Tagged With "Black Maternal Health"
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How a bench and a team of grandmothers can tackle depression (bbc.com)
Zimbabwe is pioneering a groundbreaking mental health programme with stunning results – and the rest of the world is taking note. Globally, more than 300 million people suffer from depression , according to the World Health Organization. Depression is the world’s leading cause of disability and it contributes to 800,000 suicides per year, the majority of which occur in developing countries. No one knows how many Zimbabweans suffer from kufungisisa, the local word for depression (literally,...
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Intergenerational Trauma: How to Break the Cycle
“ Surviving is important but thriving is elegant” Maya Angelou In my series of blogs raising awareness on childhood trauma, I will tackle intergenerational trauma. I had scheduled to write and post this some weeks ago but the Coronavirus pandemic sent me into a disregulated and anxious state like many of you. I was reflecting the other day that it is the first time the whole of humanity is facing the same threat, I hope it makes us look inside of us and connect more with ourselves and the...
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NOTE NEW TIME: Planning to Join Us on 5/8 for a "Better Normal" discussion about systems transformation? Join us 1:00-2:00 PT!
Note new time for Friday, May 8 Better Normal discussion on systems transformation. We will meet from 1:00-2:00 and hear from RYSE Associate Director, Kanwarpal Dhaliwal, about the rapid emergency community response initiative, West Contra Costa Covid Community Care.
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Race and Health in Sacramento Amid the Covid19 Pandemic Crisis
African American community leaders in Sacramento ask city and county leaders to respond proactively to prevent health disparities in Covid19 infection, disability and death in the African American community.
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Race Forward Statement on the Coronavirus and Its Impacts on Communities of Color [raceforward.org]
From Race Forward, March 27, 2020 As the coronavirus spreads and a public health emergency intensifies, Race Forward calls on local and state governments and those who are doing emergency planning to pay special attention to the impact that this disease and the response to its spread may have on people and communities of color. We call for an approach that provides accurate information and advances practices and policies based in science, and that ensures compassionate and comprehensive...
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Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Race-based Traumatic Stress.
This collection of reports, shared with edited highlights, is posted in hopes of raising awareness of the consequences of race-based traumatic stress and ways to help heal and prevent race-based trauma. 1. Crossing the Racial Rubicon Noted mental health practitioner, Dr. Alan Siskind says: “It is critically important to recognize race-based traumatic stress and not ignore its psychological and emotional impact even though there are numerous pressures to deny or under-estimate the impact of...
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Suicide Rates Are Rising Significantly Among African American Teens (scienceblog.com)
A large-scale study from The University of Toledo of young African Americans who have attempted or died by suicide suggests there is a greater need for mental health services in urban school districts, and that we need to do a better job in convincing parents and caregivers to safely secure firearms and ammunition in the home. Taking those measures, Dr. James Price said, could save lives. Price, UToledo professor emeritus of health education and public health at UToledo, recently authored...
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When the trauma of a difficult birth leaves mothers devastated, alone (centerforhealthjournalism.org)
While there has been extensive media coverage looking at the health risks faced by mothers before and after they gave birth, as well as the heavy toll of postpartum depression. But less remarked is the emotional trauma and devastation that mothers can face from a difficult labor and delivery. These kinds of birth-related traumas may be far more common than realized: 18 percent of mothers report experiencing post-traumatic symptoms from childbirth, according to one estimate from the 2008...
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12 Myths of the Science of ACEs
The two biggest myths about ACEs science are: MYTH #1 — That it’s just about the 10 ACEs in the ACE Study — the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study . It’s about sooooo much more than that. MYTH #2 — And that it’s just about ACEs…adverse childhood experiences. These two myths are intertwined. The ACE Study issued the first of its 70+ publications in 1998, and for many people it was the lightning bolt, the grand “aha” moment, the unexpected doorway into a blazing new...
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2 New Communities Join ACEs Connection: March 2020
Please welcome these two new communities to ACEs Connection . ACEs & African Americans ACEs Connection at Boston University School of Public Health (MA) ACEs & African Americans This group is focused on the descendants of Africans dispersed throughout the Americas during the Transatlantic Slave Trades. Topics include adverse childhood experiences, historical trauma, intergenerational transmission of trauma, African American parenting practices, health disparities, the effects of...
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"A Better Normal" Community Discussion Series-Health Equity
In the seventh installation of the " A Better Normal " community discussion series, ACEs Connection facilitated a conversation focused on health inequity as it pertains to the COVID-19 pandemic . This discussion featured myself and ACEs Connection member Joshunda Sanders and highlighted the role of racism, historical trauma and poverty when it comes to the impact of this pandemic on African Americans and other vulnerable populations.
