Latino parents in Holyoke, MA (49.49% Latino population) have taken drastic measures in an effort to achieve a better standard of education equity for their children, according to The Boston Globe. In August 2017, the group Padres de Latinos de las Escuelas de Springfield y Holyoke (PLESH) filed a lawsuit against the Holyoke Public School District claiming that there was a failing to “provide adequate translation of educational documents” for parents with limited English proficiency. Nearly half of the 5,300 students in Holyoke live in homes where English isn’t the primary language. Per The Boston Globe report, 80% of all students in the district are Latino and the lawsuit focuses heavily on minority children in special education. “Nothing has changed,” said Glorimar ...
Latinos report the highest levels of stress among groups, due to money, employment, and family and health issues, according to the recent American Psychological Association (APA) annual Stress in America survey. When it comes to stress and mental health, Latinos often go untreated or undiagnosed. Persistent stress in young children can become toxic, according to new research from the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress. This toxic stress has been shown to cause “brain changes” that can interfere with learning and lead to more problems in adulthood. The research was unable to pinpoint exactly how many children have been harmed to date by toxic stress, but the data showed that many live in circumstances that experts say “put them at risk.” Other findings ...
Bullying can stress a Latino child's emotions and mental health, and can contribute to high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. That's bad enough. But bullying also can keep a child from attending school and impact the finances of school districts across the country, according to a new study by UT Austin, Medline reports. About 10% of kids in California (38.39% Latino population) missed at least one day of school in a month because they felt "unsafe" due to bullying, according to the study. That's about 301,000 kids missing school. And California schools—which get funding based on student attendance instead of total enrollment like in many other states—lose in excess of $275 million in funding each year when these bullied kids stay home. “Bullying ...
The classic bully takes a kid's lunch money. But a new type of bully—"school lunch shaming," when a student has no money for lunch to begin with—is on the upswing in schools across the country, CNN reports. This type of "hidden" or "unintentional" bullying greatly affects Latino kids. Latino kids comprise about 1 in 4 of the kids participating in the National School Lunch Program, according to the UnidosUS. "It's the working poor who get screwed," Jill Duban, who heads up a program called Common Threads a school district that helps low-income and homeless families, told CNN. "The lunch ladies are not always nice about it."
Brown bags of shame
Despite the large expansion of free and reduced lunch programs across the country, many kids simply cannot afford to pay $2.35 for ...
So many people share their lives on social media every day. Instagram has 500 million active monthly users worldwide, including 1 in 3 Latinos. Facebook has nearly 2 billion active monthly users. But questions remain about how social networks impact users' mental health. For example, CNN posted this week: "Instagram worst social media app for young people's mental health." The article cites a survey of 1,500 young people on how social media platforms impact their health, depression, anxiety, self-esteem and body image. The survey indicated Instagram negatively affected body image, sleep patterns, and "FOMO"—the fear of missing out. “Platforms that are supposed to help young people connect with each other may actually be fueling a mental health crisis,” Shirley Cramer ...
There is a shortage of mental health professionals in the United States. This situation is more severe for Latino and other minorities, who face barriers of language and culture that can make it hard to seek and get help, Pew Charitable Trusts reports. Take, for instance, Ana Paula Guerrero of Aurora, Ill. Guerrero says it makes it easier and better for her therapy if she doesn't have to translate her emotions from her native Spanish to her adopted English. "When I am talking about certain feelings in Spanish, it's (about) vocabulary and being able to gather the words to express yourself," Guerrero told the Daily Herald of Illinois for a report on language barriers to mental health care. "It's not the feeling itself, but the ability to communicate what you are ...
Chances are good you or someone you know has a mental health issue. In fact, during any given year, about 1 in every 4 people in the United States has a diagnosable disorder, two-thirds of which goes untreated, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. Latinos report the highest stress across money, employment, family responsibilities, and health concerns, a recent survey reported. What’s worse, many are unable to get the help they need to either treat their conditions or even get a diagnosis. Telemedicine is an emerging answer to these issues. Doctors are increasingly “linking up” with their patients by phone, email, and webcam more frequently thanks to faster Internet connections. This can reduce some of the cost and rising need for ...
Mental Health is a growing public health concern in the United States. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, during any given year, nearly 25% of the population has a diagnosable disorder, two-thirds of which goes untreated. According to a new study, an estimated 8.3 million adults in the U.S. (close to 3.5%) suffer from serious psychological distress. What’s worse, many are unable to get the help they need to either treat there conditions or even get a diagnosis. Latinos reported the highest stress across four major sources of stress including money, employment, family responsibilities and health concerns, a recent survey reported. In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to address inequities in programs, practices, and ...
A study conducted in London from 2010 to 2011 in a secondary girls-only state school found that the SPARK Resilience Program helped prevent depression and increase self-reported resilience in girls 11-12 years old. The study led by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) looked at over 400 girls reports on their resilience and depression symptoms throughout the study. The SPARK Resilence Program gave students the tools to identify stressful situations and learn how to control negative behavior reactions. SPARK, the acronym behind the program stands for how children can break down their responses to stressful situations and be taught by teachers to their students using the five components: Situation, Perception, Autopilot, Reaction, and Knowledge. School interventions are a ...
