A new method is emerging to help children heal from trauma – art therapy. More mental health clinics, like the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas, are beginning to use art to help children with the healing process. Mental health professionals hope that art therapy can help children process adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which is growing to be a public health crisis. “Art therapy helps one process emotions and feelings that one is struggling with, so that he or she can begin healing,” said art therapist Savita Jakhar Gandash, according to The Interview Portal. Read about what art therapy is and how Latino children can heal from ACEs and trauma.
What is Art Therapy?
Art therapy is a mental health service that utilizes creativity to help people resolve ...
Dr. Amelie Ramirez, leader of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, is featured in the latest edition of Latino Leaders, a national magazine that aims to connect and inspire leaders of Latino, Hispanic, and Latinx heritage. The edition is called "Heroes of the Fight Against COVID-19." Highlights include: Profile stories about health leaders: Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease expert; Dr. Elena Rios, president of the National Hispanic Medical Association; Dr. David E. Hayes-Bautista of UCLA; Joaquin Duato of Johnson & Johnson; Nanette Cocero of Pfizer; Bonnie Castillo of National Nurses United; Dr. Robert Rodriguez of UCSF; Dr. Xiomara Rocha-Cadman of City of Hope; and more
Profile stories about Latino elected leaders: Catherine Cortez-Masto, Arizona, and Marco ...
Latinos are the nation's largest minority, making up 18.5% of the population. This dynamic population is also helping fuel the red-hot housing market, even amid COVID-19. "The number of Hispanic-homeowner households rose by more than 700,000 to nearly 9 million in 2020, according to Census Bureau data compiled by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, an industry group. Those gains marked the biggest one-year increase in data on Hispanic homeownership going back two decades," the Wall Street Journal reported in April 2021. Let's explore the this surge in the Latino housing market, challenges, and the future of housing.
What's Causing the Surge in the Latino Housing Market?
The Latino homeownership rate has "increased more during the past several years ...
Today, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued his first public advisory of the Biden Administration to warn Americans about health misinformation. Health misinformation is threatening U.S. response to COVID-19, preventing Americans from getting vaccinated, and prolonging the pandemic. Misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines also often targets Latino and Black communities, which have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and have low rates of vaccine uptake. "Health misinformation is an urgent threat to public health. It can cause confusion, sow mistrust, and undermine public health efforts, including our ongoing work to end the COVID-19 pandemic," Murthy said in a press release about the advisory. "My job is to help people stay safe and healthy, and without ...
Millions of Americans rely on social programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), to put food on their tables. These individuals, many of whom are Latino or other people of color, still face barriers in accessing nutritious food. In fact, a recent USDA study showed that nine in 10 SNAP recipients have difficulty purchasing healthy, nutritious food. Facts like these are fueling calls from experts and advocates for “nutrition security,” a new outlook on the kinds of food that are accessible for all families, according to Cassie Ramos, a policy associate at Center for Science in the Public Interest. “Lack of access to nutritious diets is a major challenge for people with low incomes in the United States,” Ramos writes in an Op-Ed in The Hill. ...
As America reopens cautiously and as more people are vaccinated against COVID-19, the National Urban League is exploring what a “new normal” really means. Why? Because the pandemic worsened deep-rooted inequities and pre-existing health disparities, causing Black, Latino, and other people of color to suffer high burdens of sickness and death. So they reached out to public health professionals, civil rights leaders, elected officials, and community advocates to hear their visions for a new normal for their 45th annual State of Black America® report on racial equity in America. The new report contains 23 essays urging a new normal that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. We are excited to announce that Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San ...
Companies emitting harmful waste and gasses into the Earth’s atmosphere will now have to abide by strict regulation policies recently passed by Colorado’s state legislature. The new law will require these businesses to more closely monitor their emissions standards — more importantly, the data found must be published publicly. Not only will the law ensure transparency, it could also save countless lives, according to Carmen Abrego Vasquez, a member of the Colorado People’s Alliance. “[This bill] an important step to making sure we have transparency and hold corporate polluters accountable, she told the Colorado Sun. “The majority of people who live in my community are Latinos or immigrants and this is a step to improve our lives. We have a right to know what’s in ...
Neighborhoods with large populations of people of color also have high rates of chronic disease, less access to healthy foods, and other systemic injustices. These factors can lead to worse health outcomes. For example, take South Texas. Researchers here have linked neighborhood characteristics to worse physical and mental health outcomes in this largely Latino, rural region, according to a recent study in the American Journal of Health Promotion. “Several neighborhood environment variables were significantly associated with mental health, [physical activity], and C-reactive protein, though estimates were small,” according to study researchers from UT Health Science Center at Houston, UT Southwestern, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, and UTHealth School of Public Health.
The ...
We know Latinos are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and dementia than whites. Now a new study shows that Latinos experience slightly different signs and symptoms of dementia, with more depression and anxiety and a faster rate of functional decline than Blacks or non-Hispanic Whites, AARP reports. Anxiety and depression are risk factors for dementia. Studies have suggested anxiety and depression can cause early manifestations of abnormal protein accumulations in the brain — amyloid and tau — which lead to dementia. In the new study of 5,000 people, researchers found more anxiety among Latinos (25.6 %) than Blacks (16.3 %) or Whites (11.3 %). "We need to do a better job of making mental health services accessible for these groups, with culturally ...