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ACE Surveillance Study of Teachers and Administrators in Public and Private Schools in Southwest Nigeria, West Africa
Note: These findings were presented at the Child Trauma Conference in Lagos on October 25-26, 2019. Rationale: Many children today live with layers of stress both subtle and overt which in this report are collectively referred to as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Specifically, these ACEs are physical, emotional and sexual abuse; physical and emotional neglect; household dysfunction and domestic violence as well as community violence. The children have a life marked by chaos,...
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ACEs & African Americans Community on ACEs Connection
ACEs Connection envisions a resilient world where ALL people thrive. We are an anti-racist organization committed to the pursuit of social justice. In our work to promote resilience and prevent and mitigate ACEs, we intentionally embrace and uplift people who have historically not had a seat at the table. ACEs Connection celebrates the voices and tells the stories of people who have been barred from decision-making and who have shouldered the burden of systemic and economic oppression as the...
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Another "A Better Normal" Community Discussion Series-Health Equity
In the thirteenth installation of the " A Better Normal " community discussion series, ACEs Connection facilitated a conversation focused on health inequity as it pertains to the COVID-19 pandemic . This discussion featured myself and ACEs Connection member Joshunda Sanders and highlighted the role of racism, historical trauma and poverty when it comes to the impact of this pandemic on African Americans and other vulnerable populations. In this session our guests were Sarah Bounse with...
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Be Part of The League of Extraordinary People
You are extraordinary. Writing this post feels like I have come full circle. In April of 2019, Alfred White reached out to me on ACEs Connection. Shortly after, we spoke at length about the plans he had to create a place of healing and hope in Federal Way and King County, Washington, specifically for individuals with a history of trauma and who were now impacted with symptoms such as addiction and homelessness. I recall sharing with Alfred that there was such a need for this in that...
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Black Men Run promoting brotherhood through running dedicate run to Ahmaud Arbery (KUSI)
By Jonathan Halvorson, May 9, 2020, for KUSI. SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Nasara Gargonnu is the 2019 Teacher of the Year at Morse High School, Official Live Well San Diego Partner and Captain of Black Men Run San Diego. The organization encourages health and wellness among African American men by promoting a culture of running to stay fit. The group is open to beginners and advanced runners. Gargonnu joined Good Morning San Diego to discuss the group and a run they dedicated for 25-year-old Ahmaud...
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Black Minds Matter (teachingtolerance.org)
Black people, including youth, are less likely to receive adequate care for mental health issues for a number of reasons: disparities in access to care, stigma about mental illness and lack of culturally competent mental health practitioners. According to a study published in the International Journal of Health Services , black children are about half as likely as white children to get mental health treatment. As the CBC task force, mental health experts and policy makers mull over ideas to...
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Black social workers face stress, racial inequities during COVID-19 pandemic (NBC News)
By Patrice Gaines, May 11, 2020, NBC News "The big issue that black social workers are having to contend with is the devastation happening in our communities." Michael Guynn, a social worker in Los Angeles, would show up at a foster family's home unannounced to make sure that the house was clean and livable and that a child was being fed and going to school. Kevin Holder, an emergency services clinician, would meet police officers at the jail in Richmond, Virginia, to interview and observe a...
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California's 1st Surgeon General Spotlights Health Risks Of Childhood Adversity (npr.org)
In an interview last year, after her book , The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity, was published, Burke Harris told NPR's Cory Turner, "We all need to be part of the solution. If we each take ... our little piece, it's nuts how far we'll be able to go, together as a society, in terms of solving this problem. California Gov. Gavin Newsom took Burke Harris up on her challenge, appointing her the first-ever surgeon general of California. Newsom cites the toxic...
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Dr. Dipesh Navsaria: Schools as symptoms, not the source [The Cap Times]
There has been a lot of hand-wringing in the local press about the state of the Madison Metropolitan School District, particularly around behavior. In particular, the behavior education plan implemented over the last several years — intended to reduce exclusionary practices and use a more progressive approach to discipline — has come under fire for essentially allowing a permissive, low-consequence environment that affects learning as well as staff morale. I read these with interest — my two...
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Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris Shares Concerns About The Impact COVID-19 Is Having On Blacks [sacobserver.com]
Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris joined Gov. Newsom for the first time last week to announce a number of actions leaders have taken to address the pandemic. By Genoa Barrow, Sacramento Observer, April 17, 2020 As a pandemic sheds a spotlight on long-standing health inequities for African Americans, California’s surgeon general looks to find lasting solutions. Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris was named to the new position created by Gov. Gavin Newsom in January 2019. She is an African American pediatrician,...
