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Looking For Housing or Afforrdable Healthcare? Your Local Library is Here to Help. [nationswell.com]

Leah Esguerra is a licensed family and marriage therapist, but instead of heading to an office every day to soothe couples’ marital tensions, she reports to the San Francisco Public Library. There she roams the stacks, looking for patrons who might need her help. Some of these patrons are homeless and are looking for a safe place to stay for the day. Others are actively looking for resources, such as showers and food, or just a place to warm up for a while. No matter their need, Esguerra...

Segregation in America [segregationinamerica.eji.org]

America’s history of racial inequality continues to haunt us. The genocide of Native people, 250-year enslavement of black people, adoption of “racial integrity laws” that demonized ethnic immigrants and people of color, and enforcement of policies and practices designed to perpetuate white supremacy are all part of our difficult past. This country has witnessed great triumph, innovation, and progress, but we are burdened by a painful history that we have yet to adequately acknowledge. In...

5 ways advocates can use Twitter to elevate the link between racism and childhood trauma [bmsg.org]

Nearly 12 years after Twitter first launched in 2006, it has become a global behemoth with 330 million monthly active users, supporting 500 million Tweets every day . Tweets are now a part of daily life, whether they are public conversations about social movements, individual commentary about current events, or political announcements from elected officials. Because advocates are increasingly leveraging social channels like Twitter to influence policy decisions, researchers at Berkeley Media...

New Peer Support Group Successes and Challenges

I started a weekly peer support group for women survivors of trauma in April 2018. It took a few weeks to get any uptake on the offer. In the beginning a few people who knew me trickled in to provide some encouragement. Some people working at the center that eventually agreed to give me access to a room to host the event, told me that if people got the sense that I was in it for the long haul, they would then start taking me up on my offer. I was determined to persist, so I stuck it out even...

How Bibliotherapy Can Help Students Open Up About Their Mental Health (kqed.org)

Mental health concerns, like anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, can affect a student’s ability to concentrate, form friendships and thrive in the classroom. Educators and school counselors often provide Social and Emotional Learning programs (SEL) in order to help these students, as well as school-based therapeutic support groups. However, even in these forums, getting teenagers to speak about their problems can be challenging, especially when they feel like outsiders...

How Taking A Stand For Justice Can Threaten The Careers Of Black Athletes [npr.org]

Journalist Howard Bryant discusses the history of social protest among African-American athletes. His new book, The Heritage, traces the tradition back to Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali and others. [To listen to this podcast by TERRY GROSS, go to https://www.npr.org/2018/06/13/619515355/how-taking-a-stand-for-justice-can-threaten-the-careers-of-black-athletes ] For another story on this topic, see To Play, Protest Or Both? Book Traces 'The Heritage' Of Black Athlete Activists .

S.F. Public Library wins Library of the Year award [sfchronicle.com]

San Franciscans don’t have far to travel to go to the nation’s most community-minded library: It’s right here in town. Library Journal, the venerable trade publication, has named the San Francisco Public Library the Library of the Year. Awarded since 1992, the prize recognizes the library that best serves its community, through innovative programming, and has done the most to draw patrons. [For more on this story by John McMurtrie, go to...

Libraries as Affordable Housing Partners? [Nonprofit Quarterly]

Libraries as Affordable Housing Partners? Once upon a time, the Internet was expected to lead to the end of libraries. A 2004 Economist article, for example, began with a statement that “Public libraries will be redundant by 2020 [based] on current trends.” But instead, as NPQ has noted , libraries’ importance has gone up, driven largely by their increasingly vital role as community centers. NPQ ’s Ruth McCambridge gave a few examples: “The Chicago Public Library offers a free ‘ Maker Lab ’...

In Philadelphia and around the country, overdoses at public libraries are a daunting reality [philly.com]

Even in the digital era, libraries are high-traffic zones, hosting more than 1.5 billion visits annually. On any given day in Philadelphia, the Free Library welcomes a stream of visitors, who arrive early in the morning to use the computers, congregate after school for homework help, and join a rich range of programs, from story time, to job fairs, to classes for English language learners at the Culinary Literacy Center. Here and across the country, public libraries offer vitally important...

How Black Leaders Unwittingly Contributed To The Era Of Mass Incarceration [npr.org]

In Locking Up Our Own , Pulitzer Prize-winning author James Forman Jr. argues that African-American leaders helped shape policies that harmed black communities. Originally broadcast July 17, 2017. [To listen to this interview by Terry Gross, go to https://www.npr.org/2018/05/11/610385205/how-black-leaders-unwittingly-contributed-to-the-era-of-mass-incarceration ]

Writer Jamel Brinkley Explores Black Masculinity in 'A Lucky Man' [kqed.org]

Jamel Brinkley's debut short story collection probes the experience of boys and men as their masculinity brushes up against society's expectations for them. Set in Brooklyn and the South Bronx, the stories revolve around the hopes and travails of black men: two recent college-grads on the prowl for girls, brothers struggling with their family's past. Brinkley joins us to share his thoughts on toxic masculinity, his precise prose and what it's like having a debut collection at the age of 42.

Humboldt County Hires Former Arcata Branch Manager to Lead Library [Humboldt Coast Outpost]

ACEs Connection's Trauma Informed Libraries community is excited to learn that the County of Humboldt announced Nick Wilczek as its new Library Director! As Library Director Wilczek will lead the library in pursuing its mission of providing resources and opportunities to support lifelong learning, local heritage, and the cultural, recreational and informational needs of the community. “This library has so much going for it – dedicated staff, supportive Friends groups, a strong Foundation,...

More Moves in MD: Promoting Resilience & Partnering with Pratt library

Resilience... An interesting word with many meanings for many people from many different walks of life. But that's the point... isn't it? In order to truly promote & support the resilience movement we must ensure that everyone has a set at the table. Enoch Pratt library has officially joined the movement!! Libraries across Baltimore, MD, will be hosting screenings of Resilience and discussion panels for community members and stakeholders. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to come...

Maloney Introduces Life-saving Librarians Act to Stop Heroin and Opioid Overdose Deaths [seanmaloney.house.gov]

Note from Alicia: This press release is from October 2017, but I was just made aware of it by a colleague. Middletown, NY – In response to the increasing number of heroin and opioid overdoses in libraries here in the Hudson Valley and across the country, Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) introduced the Life-saving Librarians Act to empower unlikely heroes in the fight against overdose deaths. Unfortunately, libraries have become a common site for opioid and heroin overdoses.

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