A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back From The Brink -- The Shriver Report

San Francisco pediatrician and Center for Youth Wellness CEO Nadine Burke Harris wrote a chapter for "A Woman's Nation Pushes Back from the Brink", a study by Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress that was released over the weekend. Nadine's chapter is called "The Chronic Stress of Poverty Toxic to Children"; here's an excerpt: 

Over and over again, I heard stories in the clinic such as the one from Anthony’s mom. Her child had a rash and she was worried about it, but what she was really worried about was his behavior. At age 6, he was struggling to sit still in class and frequently interrupting the teacher. Sometimes he lost control and would hit, kick, or run out of the classroom. She was worried about having to leave work so often to talk to school officials. Her son was a sweet kid, but he had been through a lot. His dad had struggled with sobriety, there had been domestic violence, and his dad was now out of the picture. While his mom was grateful that the drama had ended, she missed having someone to help with Anthony, and every month it was a challenge to make ends meet.

As a physician, I could see that the stress of poverty was affecting my patients in a very direct way, the question was, how? I immersed myself in research on how stress and trauma affect the developing brains and bodies of children. What I found validated the clinical picture that presented itself to me daily, and it transformed my frustration into hope.

Nadine will also participate in a panel, “Why Does It Matter that Women are on the Brink?” at The Atlantic Presents: The Shriver Report LIVE Wednesday, January 15, in Washington, DC, a one-day event that will be live-streamed on The Shriver Report from 9 am to 5 pm Eastern. Besides Nadine, other speakers who will appear include: 

• House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
• Maria Shriver, Founder of A Woman’s Nation
• Neera Tanden, President of Center for American Progress
• Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
• Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO of the New America Foundation and author of the widely read Atlantic cover story “ Why Women Still Can’t Have It All”