Economic growth has long been the basic metric through which we evaluate economic and social progress. But a growing number of policymakers and experts argue that we need a better way to measure “well being.” In a report...
Amelia Kirby was driving in a particularly beautiful part of her home county in the late 1990s when she noticed the construction. She thought it was yet another strip mine, taking off the tops of mountains to extract the coal beneath. But...
In New York, a man with schizophrenia spent 13 years of a 15-year prison sentence in solitary confinement. In a Minnesota county jail, a man with schizophrenia stabbed out both of his eyes with a pencil in his cell. A study of 132 suicide attempts in...
Medical offices can be sterile, intimidating places—environments that make the already-unpleasant task of waiting to see a doctor even more stressful. Young classical musicians, faced with a difficult economic reality that has seen the...
1. Foster care is all around us. I saw a tweet once from a radio personality that asked, "When I go to a foster parent training, why am I the only one who doesn't look like he's going to a monster truck rally?" When my husband and I got...
What happens when you put a bunch of Oregon changemakers in a room with an inspiration catalyst? It’s like building a bonfire in a fireworks stand! Here at Social Venture Partners Portland , we are excited to be partnering with our...
On April 21, Montana Governor Steve Bullock signed his state’s anti-bullying law, eliminating the title his state has held for the last few years as the only state without one. The law, which is nothing more than a statement that bullying...
They help cheer you up when you’re down and they help calm you down when you’re agitated. What is it about cats that makes you feel so good? Maybe it’s their purr or the way they settle in your lap when we read a book....
Organizations across the Midwest that are integrating trauma-informed practices based on adverse childhood experiences research are like freckles amassing into a suntan, says Elena Quintana. “It’s spreading,” says the executive...
As an internist and infectious disease physician, I am, unfortunately, often the one who has to deliver bad news to patients and their families. But this time, as I sat in the urologist’s office in January, the dreaded words were directed...
“My time is coming. It’s already time for me to die. I can’t wait. … So yeah I plan to kill myself during spring break, which by the way, starts in two days.” — Wynne Lee wrote in a March 29, 2012 journal...
At 49, Annette Booth already feels old. She is obese and has trouble walking a block, never mind playing with her grandchildren. She has had two knee replacements. She rattles when she breathes because of asthma, and takes about nine pills a...
When patients brought to the ER have uncontrolled blood pressure, neglected asthma or diabetes that hasn't been dealt with, doctors often start treatment right then and there. But what happens when the patient turns out to be addicted to...
Last week my world slowed down enough so I could escape for a leisurely walk in the green hills of Berkeley, California. As is my habit, I listened to one of my favorite podcasts called Radiolab. In this episode, the hosts discussed a...
America faces a tough challenge. Educating students in poverty requires considerably more time than the traditional school calendar offers. But there’s hope. Expanded time and learning schools are meeting the needs of kids in high poverty...