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Efforts to Reduce Black Maternal Mortality Complicated by COVID-19 [chcf.org]
By Xenia Shih Bion, California Health Care Foundation, April 20, 2020 Latoyha Young had a birth plan. She was going to have the baby in Sacramento with community doula Joy Dean by her side. Dean was funded by the county’s Black Child Legacy Campaign , which works to reduce the disproportional number of Black infant and child deaths in Sacramento. But in mid-March, when Young went into labor just as Governor Gavin Newsom ordered Californians to stay at home to avoid spreading the novel...
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Eradicating the roots of childhood trauma [indianapolisrecorder.com]
On the east side of Indianapolis in late March, a barrage of bullets sprayed through a home, killing 1-year-old Malaysia Robson as she slept on the couch. It was a drive-by shooting in the middle of the night by two men in their late 20s. It’s the kind of violence that can shake a community, leaving its distraught members wondering how much more they can take. Community violence — and other forms of trauma — are especially harmful for children. They’re called adverse childhood experiences...
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Commentary: Why so many black Americans are dying from COVID-19 and how to make health care equitable (sandiegouniontribune.com)
Evidence suggests that during the early phase of the coronavirus pandemic, blacks are suffering the greatest death rates compared to all other ethnic groups. Why? I can assure you that the coronavirus does not discriminate based upon skin color or ethnicity. Instead, it has a predilection for populations with the highest rates of chronic diseases, poor access to health care and too little information from trusted sources. For decades, the National Medical Association — which represents more...
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A Better Normal, Tuesday, June 9th at Noon PDT: Racial Trauma & How to be Anti-Racist
Please join us for the ongoing community discussion of A Better Normal, our ongoing series in which we envision the future as trauma-informed. Protests and riots across the country--and even worldwide--are making it impossible to ignore the racial trauma of police brutality and historical trauma embedded within our society. Many of us are grappling with complex feelings of helplessness and righteous anger. In response to this pandemic of racism in America, "A Better Normal" will hold space...
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A Better Normal Friday, June 19th at Noon PDT: LGBTQ+ Identity and Race in the US: An Intersectional Discussion On Historical and Generational Trauma
Please join us for the ongoing community discussion of A Better Normal, our ongoing series in which we envision the future as trauma-informed. LGBTQ+ Identity and Race in the US: An Intersectional Discussion On Historical and Generational Trauma With Panelists Rev. Dr. D. Mark Wilson and Alexander Cho, Ph.D., Moderated by ACEs Connection staff members Jenna Quinn and Alison Cebulla Friday, June 19th, 2020 Noon to 1pm, PT (3pm to 4pm ET) >>Click here to register<< Please join us...
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'Just Make It Home': The Unwritten Rules Blacks Learn To Navigate Racism In America [khn.org]
By Cara Anthony, Kaiser Health News, June 18, 2020 Speak in short sentences. Be clear. Direct but not rude. Stay calm, even if you’re shaking inside. Never put your hands in your pockets. Make sure people can always see your hands. Try not to hunch your shoulders. Listen to their directions. Darnell Hill, a pastor and a mental health caseworker, offers black teenagers these emotional and physical coping strategies every time a black person is fatally shot by a police officer. That’s when...
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ACEs Connection reaches 200 participants in the ACEs Connection Speakers & Trainers Bureau!
ACEs Connection is proud to announce we have reached 200 Speakers & Trainers participants in the ACEs Connection Speakers & Trainers Bureau! What is the ACEs Connection Speakers & Trainers Bureau? The ACEs Connection Speakers & Trainers Bureau is a service that provides subscribers of ACEsConnection a Database of ACEs speakers and trainers for hire. The development of the Speakers & Trainers Bureau was in response to a great need expressed by our communities. ACEs...
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HHS Announces Partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine to Fight COVID-19 in Racial and Ethnic Minority and Vulnerable Communitie
Press Release $40 Million Initiative Will Help Communities Hardest Hit by the Pandemic The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) announced the selection of the Morehouse School of Medicine as the awardee for a new $40 million initiative to fight COVID-19 in racial and ethnic minority, rural and socially vulnerable communities. The Morehouse School of Medicine will enter into a cooperative agreement with OMH to lead the initiative to coordinate a...
