#health

COVID-19, remote learning left Miami high school seniors stressed, strained and struggling to catch

ycastmediagroup

Feb 16, 2022
7 min

COVID-19, remote learning left Miami high school seniors stressed, strained and struggling to catch

By Justin Fernandez, Ajmaanie Andre, Kymani Hughes, Krystal Li and Angely Peña-Agramonte Urban Health Media Project Hannah Corcoran had her plan in place: after graduating from high school, the Miami teen wanted to attend her dream school, the San Francisco Art Institute, and major in art. But then came the COVID-19 pandemic. Hannah was forced into virtual classes, which left her stressed, anxious, and with little time — or creative energy — to draw. In fact, she was so drain

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Systemic racism spurs COVID-19 to hit Florida communities of color harder

ycastmediagroup

Feb 16, 2022
5 min

Systemic racism spurs COVID-19 to hit Florida communities of color harder

Lack of access to services, fresh foods, vaccination sites increased vulnerability, experts say By Julianne Hill, Justin Fernandez, Gabriella Fuster, and Melissa Noda Urban Health Media Project Florida’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic unmasked disparities in healthcare based on socioeconomic factors, disproportionately hurting communities of color in the state while exposing weaknesses in leadership, according to a Florida health expert. “We know from our country’s history

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Early screening for learning disabilities ‘would make a huge difference’

ycastmediagroup

Jan 28, 2022
5 min

Early screening for learning disabilities ‘would make a huge difference’

By Aileen Delgado, Courtney Curtis and Rick Hampson Urban Health Media Project WASHINGTON -- Frank Pinckney wonders what his life could have been like if his parents and teachers had believed what he now believes: that as a child he had a learning disability, attention deficit disorder (ADHD) and suffered from trauma after a sexual assault. As it turned out, none of these problems were diagnosed, which may help explain why Pinckney’s life spiraled into mental illness, crime a

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ycastmediagroup

Jan 27, 2022
4 min

Virtual learning harbors its own gifts

By Tamar Coon Urban Health Media Project Before March of 2020, everything was normal: I was in 8th grade at Columbia Heights Educational Campus. We were reading a book that I loved. Then, my homeroom teacher started talking about a plague, and I heard about a virus and lockdowns happening in China. All of a sudden we were out of school and learning from home. Tamar Coon At first I was stressed because I was totally confused about how to navigate the new technology and platfor

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‘I thought I was the only one’: Peer support groups help teens fight loneliness, isolati

ycastmediagroup

Jan 26, 2022
5 min

‘I thought I was the only one’: Peer support groups help teens fight loneliness, isolati

By Olivia Fendrich and Radiah Jamil On a fall day outside Francis Scott Key High School in Carroll County, Md., a circle of chairs was arranged in the grass, where about 50 members of Sources of Strength took turns trading truths and seats. From the center of the circle, junior Sarah Myers introduced herself to the other students and told them: she’d hugged a cow. She bolted to an open chair as other students who had also embraced the farm animal rushed to find a new seat. Fo

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Correctional facilities: The Band-Aid to mental health

ycastmediagroup

Jan 11, 2022
4 min

Correctional facilities: The Band-Aid to mental health

Correctional Facilities: The Band-Aid to Mental Health By Yesenia Barrios Shawanna Vaughn had no choice. She was born in a prison hospital to an incarcerated mother. Shawanna Vaughn She endured a tough childhood, only to land back in prison at 17, and continue the harmful cycle. “Nobody got to prison without adverse childhood experiences which turned into adult traumas,” said Vaughn, founder of Silent Cry Inc., a non-profit based in Harlem, New York that advocates for a compr

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Social media: A complex challenge for youth and parents to protect mental health

ycastmediagroup

Jan 10, 2022
3 min

Social media: A complex challenge for youth and parents to protect mental health

By Yesenia Barrios Using social media– specifically apps like Instagram and Snapchat--requires tricky negotiation for young people to engage socially while avoiding its potentially intense toxic impact. Dr. Melissa Sporn “Their brains are not fully formed, not fully myelinated—they’re more at risk for the addictive aspect of these devices and these apps, and (teens) have less protective factors,” said panelist Melissa Sporn, a McLean, Virginia-based licensed psychologist and

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ycastmediagroup

Dec 23, 2021
3 min

‘Enough is enough — I am going to die’

Therapy Thursday panelists talk about the multiple obstacles victims face to leave an abusive relationship By Yesenia Barrios Roblyn Lewter From the outside, it looked like Roblyn Lewter had a good marriage with a wonderful man. But for years, what no one knew was that she endured violence by his hands, fearing for her life. Finally, she said, “enough is enough — because I am going to die,” and took out a restraining order. “The day the restraining order was delivered, he dec

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Is back to school better or worse than pandemic eating, couch surfing at home?

ycastmediagroup

Dec 17, 2021
5 min

Is back to school better or worse than pandemic eating, couch surfing at home?

