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Every family that went through Hurricane Harvey has a story. When the storm made landfall in Texas in August 2017, it displaced thousands, killed more than 80 people , and caused damages that are expected to reach more than $150 billion . Elvia, a mother of two from the Houston neighborhood of Pine Trails, was grateful to get through the hurricane with her family safe and her house intact. But they lost their two cars in the flooding and had to evacuate their neighborhood. Elvia, a detention...

Nearly 8 million students nationwide were chronically absent during the 2015-16 school year, with California accounting for more than 760,000 of those children, according to a report released last week representing the most comprehensive analysis to date of chronic absenteeism in the nation’s schools. These numbers equate to approximately 15 percent of all students nationally and 12 percent in California, says the report, which is the result of a collaboration among San Francisco-based...

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has committed itself to a vision of working alongside others to build a Culture of Health where everyone has the opportunity to live a healthier life. The private sector, particularly large corporations, has a tremendous influence on culture and is integral to achieving high social and health standards for all stakeholders, including employees. Increasingly, shareholders, investors, boards and executives are prioritizing business values and...

A positive school climate is the cornerstone of a healthy, safe, and nurturing learning environment. To improve school climate, we need to meaningfully examine and address policies and practices that harm or alienate young people or that do not go far enough to advance health equity. This blog post highlights 5 areas in which promising legal and policy levers can transform school climate and promote healthy development of the whole child . When it comes to policy change, school districts are...

As drug-related deaths rise to record numbers, at least a dozen U.S. cities are considering opening supervised injection sites , where people can use illicit drugs with trained staff present, ready to respond in case of an overdose. The future of such proposals in the U.S. is uncertain. A California bill that would greenlight a pilot injection site in San Francisco awaits the governor's signature, but a representative of the Justice Department vowed to crack down on any such site in recent...

Tangiere Jones was a 26-year-old mom-to-be when she first heard about Mamatoto Village, a nonprofit that provides birth support for underserved women in Washington, D.C. She wanted the best outcome for the birth of her daughter but faced financial barriers as a substitute teacher who was the sole earner of her household. Like many Black mothers, Jones was aware of the risks of “birthing while Black.” For instance, the rate of maternal mortality is more than three times as high for Black...

Antonio Mason was a community college student and basketball player in Cleveland. But in 2014, he was paralyzed from the chest down after a drunk driver rammed into his car. Mason applied to Ohio’s victim compensation fund for help. Every state has a fund to help crime victims and their families cover lost wages, hospital bills and funeral expenses. But Mason was turned down, because he committed a crime as a juvenile. Reveal teamed up with The Marshall Project to investigate inequality in...

The blink-and-it-didn't-happen breast squeeze has become a symbol of the casual sexual harassment that women suffer all the time.

In Northwest Indiana, we have formed a new organization for trauma healing. H.O.P.E. is the acronym for Haven of Peace and Empowerment. The model for our program is the Cory Johnson Project in the Roxbury community of Boston. Our mission is this: HOPE Center is a grassroots community trauma outreach program. Guided by trained leaders and supported by the best current trauma research, individuals who have suffered many forms of trauma come together to support, encourage and empower one...

http://healthland.time.com/2012/02/15/how-child-abuse-primes-the-brain-for-future-mental-illness/

The US government should cover mental health treatment costs for immigrant children who officials separated from their parents, a new lawsuit argues. The trauma the children and their families experienced, the suit argues, "was life altering and it will continue to affect their mental and emotional well-being for years to come." The suit, which was filed Wednesday in US District Court in Massachusetts, comes as officials continue efforts to comply with a California federal court's order to...

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