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A Better Normal Tuesday, June 30th at Noon PDT: Reinterpreting American Identity, a Community Discussion
"I think that all of us, regardless of our racial or ethnic background, feel relieved that we no longer have to deal with the racism and the sexism associated with the system of slavery. But we treat the history of enslavement like we treat the genocidal colonization of indigenous people in North America, as if it was not that important, or worse, as if it never happened." —Angela Davis, "The Meaning of Freedom" Please join us for the ongoing community discussion of A Better Normal, our...
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Does Your Organization Unconsciously Operate with a White Supremacy Culture? 4 White Supremacy Culture Scenarios
As we endure the pain of lost loved ones, manage the anxiety of financial insecurity and potentially fret over becoming ill, it is a brilliant time for change in our country and around the world. There is a special kind of racist exclusion in America. When I took my young son to live in India, initially, he struggled everyday on the bus to school. There was a lot of hazing and bullying from older students. I remember him begging me to please take him to school in a rickshaw so that he didn’t...
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Structural Racism and its Impact on Black Maternal Health (New Security Beat)
By Deekshita Ramanarayan, July 21, 2020, New Security Beat. “The past months have been profoundly difficult for our nation, and for Black communities in particular,” said Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) at a recent March of Dimes event on the impact of structural racism on maternal health. COVID-19 has highlighted health outcome inequity caused by race and racism. Though Black people constitute 13 percent of the U.S. population, the CDC estimates they represent over 30 percent of...
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This wasn't the first time
Going out to buy groceries, going out for a walk, driving your kid back home from school. For most people these activities are normal, everyday things with little to no excitement, as they should be. Unfortunately, getting food, exercising, and supporting my son’s education have been a little more out of the ordinary for me. You see, I am a Mexican Indigenous man, brown skin, shaved head. My ethnicity and physical appearance are by no means unusual, especially in the part of the country...
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Recording available for Health and Wellness Town Hall: How ACEs Impact Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other Communities of Color
If you missed The League of Extraordinary People's first Town Hall, or would like to watch it again, it is available here ! Health and Wellness Town Hall: Adverse Childhood Experiences 101 Class How ACEs Impact the Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other Communities of Color This event will be led by Alfred White. Alfred is the founder of The League of Extraordinary People. After nearly 40 years experiencing homelessness, Alfred swallowed a 1/4 ounce of crack cocaine in 2004 and nearly died. He...
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Re: Anti-Racism Resources List
Thank you for such a comprehensive and needed resource! It needs to be shared with every professional association across health and behavioral health (which I just did a few of on twitter, plus via email), and academic programs across the health and human services!
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YWCA panel talks disciplinary disparities among Black girls (The Independent)
By Austin Koeller, August 28, 2020, The Independent. Experts say research shows Black girls are more likely to face disciplinary disparities in the public school setting, and something needs to be done about it. On Thursday night, the YWCA of Grand Island hosted a virtual screening of the documentary film “Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools.” Based on the book by Monique Morris, the documentary examined the disparities Black girls faced and shared personal stories from...
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Freedom From Trauma – Powerful & Profound Practices To Heal Trauma & Consciously Create The Body, Mind, Spirit You Truly Desire
We are living in complicated and stressful times. What needs to be healed seems more palpable than ever. It feels like the call to release what no longer serves has never been louder and we are feeling that tug at our core. While the founder of The League of Extraordinary People, Alfred White, has been gaining more clarity everyday on this, he was invited to be part of an event, more like a movement, to help others find freedom from what has been holding them back. It is a free, online...
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Policy and System Change (racialequitytools.org)
Source: https://www.racialequitytools.org/act/strategies/policy-and-system-change Policy, as used here, refers to the laws and regulations that govern major systems, including health, education, criminal justice, education and so on. Individuals are deeply and directly affected by policies and systems, including the laws and regulations themselves. They are also deeply and directly affected by unequal application by race/ethnicity of common policies and laws, and by unequal consequences by...
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A new program in Mississippi is helping Black mothers breastfeed. Here's why it's crucial. (upworthy.com)
The Delta Baby Cafe in Sunflower County, Mississippi is providing breastfeeding assistance where it's needed most. Mississippi has the third lowest rate of breastfeeding in America. Only 70% of infants are ever-breastfed in the state, compared to 84% nationally. There are multiple reasons why Black women are less likely to breastfeed their children. First, according to the CDC , maternity wards that serve large Black populations are less likely to help Black women initiate breastfeeding...
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Communities of Opportunity Invites Proposals for Black-led Systems and Policy Change (Best Start)
RFP Announcement - King Co Washington state. Proposals are requested for the 2021 grant year. Communities of Opportunity (COO) commits $725,000 to systems and policy change projects led by and for Black communities in King County. Eligible partnerships of Black-led (including African descent and diaspora) organizations working on systems and policy change in the Black community may apply for funding through this Request for Proposal. In June 2020 King County Executive Dow Constantine and...
