Tagged With "toxic air"
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5 Things to Know as California Starts Screening Children for Toxic Stress [californiahealthline.org]
By Barbara Feder Ostrov, California Healthline, January 7, 2020 Starting this year, routine pediatric visits for millions of California children could involve questions about touchy family topics, such as divorce, unstable housing or a parent who struggles with alcoholism. California now will pay doctors to screen patients for traumatic events known as adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, if the patient is covered by Medi-Cal — the state’s version of Medicaid for low-income families. The...
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A Message to California Health Care Providers About COVID-19 and Toxic Stress [acesaware.org]
By Nadine Burke Harris and Karen Mark, ACEs Aware, March 30, 2020 Our global community is facing confusing and uncertain times. As the unprecedented novel coronavirus continues to spread, the health and safety of our nearly 40 million Californians is the number-one priority for our state, the Office of the California Surgeon General, and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). This includes the physical, mental, and psychological well-being of all individuals. As the crisis deepens,...
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Breathing ‘A Chore’: California Wildfires Threaten The Health Of Young And Old (californiahealthline.org)
“We are in a situation now where the wildfire season doesn’t really have its normal beginning or end,” said Lori Kobza, spokeswoman for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District. The 629,000 acres burned this year follows large swaths torched last year in Ventura, Santa Barbara, Napa and Sonoma counties, causing dozens of deaths, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Many scientists attribute the more frequent and ferocious fires in the...
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At This Sanctuary, Animals and At-Risk Teens Come Together to Heal [nationswell.com]
By Monica Humphries, Nationswell, August 9, 2019 A FORESTED RETREAT IN COASTAL CALIFORNIA PROVIDES MARGINALIZED KIDS THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN COPING SKILLS — COURTESY OF WILD ANIMAL “TEACHERS.” Nine times a year, cohorts of young people from San Jose and San Francisco pile into vans and head out for the fresh air and redwood-dotted forests of nearby Half Moon Bay. These are city kids, bonded by a shared experience of growing up in urban centers. But something much darker that bonds them,...
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California Air Quality: Should You Wear a Face Mask for Wildfire Smoke [nytimes.com]
By Sarah Mervosh, The New York Times, October 28, 2019 With wildfires raging up and down the state of California on Monday, smoke filled the air in many places, ash fell from the sky, and residents were once again left to wonder whether the very air they were breathing was safe. The largest, the Kincade fire in Sonoma County north of San Francisco, nearly doubled in size in 24 hours and was just 5 percent contained on Monday, prompting volunteers downwind in the Bay Area to scramble to hand...
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Updated Community Health Assessment now available [Humboldtgov.org]
The Community Health Assessment (CHA), a comprehensive overview of the health of the Humboldt County community, was presented at the Board of Supervisors meeting this afternoon. The Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) Public Health report looks at traditional public health measures of illness, mortality, nutrition and physical activity in the community. The CHA also includes data about income, housing status, community safety and access to care, as underlying...
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Walk With Us: Building Community Power and Connection for Health Equity [rwjf.org]
By Aditi Vaidya, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, August 20, 2019 While many think of the Bay Area of California as the center of big tech and wealth, my memories of Oakland take me back to its Port truck drivers. Working an average of 11 hours a day, waiting in long lines at the Port of Oakland to pick up their loads, truck drivers in the Bay Area were isolated—living in the rigs they decorated with photos of their children and families. You can guess all of the reasons this is...
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Webinar Recap: Trauma-Informed Care/Practices in Light of COVID-19: Applying Lessons Learned from Child-Serving Systems with Dr. Melissa Bernstein
On April 29, 2020, the California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative held a webinar entitled, “Trauma-Informed Care/Practices in Light of COVID-19: Applying Lessons Learned from Child-Serving Systems” and heard from special guest speaker, Dr. Melissa Bernstein, an Implementation Specialist with the Advancing California’s Trauma-Informed Systems (ACTS) Initiative . Dr. Bernstein shared considerations for practical application of key trauma-informed elements put into practice through...
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Webinar Slides and Recording: Transformational Resilience for Climate Change Traumas and Toxic Stresses with Bob Doppelt
Recorded live October 28, 2019. Find the slides attached below. The webinar recording: You will learn: how climate change creates personal, family, and community traumas and toxic stresses; how those traumatic stressors trigger feedbacks that expand and aggravate ACEs and many other person, social, community, and societal maladies; why current approaches are woefully inadequate to address what is already occurring and rapidly steaming toward us and why prevention is the only realistic...
