Blog

By Councilwoman Dawn Mackey, December 23, 2020, Op-Ed Westfield. As the Town Council liaison to the newly formed Westfield Public Arts Commission, I was thrilled to participate in the decision to commission 30 butterfly sculptures as our first public art exhibit, a decision made in advance of the global pandemic. It was serendipitous that we chose “butterflies” as our subject, not knowing that we would eventually all be cocooning. Painted by local artists, each three-foot butterfly sculpture...

Most people have heard of post-traumatic stress disorder that afflicts many men and women returning from a war zone. It is characterized by flashbacks, unstable mood, and survivor’s remorse. However, many have never heard of a condition that often develops in childhood and changes the course of the child’s life forever, complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). For a good definition of CPTSD, we turned to Beauty After Bruises, an organization that offers outreach focused on adult...

As Pfizer and Moderna Pharmaceuticals roll out the much anticipated COVID-19 vaccine, urban community school nurses are tasked with informing staff, parents, and the community on the progression of the pandemic. This has been a remarkable year for school nurses: a multi-faceted challenge on our practice, and our own personal mental health. Although newly developed vaccines are highly anticipated to be instrumental in combating this pandemic, school nurses must continue to educate the public...

Jun Cen The pandemic showed us that education was broken. It also showed us how to fix it. By Jan Mehta, professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education If a measure of a society is how well it takes care of its young, the past nine months are a damning indictment of our nation. Parents and teachers have been working overtime under impossible circumstances., and states have prioritized keeping gyms and restaurants open over keeping schools open. A result is that about 48 percent of all...

Three of the biggest takeaways from collaborating with Dr. Felitti for decades are: 1) Help individuals discover their inner potentials; 2) support people helping each other in groups and 3) the importance of an ACE parenting course. We are utilizing theater in groups as a way of facilitating healing of ACEs as well as prevention. This is (coming soon thanks to our small team including Dr. Felitti and Steven Fisher, the talented screenwriter and director. With respect to helping people help...

Eric Tegethoff, Public News Service (12/10/2020) BOISE, Idaho -- A pilot program that prescribes a trip to the produce aisle has been a success in Idaho. The Nebraska-based Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition evaluated the Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force's (IHRTF) Prescription for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables program, which offers vouchers to food-insecure patients with diabetes and prediabetes. It found significant improvements in participants' health; Julie Walker, manager of diabetes...

Mason Trinca for the New York Times In the chaos of 1960s Detroit, a fledging police union laid the groundwork for a system that, to this day constrains discipline for officers accused of misconduct. By Kim Barker, Michael H. Keller and Steve Eder It took Portland, Ore., almost $1 million in legal fees, efforts by two mayors and a police chief, and years of battle with the police union to defend the firing of Officer Ron Frashour — only to have to bring him back. Today, the veteran white...

Congresswoman-elect Cori Bush is the first Black Lives Matter organizer who will serve in the House of Representatives. (Michael B. Thomas/For the Washington Post) By Jada Yuan Cori Bush was living six minutes from Ferguson in 2014, working as a registered nurse and pastor, when 18-year-old Michael Brown Jr. was shot and killed by a White police officer. She joined the explosive, tear-gas-filled protests on the second night. “I’m like, ‘I’m a nurse, so I could be a medic. I’m clergy so I can...

ASPCA By Neda Ulaby In the gold-brown mountains around Weaverville, N.C., there's a dormitory filled with dysfunctional and depressed dogs. It's part of the ASPCA's Behavioral Rehabilitation Center , a cutting-edge program designed specifically to teach traumatized canines to be trustful human companions. "This is, as far as we know, the only facility in the U.S. — and perhaps the world — exclusively dedicated to the rehabilitation of extremely fearful, undersocialized dogs," says Kristen...

Dr. Moore with her 19-year-old son, Henry Muhammed (photo by Henry Muhammed). By John Eligon Lying in a hospital bed with an oxygen tube hugging her nostrils, the Black patient gazed into her smartphone and, with a strained voice, complained of an experience all too common among Black people in America. Susan Moore, the patient, said the white doctor at the hospital in suburban Indianapolis where she was being treated for Covid-19 had downplayed her complaints of pain. He told her that he...

Season's Greetings Folks, Whatever your faith, belief system, ethnicity, identity may be, I am wishing everyone peace and joy. I am grateful that our paths have crossed. I will share a song of "Joy". I don't have much to offer, but as a musician I do have the gifts of music to share. An older song of mine & video, but the sentiment remains the same. Stay safe & Take care, Michael. "Joy" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by4tWjowZVo

Michael Collins is the founder of SugarAddiction.com and Quit Sugar Summit, as well as the past Chairman of the Board and current Board Member of Addiction Institute, has been completely sugar-free for over 30 years and has worked closely with others to help them regain lives ravaged by this addictive product.