Philadelphia Group Blogs

Drexel University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions (CNHP) has appointed Roberta Waite, EdD, as the new executive director of the Stephen and Sandra Sheller 11th Street Family Health Services Center . She will also continue her role as assistant dean of academic and community integration. A nurse specializing in psychiatry for more than 25 years, Waite has held clinical, academic, research and administrative roles throughout her career. No stranger to Drexel or the Center, Waite is...

Kaila DeFrancesco is 23, a brand-new educator about to begin her career as a health and physical education teacher at a North Philadelphia elementary school. She’s bright and eager, and in college had exactly zero formal classroom training in recognizing and responding to students affected by trauma — a subject that will surely have an impact on how effective she can be as a teacher. So when DeFrancesco, who will begin teaching at Meade Elementary this month, sat through a session on that...

In Philadelphia, not having a safe, stable place to live prevents parents whose children have been placed in foster care from regaining custody 40 percent of the time — 10 percent higher than the national average — according to a recent study by the city. That’s why Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services and Office of Homeless Services have partnered on a new program that gives priority for affordable housing to people whose kids are in the custody of child welfare. The program is aimed...

Last Tuesday, a police officer in a Pittsburgh suburb shot and killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose . The black teenager was unarmed and cell phone footage footage shows that he was fleeing the police officer when he was shot. The devastating effects of this incident will ripple far beyond Allegheny County and according to a new study, it will be felt widely. In the study , researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Boston University, and Harvard examined the mental health effect on black...

Even in the digital era, libraries are high-traffic zones, hosting more than 1.5 billion visits annually. On any given day in Philadelphia, the Free Library welcomes a stream of visitors, who arrive early in the morning to use the computers, congregate after school for homework help, and join a rich range of programs, from story time, to job fairs, to classes for English language learners at the Culinary Literacy Center. Here and across the country, public libraries offer vitally important...

To what extent do parents' adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) affect ACEs and health status among their children? Linking data of 350 parents and their children from the 2012 Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey (HHS) and the Philadelphia ACE Survey, researchers found statistically significant correlations between parents' ACE scores and their children's health status. "Our results suggest that the full scope of health effects of ACEs is not limited to the exposed individual.

“Casserian engeri?” (“And how are the children?”) — Traditional Masai greeting The most serious, non-infectious disease in childhood, and the most common, is poverty. Despite economic gains in the last few years, children remain the poorest age group in America with nearly one in five living in poverty. That’s 13.2 million children. A recent study by the Children’s Defense Fund illustrated an even bleaker picture, with three million children living in families surviving on $2 a day per...

The City Health Dashboard is now available. According to its creators it is a useful tool for "empowering cities to create thriving communities." This user friendly platform allows people to look at 36 measures of health, the factors that shape health, and drivers of health equity to guide local solutions for 500 U.S. cities. A quick look at Philadelphia revealed these indicators of our health and well-being Philadelphia had an income inequality score of -24.2 , compared to an average of...

The first piece in Lilah James’ Moore College of Art senior fashion collection is called “Shame and Guilt.” About 50 yards of black tulle, including a cathedral-style veil, obscure the body. Faint metallic writing, excerpts from the designer’s journal, cover the fabric layers: Shame …. I really tried to be happy… James’ seventh and final look, “Flashbacks,” is a form-fitting black dress, low cut with a slit to the thigh, adorned with a flowing black cape. The covering is accented with fabric...

The fire that destroyed her dad’s third-floor apartment is the scariest thing that’s ever happened to 8-year-old Dakota Johnson. It was five-thirty in the morning. Someone on the first floor of the building had fallen asleep smoking. Dakota and her dad, Kenneth Johnson, woke up to the sound of the fire alarm. First it seemed like it might be just a small blaze, but when Johnson opened the door to the apartment, smoke and soot rushed in. Dakota was too scared to crawl out into the hallway, so...

Newly elected Philadelphia DA, Larry Krasner, is on a mission to tear down the City's "bigoted and patently unfair systems of mass incarceration," writes Shaun King in his article for TheIntercept.com, titled: " Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner Promised a Criminal Justice Revolution. He's Exceeding Expectations ." Quoting some of the highlights of King's article: So far, having been in office less than three months, he has exceeded expectations. In his first week on the job, he fired 31...

Children's Crisis Treatment Center, a leader in the Philadelphia ACE Task Force and trauma-informed movement, unveiled a powerful new mural which highlights their approach to providing trauma-informed therapeutic services for children and families. A fanciful and colorful vision now adorns a Philadelphia office building, but its message is intended to bring more awareness to the serious issue of childhood trauma. Mural Arts Philadelphia and the city’s behavioral health department Tuesday...