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Where Do Californians Live The Longest? (californiahealthline.org)
Marin County residents enjoy longer lives on average than residents of any other county in California, and Trinity County residents tend to die younger than anywhere else, according to data from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Last year, the researchers ranked 57 of California’s 58 counties according to longevity, attributing the varying rates to such factors as residents’ access to health care, the quality of care, levels of...
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Why Housing Policy Is Climate Policy [nytimes.com]
California has long been seen as a leader on climate change. The state’s history of aggressive action to reduce air pollution, accelerate the use of renewable energy and speed the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy has inspired governments around the world to set more ambitious climate goals. But there is trouble on the horizon, and California’s climate leadership is at risk. Across most of the state’s economy, greenhouse gas emissions have been trending steadily down. But...
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Wildfires, Climate Change, and Public Health [California Climate Action Team - Public Health Workgroup Meeting]
Please join CCHEP for the next California Climate Action Team - Public Health Workgroup (CAT-PHWG) meeting on Monday, June 10, 2019 from 1:00 to 3:30PM PT . The meeting will feature presentations and discussion on Wildfires, Climate Change, and Public Health , including an overview of health impacts of wildfires and wildfire smoke, and guidance for public health professionals and partners. Agenda and meeting details forthcoming and will be posted here >> We encourage in-person...
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Some Californians can’t afford to go to the beach, and lawmakers want to change that [MercuryNews.com]
California’s 1,100 miles of coastal beaches, many with soft sand and great waves and fun piers, are among the state’s greatest assets, destinations for locals and visitors alike. But new research shows that for many Californians the beach is out of reach. While the beach itself is intended to be free or inexpensive, ancillary expenses and social barriers often make it tough for low-income residents to enjoy a day on the sand. This week, legislation was introduced in Sacramento aimed at...
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Starting Now: A Policy Vision for Supporting the Healthy Growth and Development of Every California Baby [ChildrenNow.org]
In the first three years of a child’s life, foundational brain architecture is established, making children’s earliest experiences the most important. The creation of healthy brain architecture is dependent on good health, positive and nurturing relationships with adults, exposure to enriching learning opportunities and safe neighborhoods. Yet too often in California, children—especially children of color, foster youth, and those growing up in poverty—lack the components critical for a...
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Stress Health Virtual Focus Group and iPad Giveaway
Your thoughts on toxic stress are needed: Please join our virtual focus group this Wednesday at 5 pm PST.
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Study: Black Students Face 'Accumulation of Disadvantage' [educationdive.com]
By Naaz Modan, Education Dive, October 10, 2019 Dive Brief: A new study from the University of California, Los Angeles' Center for the Transformation of Schools finds a student's quality of life is linked to his or her academic performance. Where they live, access to healthy food, and quality of air and healthcare are among factors that influence academic performance and the schools they attend. Black students in Los Angeles — who are already faced with higher suspension rates, attend...
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September 18, 2019 Sierra Region Learning Community: Highlights and Resources
The first Sierra Learning Community for the 2019-20 fiscal year focused upon Best Practices in Trauma Informed Care: Building Youth Resiliency. The power point and other materials distributed to attendees is available in the Resources Section. View the recording by clicking here: September 18, 2019 Sierra Learning Community ANNOUNCEMENTS Make sure to visit the Strategies2.0 YouTube Channel to access recordings of all the Strategies2.0 sponsored webinars and Learning Communities. The channel...
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The Brain Architects Podcast: Toxic Stress: Protecting the Foundation (Episode 2) from Harvard Center on the Developing Child
Excessive or prolonged activation of stress response systems in early childhood can have damaging effects on learning, behavior, and health across the lifespan. Such toxic stress can occur when a child experiences strong, frequent, and/or prolonged adversity without adequate adult support. But that's not the whole story. With the right supports, toxic stress doesn't have to lead to bad outcomes. The second episode of the Center's new podcast, The Brain Architects, explores what toxic stress...
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The Campaign to Heal Childhood Trauma is coming!
Maybe you have heard about this initiative on one of the social networks or you followed the tour last year. If not, The Campaign to Heal Childhood Trauma is a grassroots partnership between Calo Programs and three leading, national attachment, trauma and adoption nonprofits; The Attachment and Trauma Network (ATN), The American Adoption Congress (AAC) and Association for Training on Trauma and Attachment in Children (ATTACh). The purpose of this collaboration is to increase compassion and...
