Blog

Katherine Pachkowski, a registered psychiatric nurse and an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatric Nursing at Brandon University, is currently conducting exploratory research on exploitation and mental illness as it pertains to isolated communities – including many areas in Westman where mental health resources aren’t easily accessible. For Pachkowski – whose resume includes a Master of Science (bioethics specialization) from McGill University – what she’s finding is that a lot...

In a land scarred by decades of conflict, people are used to fighting and to being attacked. During these times, lives go on. Living continues. Daily routines are carved into the framework of war. Tomorrow’s sun is the horizon for the hope of peace. Yet, when the battle is an internal struggle and there is no peace during the day nor the night, a person cannot rest. The suffering of mental illness is Afghanistan is a silent war. The causes of such suffering are shrouded in stigma, creating...

Parents of children born with serious heart defects may be at high risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health problems, a new study suggests. PTSD refers to anxiety and fear triggered by a past stressful event. Mental health issues in parents can put their children at risk for long-term health and behavioral problems, the researchers added. "The parents need extra support and mental health treatment that is feasible and accessible, and one thing that we propose is...

A Utah lawmaker has introduced HCR10 , a resolution encouraging Utah state agencies to become aware of and identify Adverse Childhood Experiences in the children and adults that they serve. The bill also details the impact of ACEs on survivors, and the importance of awareness on our ability to address trauma. The bill was drafted by the Utah Essentials for Childhood effort The Utah Coalition for Protecting Childhood (UCPC) and passed unanimously out of committee yesterday. The legislation...

SEE MORE HERE: http://rwjf.ws/2krNVFG DEADLINE: March 01, 2017, 3:00 p.m. ET Release Date: February 1, 2017 Purpose The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is seeking proposals from organizations who can serve in the role of a coordinating office to enhance hospitals’ role in population health. The Foundation (RWJF) is committed to building a Culture of Health in America, which includes fostering cross-sector collaboration to improve population health, well-being, and equity. We recognize that...

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Today, the first day of Black History Month, faith leaders from across New Jersey are joining together to condemn one of the major injustices of our time: the stark racial disparities within our state’s youth prisons. These grave racial inequities were laid bare in a recent report by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, entitled “ Bring Our Children Home: Ain’t I A Child .”...

Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series featuring the mentoring programs at Building Healthy Families, the local organization dedicated to providing family support programs in Wallowa County. BHF is currently in search of mentors, and in this opening piece the Chieftain speaks with Maria Weer, executive director of BHF and three of the program’s mentors about the need for mentoring and the mentoring experience. Wallowa County Chieftain “January is National Mentoring Month. It’s...

Making cities more age-friendly means getting those in charge on board with the idea. The Milken Institute is asking mayors throughout the United States to pledge to make their cities welcoming environments for older adults to age in place. So far, some 150 mayors of cities of all sizes have promised to support neighborhoods that promote inclusivity and are sensitive to the physical, social and economic well-being of older adults. The pledge is a tool designed to change hearts and minds...

Every other year around this time, including this year, volunteers fan out across their communities on a single night, attempting to count the homeless. As part of that count, they also attempt to eyeball who’s a homeless veteran. Later, this count is put together with a tabulation of how many people pass through services geared to the homeless in a year, like shelters, to get a federal estimate of both how many homeless there are across America, and also how many veterans are homeless. See...

New research finds that chronic bullying is related to lower academic achievement, a dislike of school, and low confidence by students in their own academic abilities. Investigators tracked hundreds of children from kindergarten through high school and found that nearly a quarter of kids in the study experienced bullying. While pop culture often depicts more frequent bullying in high school, the study found that bullying was more severe and frequent in elementary school and tended to taper...

Mental health problems continue to carry a heavy stigma. People who experience them are often feared, excluded, shamed and discriminated against. Overcoming that stigma is a high priority, not least because it’s a barrier to engaging people in treatments that might help them. People suffering from mental health problems are not the only ones to experience the stigma of mental illness, however. Those who treat them sometimes share the burden. Just as the shadow of death falls on workers in...

In Chicago, where the number of shootings last year soared, it's often young people who become both perpetrators and victims. The Cook County Juvenile Justice Center holds about 200 to 300 young residents awaiting trial at the Temporary Detention Center. Among these residents are Leonard and Nigel, both 17 years old. Because of the rules of the juvenile court, Nigel and Leonard's full names and specifics about their cases can't be disclosed. The two, along with several other detainees, were...