U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a partnership to create addiction recovery transitional housing in rural communities. This is welcome news, as Latino and rural resident opioid overdoses rise across the nation. Particularly, Latino mortality rates for opioid overdoses rose 52.5% from 2014 to 2016. This is compared to a 45.8% rise among whites. “We know that the opioid crisis has hit rural communities hard, and we need to leverage all possible partnerships to support these communities,” Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, said in a press release. “Housing plays a vital part in the recovery process for those living with opioid use disorders.”
USDA ...
A new report will help transportation planners and policymakers make public transit more equitable and inclusive in their cities, while minimizing public health and climate change impacts. Safe, affordable and reliable public transportation benefits entire populations and can improve a person’s health and social mobility. But too much money pays for projects that widen historical gaps in access to transit options for Latinos, other communities of color, and low-income people. To highlight and reverse this trend, the TransitCenter foundation released a report, Inclusive Transit: Advancing Equity Through Improved Access & Opportunity. The report shows how to empower transit agencies to advance equity. “This can lead to prioritizing transportation investments that ...
Latinos and African Americans in California breathe 40% more fine particulate matter from cars, trucks and buses than their White peers, according to a new study. This type of air particle pollution is so tiny—20 times smaller than the width of a human hair—it can penetrate deeply into the lungs and bloodstream. It is linked to heart and lung ailments, asthma attacks, and even death. This is bad news for Latinos, who are already disproportionately affected by air pollution in California. About 44% of Latinos live with poor air quality, compared to 25% of non-Latinos, according to a 2018 report. "California has made enormous strides over the past several decades to reduce overall pollution from vehicles, but this data shows people of color still breathe higher amounts of ...
Children of color who are disproportionately targeted by harsh school discipline policies are also more likely to face adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) out of school, according to a new report. ACEs—such as poverty, neglect, and parental divorce—can impair healthy development and education. But little is known about how exclusionary school discipline practices—suspensions, expulsions, referrals to law enforcement, and corporal punishment—affect children with ACEs. So, ChangeLab Solutions created an issue brief, School Discipline Practices: A Public Health Crisis and an Opportunity for Reform, that shows how widespread use of exclusionary school discipline aggravates pre-existing ACEs and robs students of opportunities for learning and growth. “These practices ...
Don't think Latinos add much to the U.S. economy? Think again. If U.S. Latinos were their own nation, they would have the world's seventh-largest gross domestic product (GDP), at $2.13 trillion, according to a report by the Latino Donor Collaborative. That is a higher GDP than India, Brazil, and Italy. This means American Latinos are driving growth of the U.S. workforce and economy. This is contrary to political and popular rhetoric about Latinos, which hurts Latinos. The Latino GDP is growing 70% faster than the U.S. GDP. "If these rates are sustained, Latinos will contribute nearly one quarter of all U.S. GDP growth between 2019 and 2020," according to NGL Collective on the Latino Donor Collaborative report.
How Latinos Impact the Economy
By 2020, U.S. Latino purchasing ...
If you are between ages 25 and 49, your risk of getting obesity-related cancer is rising, according to new research by the American Cancer Society. The cancer-obesity threat isn't going away any time soon, either. "The fact that increases were mostly in obesity-related cancers is due to the obesity epidemic, and we would expect that the incidence would increases as this younger population ages," lead researcher Dr. Ahmedin Jemal told U.S. & World News. These findings have big implications for Latinos, who often struggle with weight and cancer already.
Study Findings
In the United States, the rate of obesity more than doubled between 1984 and 2014. To study the link between obesity and cancer among young adults, the American Cancer Society scientists examined data from 25 ...
By Maria Teresa Guzman
San Antonio Cancer Survivor Sometimes it seems like it was yesterday that I first heard the word "Breast Cancer." But the reality is it has already been 3 years since I was all alone spending a Valentine’s Day in the midst of needles and nurses. You see, at 38 years old I started with a sudden stabbing pain in my breast that would not go away. I had it for a month, not really wanting to pay attention to the signals my body was giving me until I felt a lump. It would have been easy to let fear win, but I took the hardest road and picked up the phone to call my doctor. Within two days I had an exam, and a biopsy it was at that moment that the doctor said, “It is Valentine’s Day and I’m sorry you have to spend your day here in pain but I ...
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and rates have drastically increased across the country in the last 20 years. Rates are even worse for Latino and all rural residents. From 2001-2015, rural areas have consistently had higher rates of suicide than metropolitan areas. “While we’ve seen many causes of death come down in recent years, suicide rates have increased more than 20 percent from 2001 to 2015. And this is especially concerning in rural areas,” said CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D. “We need proven prevention efforts to help stop these deaths and the terrible pain and loss they cause.” Students at West Virginia University and the University of South Dakota recognized the problem and wanted to be proactive.
Students Making ...
The appalling bias against Latinos and Blacks hasn’t changed much in the last 25 years, according to a recent study by researchers at Northwestern University, Harvard University, and the Institute of Social Research in Norway. This study is evidence for one of the many reasons Latinos and Blacks suffer a wealth divide. Additionally, hiring bias also contributes to the enormous Latina pay gap, in which Latinas who have bachelor’s degrees earn 35% less compared to white men with the same degree. "The truth, based on lots of data over years, is that if you're Black or Latino in the U.S., you get far from an equal shake. Your efforts have to be longer, stronger, and chances are you still will be treated worse. The deck gets stacked against you even as you try mightily and then ...