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The Love In The Air Is Thicker Than The Smoke
As a native Californian I knew it was important to be prepared for a natural disaster, however in my mind, I was preparing for an earthquake. Never in a million years did I envision a fire storm, let alone multiple fire storms raging across the state and across my community all at the same time! Before the Northern California fire storm our family felt well prepared for an earthquake, we had our camping gear, nonperishable goods, medications, and more staged in an easy to access location in...
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The Connection between Asthma and Toxic Stress
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Toxic stress: the other health crisis politicians should be talking about [STATnews.com]
By Jim Hickman, STATnews.com, June 21, 2019 A t nearly 50,000 deaths each year, the opioid epidemic is shaping up to be the central public health issue of the 2020 presidential election. From President Trump on the right with a declaration of national emergency to Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the left with a 10-year, $100 billion plan to fight addiction, the candidates are racing to outdo each other on one of the few issues that transcends our polarized politics. But there’s another burgeoning...
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Trauma in Paradise: A California school system focuses on mental health after devastating fire [edsource.org]
The flames have long since died down, but Fiona Roberts, a high school senior, remains haunted by the memory of being trapped with her mother in a slow-motion race for their lives on the morning of Nov. 8, the day the Camp Fire swallowed Paradise. Driving from their home in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the left-hand side of the road, they gasped at the pop of backyard propane tanks exploding and the sight of embers the size of butterflies swirling in the air. Their fear held its tightest grip...
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DULCE helps pediatricians in Oakland, CA, prevent toxic stress in newborns
On a recent day in early March, Laura Lopez met a former patient of hers in the waiting room of Highland Hospital’s pediatric clinic in Oakland, CA. The patient had forgotten her Medi-Cal card and called Lopez asking for help. But in the brief conversation, Lopez, a family specialist with the DULCE program, learned about some dire changes in the patient’s life. Laura Lopez “Without me even asking, she shared with me that she had separated from her partner, that she needs to apply for food...
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Equity on the Mall
On behalf of the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund (SJVHF), we invite you to join state legislative and community leaders in a day of advocacy entitled Equity on the Mall, taking place on February 9 at our state capitol in Sacramento. Thursday, February 9 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. California State Capitol 1315 10th Street, Sacramento The day will include a powerful program at the West Steps of the Capitol on the movement being built in the San Joaquin Valley. Highlights will include remarks by elected...
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Everyone knows we can't arrest our way out of homelessness. So why is L.A. still trying? (latimes.com)
As the number of homeless people has risen dramatically in Los Angeles, so has the tension between those living in squalor on the sidewalks and the residents who have to walk past their encampments, the smell of urine in the air. City officials struggle to balance the rights of homeless people with the rights of everyone else. The region clearly needs to create more housing, but that has been a maddeningly slow process in a city with 34,000 homeless people. In the meantime, homeless people...
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Food Sovereignty: California – Policy Considerations for California Native Communities in 2019 (firstnations.org)
California tribes are unique in geography, language, land, air, water and cultural resource issues. The land bases of California tribes range from urban centers to some of the most isolated regions in the country. This report examines current threats to traditional foods and tribal food insecurity due to the rapid culture change of California tribal communities in the past century. It explores some of the natural resources that continue to be utilized for subsistence food as well as the...
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From ruined bridges to dirty air, EPA scientists price out the cost of climate change [LA Times]
By the end of the century, the manifold consequences of unchecked climate change will cost the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars per year, according to a new study by scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency. Those costs will come in multiple forms, including water shortages, crippled infrastructure and polluted air that shortens lives, according to the study in Monday’s edition of Nature Climate Change. No part of the country will be untouched, the EPA researchers warned.
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KQED and the SF Homeless Project [KQED.org]
This is from Holly Kernan, executive director of KQED News: KQED will be part of a remarkable media collaboration highlighting the issue of homelessness in the Bay Area. More than 70 news organizations have come together to ask some crucial questions: Why do we seem to be seeing so many more individuals living in tents on our streets? What is being done to address the growing housing affordability and availability crisis? You can read the SF Homeless Project's letter of intent here . KQED...
