Blog

Sonya Passi is the founder and CEO of FreeFrom , a non-profit helping survivors of domestic violence achieve financial stability and greater long term safety. During her time in law school, Sonya was also instrumental in creating the Family Violence Appellate Project . She seeks to fill the gaps in services available for survivors of family violence.

Trident Mortgage Co. helps more families buy homes in Philadelphia and neighboring Camden, New Jersey, than any other company, but it primarily serves one demographic: white people. That is no coincidence: Trident employs a nearly all-white team of mortgage consultants, and all of Trident’s offices are in white neighborhoods, where it makes the overwhelming majority of its loans to white homebuyers. It’s a division of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the giant holding company led by Warren Buffett,...

When Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright trains police officers on responding to domestic violence calls, he has one ask: Have a "give a damn approach." Officers and anyone working with those affected by domestic violence, he says, must be sensitive about victims' fears of their abuser retaliating, and an understanding of the ongoing cycle of violence in which offenders can trap victims. He tells officers to respond to victims' calls swiftly and thoroughly, without shaming or...

When one is in love—especially with something as huge and beautiful and complex as trees—there is an urge to share this emotion with everyone, especially to those who have no opportunity to experience such feelings themselves. As my love of trees and canopy biota expanded, I sought to share my connections to nature with people who live in places where it is absent, just as a new bride might urge those sitting on the sideline of her wedding party to find a dancing partner. It occurred to me...

The Adverse Childhood Experiences study was ground-breaking in its recognition that childhood trauma impacts individuals across their lifespan. This was the big take-away, that adults are living with unrecognized and thus untreated physical, mental and emotional consequences that have massive detrimental impacts on their quality (and quantity) of life. And yet, when we see the research and programming that has been implemented following the ACE study, the consensus seems to be that the...

I stay near the pit (inspired by Rev. Samuel Shoemaker’s poem, “I Stand by the Door,” and Psalm 40) © Chris Haughee, 2018. All rights reserved. I stay near the pit. My cry was heard and I was lifted from it. And while my feet are steady on the Rock and the path is laid straight before me I was not alone in that pit. There were many others with me, stuck in that mire. So, I stay near the pit. I had tried for a long time—such a long, long time— to make my way out, to find myself planted firm...

When MARC leaders in Montana were training staff from local McDonald’s franchises , one senior manager scoffed at the notion of linking people’s unwelcome behavior to their early childhood experiences. “I think this is just going to give people excuses,” she muttered to the franchise owner after the trainers had left. But the next day, that same manager defanged an encounter with an irate customer. “I wonder what happened to her,” she found herself thinking. “She was able to deflect the...

African-American special education students nationwide lose substantially more instruction time due to discipline than their white counterparts, according to a report by The Civil Rights Project at UCLA and the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard University. The report , “Disabling Punishment: The Need for Remedies to the Disparate Loss of Instruction Experienced by Black Students with Disabilities,” extrapolated its findings from federal data from 2014-15 and...

For the second year in a row, the U.S. Senate has declared May 5 the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls. Montana Sen. Steve Daines (R), along with several co-sponsors, introduced the resolution to honor Hanna Harris , a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe of Montana who went missing in 2013 and was later found raped and murdered. Harris’ birthday is May 5. Although it is seemingly a newly discovered epidemic by political leaders and legacy media, the...

If all Americans were to trace their family history back just a few generations, the overwhelming majority would discover that they’re the products of immigration. And that would be a good thing, says the journalist and amateur genealogist Jennifer Mendelsohn. “Every American story, except for the slaves brought here forcibly and Native Americans, goes back to a boat,” Mendelsohn tells NationSwell. “I want people to let go of their immigrant biases by recognizing their own immigrant roots.”...

People in chronic pain are some of the most difficult patients to treat. They have complex circumstances that medicine can't always remedy. Pain can be amplified, by depression and anxiety, genetics and quality of life. Genetics can also play a role in how people experience pain. Physicians are less prone to prescribe opioid medication to patients with long-term pain -- but they need more treatment options. Clinicians and researchers at UW Medicine's Center for Pain Relief found that an...

I've been a pediatrician for 30 years. I've cared for thousands of children, providing support for parents to encourage their babies' development, and recommendations to guide them through the joys and challenges of parenting. I've helped navigate children and families through illness, developmental disabilities and life-threatening conditions. Recently though, I met a little girl in a border town in Texas who will forever stand out in my mind. Unlike the patients I've treated in my exam...