The Sandra Bland story I wrote about yesterday got me looking more into jailhouse suicides. Before I go on, a quick caveat: As I mentioned in my post, the Bland story is still new, and there’s a lot we’re still learning. So I...
Girls are the fastest-growing segment of the juvenile justice population. Despite the significant progress that juvenile justice advocates have made over the past few decades to spread awareness about the school-to-prison pipeline, to increase...
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is throwing new weight into its campaign to close state juvenile correctional centers nationwide, saying they’ve effectively become “youth prisons” where teens are prone to being...
On the bus ride to work this morning, I found myself thinking about the extraordinary contributions of the ACEs framework. Soon my thoughts led to the necessary inclusion in this framework, of systemic structures, such as racism and other forms of...
“Everybody has times in their lives when they’re like, ‘Why has this happened to me?’ And from everything I’ve been through I’ve gotten to the point where it’s like, it happened, so what?” says Lena,...
You have certainly chosen one of the most challenging jobs on the planet. Saving children from toxic homes & helping them heal and develop the coping skills necessary to live a functioning life. How do you manage to deal with so many families (and children) at one time? We all live with the troubled institution that is Child Protection and the lack of awareness, concern and resources our community makes available to abused and neglected children. ...
By Kristin Magaldi Excessive stress has a variety of different health repercussions , but researchers are finding that, for pregnant women, stress can affect the quality of life of their baby. In a new study , David Olson and a...
Secrets are keeping us sick. Specifically, secrets related to past trauma are wreaking havoc on the bodies and brains of those who have been victimized at some point in life. To be clear, trauma does not necessarily mean that something horrific...
As recently as 2009, Camille Parmesan had a career that most scientists can only dream of. That year, the University of Texas professor was named one of Atlantic Monthly’s 27 “ Brave Thinkers ” for her efforts to save...
One of the best visualizations of race in America might be called pointillist. By mapping one dot for every Census-registered human in the country, color-coded for race, a team at the University of Virginia’s Weldon...
This is the second part in our documentary, The Hidden Epidemic. You can hear the full documentary on Michigan Radio on Thursday, July 16th at 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. Part one is here. On October 27th, 1986, President Reagan signed a new law...
Parks bring numerous social, environmental, and health benefits to a community. Every person in every neighborhood should be able to enjoy these benefits. Unfortunately, too many cities, counties, and neighborhoods are “park poor,”...
Bryan Hirayama, an assistant professor at Bakersfield Community College, made a little bit of history this year. He became one of the first community college professors to teach inside a California state prison in roughly the last 20 years....
After Robin Williams hanged himself last year, Brian Copeland , the gifted Bay Area comedian, theater artist and radio talk jock who laid bare his own depression and suicidal urges in his hit 2012 show “Waiting Period,” had a long...
In “The Pout-Pout Fish” children’s picture book, the author weaves words like “aghast” and “grimace” into a story about a fish who thought he was destined to “spread the dreary-wearies all...