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McGuire, First 5 Humboldt talk ‘ACEs’ at town hall [Times Standard News]
Humboldt County has one of the highest rates of childhood trauma and abuse in the state with 75 percent of locals being affected by at least one adverse childhood experience — or ACE. T his county along with Mendocino County, have the highest percentage of residents with four or mor e ACEs. “A child who experiences ACEs is 12 times [more likely] to attempt suicide, 12 times. A child who has four or more ACEs experiences [is] seven times [more likely] to be and alcoholic or 10 times higher to...
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Most Recent Spike of Toxic Air Pollution has Officials Rethinking Alert System [fresnobee.com]
By Cresencio Rodriguez-Delgado, The Fresno Bee, December 17, 2019 A sudden and dangerous spike in Fresno’s air quality last week has regional officials re-examining everything from burn-day approvals to public notification systems, authorities said. But officials with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District said the unexpected spike of hazardous particulate matter was the result of a perfect storm of circumstances in the Valley. “Unfortunately, mother nature took a turn. We...
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New ACEs data on Kidsdata.org
On behalf of California Essentials for Childhood, I am very excited to announce the release of a new Child Adversity and Resilience data topic on Kidsdata.org! This has been a collaborative effort between the CA Essentials for Childhood Initiative's Shared Data and Outcomes Work Group and the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. I represent ACEs Connection Network on Essentials and am the co-chair of the Shared Data & Outcomes Work Group so I couldn't be more thrilled about...
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Op-Ed: I'm a doctor fighting COVID-19. Outside of the hospital, I've never felt more alone [latimes.com]
By Samuel Yamshon, Los Angeles Times, May 15, 2020 As I make my way into my building’s elevator after a long hospital shift, a neighbor throws his arm out to stop me. “Sorry,” he says, “only one person per elevator.” Seeing my confusion, our doorman kindly but firmly corrects him. “Two per elevator is fine.” I take a step toward the open doors, but the passenger again holds up his palm. “Please,” he pleads, his eyes glancing frantically at my scrubs. “Please, just take a different one.”...
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PODCAST: Child Trends expert discusses ACEs screenings on Southern California’s NPR affiliate
Child Trends expert Jessica Dym Bartlett appeared as a guest on KPCC’s Air Talk with Larry Mantle to discuss the challenges for California’s plan to screen children for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) during routine pediatric visits. Screening for ACEs without an understanding of a child’s full range of traumatic experiences—and without providing families with adequate access to providers trained to care for children who have experienced trauma—risks doing more harm than good. To...
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Resilience: The Biology of Hope & The Science of Stress [kqed.org]
By KQED, October 1, 2019 Researchers have recently discovered a dangerous biological syndrome caused by abuse and neglect during childhood. As the new documentary Resilience reveals, toxic stress can trigger hormones that wreak havoc on the brains and bodies of children, putting them at a greater risk for disease, homelessness, prison time, and early death. While the broader impacts of poverty worsen the risk, no segment of society is immune. Resilience, however, also chronicles the dawn of...
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Resilient Communities are Healthy Communities
Resilient Communities are Healthy Communities…what’s good for health is good for climate!” Authored by: Judy Robinson and Sara Jensen Carr, Design 4 Active Sacramento Climate change directly threatens the health and well-being of California’s nearly 40 million people. Without intervention at the local, regional, and state scales, these dangers will only become more pronounced in coming years. The Safeguarding California Plan devotes an entire public health chapter to these risks, stating:...
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Resilient Communities are Healthy Communities
Resilient Communities are Healthy Communities…what’s good for health is good for climate!” Authored by: Judy Robinson and Sara Jensen Carr, Design 4 Active Sacramento Climate change directly threatens the health and well-being of California’s nearly 40 million people. Without intervention at the local, regional, and state scales, these dangers will only become more pronounced in coming years. The Safeguarding California Plan devotes an entire public health chapter to these risks, stating:...
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Resources to Support Wildfires Response & Recovery in Northern and Southern California
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC) has compiled resources to assist with response and recovery from the latest California wildfires. Information guides on disaster topics and the Disaster Lit® database provide access to curated, reliable information from vetted Federal, state, and local governments and organizations. Key National Resources NLM Fires and Wildfires Information Guide Content syndication —embed the content of this page...
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Children to be Screened for Toxic Stress, Trauma Under new State Initiative [bakersfield.com]
By Stacey Shepard, Bakersfield.com, January 11, 2020 Children in Kern County and throughout California may be screened for childhood trauma and toxic stress during routine pediatrician visits starting this year. The screenings are part of a new state initiative to identify adverse childhood experiences, known as ACEs, which a growing body of research shows can significantly increase the risk of poor health outcomes later in life, ranging from suicide, alcohol addiction, depression and drug...
