally the tone of the article): Any screening around childhood adversities should make sure that su ffi cient evidence based treatment resources are available to handle likely referrals. Since many communities have a limited supply of these...