Traumatic events, like sexual assault, physically change our brain, releasing stress hormones which influence perception, reaction and memory. Yet, many law enforcement agencies have lacked the training opportunities, tools, resources, and support needed to effectively address these crimes and the traumatized victims, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women. To raise awareness about the neurobiological impact of trauma and trauma-informed investigative strategies, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) created a two-day Trauma Informed Sexual Assault Investigation Training.
Sexual Assault in the US
One in three women and one in six men have experienced some form of contact sexual violence during their ...
“Affordable living” is a myth for many people in San Antonio, Texas (63.6% Latino). More than half of people here don’t make the $18 an hour needed to afford the median apartment rent. Population and job growth outpace housing by 2.3 to 1. Affordable housing is lacking. Evictions nearly doubled between 2013 and 2016. This threatens economic opportunity and health for many Latino families. That’s why the Mayor’s Housing Policy Task Force’s new report urges the San Antonio City Council to budget for new housing jobs, triple city spending on affordable housing production and rehabilitation, and even change the city’s charter to create new ways to pay for more affordable housing. “For us to make a significant impact, it’s going to require a long view and ...
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at the UT Health San Antonio, has received a new $1.3 million prevention grant to enable local doctors to guide patients who smoke to join a smartphone-based quit smoking service. The grant is from the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) The funding will enhance tobacco screening and treatment for two groups. One is primary care patients at the UT Health Physicians medical practice. The other is oncology care patients at UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center. During routine patient visits, doctors will assess and track if a patient smokes. They will then counsel and prompt patients to use their smartphones to join Quitxt. Quitxt encourages quitting smoking via bilingual text or Facebook ...
In Columbus, Ohio (5.8% Latino), the diverse Southern Orchards neighborhood suffers racism, a lack of affordable housing, economic segregation, violent crime, poverty, and expensive medical use. That’s why the whole neighborhood has become a hospital’s “patient.” Nationwide Children’s Hospital saw “unsafe conditions” as their patient’s top symptom. They diagnosed their patient with “unstable housing,” which is known to cause many economic, social, and health hardships, especially for Latinos and other people of color. The hospital prescribed a “housing intervention” and spent the past 10 years revitalizing Columbus’ South Side and Southern Orchards neighborhood through its Healthy Neighborhoods Healthy Families (HNHF) partnership with faith, community, ...
Buses don’t run to a Latino mobile home community outside Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Instead, people there are forced to rely on cars─dangerous, expensive, polluting cars─ when they need to get to jobs, food, and healthcare. This isolates them from opportunities for health, jobs, and affordable housing, just like many other suburban and rural parts of our nation. Fortunately, planned public transit improvements will enable more buses across the Twin Cities, including the mobile home community. But how? Will it work for Latinos and all vulnerable neighborhoods?
Twin Cities Growing in Population, Traffic
The area to the east of the Twin Cities─the Interstate 94 (I-94) corridor─is expected to see a 24% increase in population and a 30% increase in jobs by 2040, according ...
Sonja Trauss hated her commute. Driving her car a long way from home to her job as a math teacher was unproductive, wasted time. It was expensive. It was stressful, harming her physical and mental health. And it was dangerous. Yet this was Trauss’ reality with no affordable housing near her job. But Trauss grew tired of paying so much time, money, and stress to drive a car because of a shortage of affordable housing in Marin County (16.1% Latino) in California’s San Francisco Bay Area. She decided to make a stand. Trauss formed a group to push for more affordable housing and challenged developers, decision-makers, and opposition to affordable housing in this region. Did it work?
Transportation Costs Matter for Affordable Housing
Behind housework, the daily car ...
Latinos are less likely than other population groups to seek doctoral degrees and study cancer. Fortunately, a new study from UT Health San Antonio showcases the success of the Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program in motivating Latinos to earn doctoral degrees and pursue careers in cancer research. The study, published in the Journal of Cancer Education, examined the methods and results of the Éxito! program. Éxito!, led by Salud America! director Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of UT Health San Antonio and funded by the National Cancer Institute, recruits 25 Latino students and health professionals annually for a culturally tailored curriculum to promote pursuit of a doctoral degree and cancer research career. The program also offers internships and ongoing ...
Kentucky is now the nation's first state to require pregnant women to get tested for the hepatitis C virus, which can easily spread from mother to child and can cause liver problems, WDRB.com reports. The new law is a respond to the rampant rise of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Kentucky and across the country, especially among Latinos. Health experts support the new law, effective July 2018. It costs money to do the testing—about $240 to $310 per test—but that's little compared to the $800,000 cost of a liver transplant, Dr. Claudia Espinosa, a pediatrician at University of Louisville, told the courier-journal.com. "If we can save one person from liver transplant and cirrhosis, it will save a lot of money, and prevent a lot of suffering," Espinosa said.
HCV Rates Are ...
Did you know Latino kids consume more sugary drinks than the average kid? Finally, there's some good news for Latino and all kids and families in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court voted to uphold the city's sweetened beverage tax in July 2018. The tax is the first of its kind in a big city. It aims to reduce sugary drink consumption and raise funds for health and education. “Today’s Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of Philadelphia’s sweetened beverage tax is a major victory for the city’s children and families," wrote Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, in a statement.
The Philly Sweetened Beverage Tax
Sugary drinks—soda, sports and energy drinks, sugary fruit juices, and flavored milk—contribute to the ...