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Coronavirus underscores need for healing America’s racial divisions [sfchronicle.com]
By Shawn Ginwright, April 14, 2020 The reports of racial disparities among COVID-19 victims should not surprise us. African Americans and Latinos have typically experienced disproportionate exposure to a range of health issues. For example, African Americans are twice as likely to die of heart disease as their white counterparts. Consider that Latinos are 50% more likely than whites to die of diabetes or liver disease. These issues are not determined by biology, but by a history of policies...
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County rankings indicate where you live influences your health (dailynews.com)
The County Health Rankings look at 30 health factors that impact life spans and people’s quality of life, which is measured by the number of people in poor or fair health, the number of residents’ self-reported poor physical or mental health days, and low birth weights. Health rankings released Wednesday, March 29, show Orange County residents are among the healthiest Californians, while those living in Riverside, Los Angeles and especially San Bernardino counties aren’t faring nearly as...
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California Wildfires Have Disrupted School For A Quarter Of A Million Students [NPR.org]
Photo: In Santa Rosa, a playground stands across the street from where recent wildfires reduced homes to rubble. Nick Giblin/AP The wildfires in Northern California cut across a wide swath of the state — including dozens of school districts, hundreds of schools and hundreds of thousands of students. At one point, classes were canceled for 260,000 students in 600 schools . And while schools are slowly coming back on line, there remain many that may not resume classes for days or even weeks.
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California Woman is Unable to Get Insurance - So She Took Her Health Into Her Own Hands [fresnobee.com]
By Yesenia Amaro, Center for Health Journalism, October 24, 2019 A red bandana holds back Judit Garcia’s hair as sweat stains become visible on her pink shirt. Her face and arms are sweaty, and she looks tired. But she’s not giving up. Almost an hour after beginning her workout, the 42-year-old Raisin City resident is still keeping up with all the steps in her Zumba class in the neighboring rural town of Caruthers. It doesn’t help that it’s a very hot evening in the Central Valley, and the...
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‘Change in culture’: New California guidelines aim to help teach social, emotional skills [Press Democrat]
The nation’s schools long ago broadened their missions beyond the teaching of academic subjects and participation in extracurricular activities. Educators have for decades been entrusted to teach students a wider range of life skills, including those that touch on emotions, empathy and relationships with other people. Now, a new state guide , released Wednesday, offers a slew of resources for teachers and administrators seeking to bolster kids’ social and emotional development. “Science...
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How parents and teachers can calm kids’ Getty fire anxiety (latimes.com)
Across the state, families have fled fires in the dark of night amid howling winds; thousands have huddled in evacuation centers, their cars packed with valuables. It smells like smoke, and ash drifts through the air. School days are canceled, routines disrupted and children are suffering mentally — even if they’re not physically at risk from a fire, mental health counselors and parents said. School healthcare workers said the increase in destructive annual wildfires comes at a time when...
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How San Francisco's D.A. Is Decreasing The Jail Population Amid COVID-19 [npr.org]
By Terry Gross, National Public Radio, April 9, 2020 Chesa Boudin's radical leftist parents were imprisoned when he was a toddler. Now he's working to reduce the inmate population in San Francisco — and worrying about his dad, who remains in prison. TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. It's difficult or impossible to practice social distancing in an overcrowded prison, which is dangerous not only for the people who are incarcerated but also for the guards and other prison...
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In-Person Visits, New Underwear, More Counseling: Key Changes Sought in California Juvenile Detention [JJIE.org]
Should youth incarcerated in California juvenile halls and camps be entitled to new underwear? Should family and friends be assured that their visits to youth in detention facilities be in person rather than through video screens? Should these youth be guaranteed more time outdoors for exercise and fresh air? These are some of the concerns that advocates and formerly incarcerated youth are pushing for as California considers revisions to its regulations for its state and county detention...
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In San Diego, Lessons on Rebuilding From a Neighborhood Once Ravaged by Fire (nytimes.com)
When the scent of smoke from wildfires in the nearby hills began wafting through the San Diego air once again last week, residents in Scripps Ranch immediately thought back to 2003, when hundreds of homes burned to the ground. Now, every time a fire gets within 100 miles — as it did again this week — residents ready a box with important documents, bottles of medication and copies of treasured photographs. They once again found themselves glued to the news, watching with the knowing sorrow...