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Youth-Led Advocacy Creates Healing Opportunities in Baltimore City
After a shooting at a historic Baltimore high school in February 2019—a 25-year-old man, angry about the school’s treatment of his sister, who was a student there, shot a special education assistant with a Smith and Wesson handgun—conversation in the city centered on whether school resource officers should be armed. Students said that was the wrong question. When City Council’s education and youth committee, chaired by council member Zeke Cohen, held hearings on school violence following the...
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Food Insecurity and the Risk of Obesity, Depression, and Self-Rated Health in Women (Women’s Health Report)
By Sydney K. Willis,1,* Sara E. Simonsen,2 Rachael B. Hemmert,2 Jami Baayd,2 Kathleen B. Digre,3 and Cathleen D. Zick4. Women’s Health Reports Volume 1.1, 2020 DOI: 10.1089/whr.2020.0049 Accepted May 21, 2020. Abstract Background/Introduction/Objective: Recent studies have shown that food insecurity is associated with obe- sity, depression, and other adverse health outcomes although little research has been focused on these relation- ships in underrepresented cultural and social groups. In...
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COVID, ACES, and Radical Self-Care
COVID, ACES and Radical Self-Care Dr. LateshIa Woodley, LPC, NCC & Alexis Kelly, MPA COVID Thursday, March 13, 2020, I woke up thinking I love my life, I have the best job in the world, I get to wake up every day and strive to make a difference in the lives of students and families. Little did I know that a few hours later my life, the lives of my family, and the lives of the families that I serve would forever be changed due to the COVID pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, I was leading...
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Emotional Sobriety Continuum of Care Book Club
Join us for a deep dive into Tian Dayton's book Emotional Sobriety. We will utilize both the book and workbook - available online for ordering - for this long-term Continuum of Care series. Starting in November 2020 , we will read one chapter a month. TLOEP Founder, Licensed Mental Health Therapist, and Subject Matter Expert, Alfred White, will lead us in discussion asynchronously on our Facebook TLOEP Book Club group and in once-a-month live conversations. You can expect to experience a...
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Why cultural safety rather than cultural competency is required to achieve health equity: a literature review and recommended definition (International Journal for Equity and Health)
Curtis, E., Jones, R., Tipene-Leach, D. et al. Why cultural safety rather than cultural competency is required to achieve health equity: a literature review and recommended definition. Int J Equity Health 18, 174 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-019-1082-3 Abstract Background Eliminating indigenous and ethnic health inequities requires addressing the determinants of health inequities which includes institutionalised racism, and ensuring a health care system that delivers appropriate...
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Black Resilience in Colorado (BRIC)
By LaDawn Sullivan, Director of Leadership & Equity, lsullivan@denverfoundation.org . Established in June, the Black Resilience in Colorado (BRIC) Fund directs resources to address systemic racism and its impact on Black communities across the seven-county Metro Denver region. The Black Resilience in Colorado (BRIC) Fund application is now closed. Decisions on funding and grant awards will be made in mid-October. [ Please click here to read more ]
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Low levels of choline in pregnant Black American women associated with higher levels of stress (Mirage News)
NOVEMBER 17, 2020 5:08 AM AEDT Women with lower levels of choline delivered prematurely by 2 weeks, increasing risk of later mental health problems for their offspring. Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campu s have found that many pregnant Black Americans have low levels of choline, an essential nutrient that aids in prenatal brain development. Stress caused by institutional racism may play a role. The study, out now in Schizophrenia Bulletin , also found that these...
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Open access study reveals harmful effects of redlining on babies born three generations later (Berkeley News)
By Virgie Hoban, November 19, 2020, Berkeley News. It was a racist policy enacted over 80 years ago, but its aftermath dribbles on — all the way to the babies born today, new research shows. Using historical maps and modern birth data, UC Berkeley researchers have found that babies born in California neighborhoods historically redlined — denied federal investments based on the discriminatory lending practices of the 1930s — are now more likely to have poorer health outcomes. The study was...
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Disparities in COVID-19 Outcomes: Understanding the Root Cause Is Key to Achieving Equity [journals.lww.com]
By La Quandra S. Nesbitt, Journal of Public Health Management & Practice (January/February 2021), December 2020 As the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States increased, and public reporting of demographic characteristics improved, the stark disparities in COVID-19–related incidence and mortality became evident. 1 While these disparities were alarming to many, for others, they illuminated the unfortunate inequities in health and health care that exist and persist in the United...