Virtual schooling led to increased obesity in students, but cafeteria food offerings often not healthy By Julianne Hill and Gabriella Fuster As young people returned to the classroom this fall, they faced the dual challenges of undoing unhealthy eating and exercise habits developed during virtual learning and searching for healthy food choices in the cafeteria---issues especially pronounced for kids of color. Obesity in children climbed during the pandemic-- increasing by 1.7

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Health disparities hit survival rates for cancer, COVID

ycastmediagroup

Dec 16, 2021
7 min

Health disparities hit survival rates for cancer, COVID

By Jayne O’Donnell, Julianne Hill, and Enijah Brennon Leana Wen knew her mother, who got winded walking to her car, wasn’t simply anxious or depressed. But that’s what the medical doctors treating Sandy Ying Zhang thought and that’s what mattered. It was the early 2000’s and Wen was in medical school, but her mother scoffed, “How would you know? You’re not a real doctor yet.” In her new book, “Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health,” Dr. Wen, now an emer

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Meet Justin Fernandez: UHMP student journalist and mental health advocate

ycastmediagroup

Dec 16, 2021
1 min

Meet Justin Fernandez: UHMP student journalist and mental health advocate

By Aileen Delgado Justin Fernandez says he got two big things out of the UHMP boot camp on community health storytelling for high school journalists: “a good opportunity to better immerse myself in the community’’ and “experience writing and reporting on things that really mattered.” The senior at Coral Reef High School in Miami was able to interview experts such as Dr. Leana Wen, former Baltimore health commissioner, a health professor at George Washington University, and CN

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Meet Krystal Li: UHMP student journalist and workshop participant

ycastmediagroup

Dec 16, 2021
1 min

Meet Krystal Li: UHMP student journalist and workshop participant

By Aileen Delgado Krystal Li, a senior at Coral Reef High School in Miami, was one of more than 20 students who participated in UHMP’s “Homesick” spring workshop. She says she jumped at the opportunity. It was “a good opportunity for me,’’ she says, “because I was relatively new to journalism at the time, and I wanted to learn more about how to write a feature story and also how to publish a meaningful article to spread awareness.” She joined a team with five classmates that

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Queer youth found creative approaches to self-care during pandemic

ycastmediagroup

Jun 22, 2021
5 min

Queer youth found creative approaches to self-care during pandemic

By Adrian Gibbons Isolation, whether because of the pandemic, physical or mental health issues, or a combination of those, has affected everyone this year. For LGBTQ youth, already marginalized by society and often lacking support in their own families, it has been especially difficult. A Trevor Project survey conducted at the end of 2020 found “more than half of transgender and non-binary youth seriously considered suicide.” In July of 2020, a group of Irish doctors and a re

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UHMP Current And Former Interns, Founder Present At Housing Conference

ycastmediagroup

Mar 4, 2021
1 min

UHMP Current And Former Interns, Founder Present At Housing Conference

Two Urban Health Media Project college interns joined UHMP co-founder Jayne O'Donnell on a virtual panel on February 12 at a national conference on housing. At the “Fair Housing For Our Future” event, they spoke about the impact of homelessness on mental and physical health. Clockwise from top left: Jayne O'Donnell, Sierra Lewter, Davon Harris, and Wendy Nichols speaking on a panel at a housing conference earlier this year. Intern and Virginia Union University sophomore Davon

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Housing, Health Journalism Workshop for Spring 2021 Info

ycastmediagroup

Feb 2, 2021
1 min

Housing, Health Journalism Workshop for Spring 2021 Info

The Urban Health Media Project closed the applications for our Spring 2021 workshop, “Home Sick: How Where We Live Impacts Health.” The six-week workshop, which begins March 2, will allow 20 high-school student journalists a chance to learn about the many ways where we live impacts our health, both mental and physical. Working in groups advised by a journalist-mentor, students will report, write stories, create infographics and – if they want to – take photos and videos on a

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