I Survived Teen Dating Violence. Here’s How We Can Prevent It
Because no one had talked with me as a teen about what a real, healthy relationship looks like, I didn’t know what to do when my boyfriend became abusive. I eventually escaped and have spent the last...
View ArticleOpinion: An Urgent Call to Address the Housing Crisis in Black Communities
We are calling on the region’s leaders and residents to support a historic $500 million Bay Area Regional Black Housing Fund. Black communities face multiple systemic barriers that lead to massive...
View ArticleTrying to Help Survivors, a Domestic Violence Agency Turns the Focus
A program run by Monarch Services, a domestic violence intervention and prevention agency in Santa Cruz County, aims to help people responsible for domestic violence change their behavior patterns....
View ArticleOpinion: How to Ensure Medical Members Can Access Their Mental Health Benefits
Medi-Cal members might have mental health coverage in theory, but using it is a different story. People of color are less likely than white people to use mental health benefits, partially due to...
View ArticleHow to Have Trauma-Informed Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Violence
Being trauma-informed means understanding how trauma has impacted a person’s life, including their behavior and cognition. Engaging in this type of dialogue can help survivors recognize when trauma is...
View ArticleAnalysis: The Formula Shortage Is Also A Disability Rights Issue
The baby formula shortage wreaking havoc across the United States is terrifying for any parent who relies on infant formula to feed their child. It’s especially calamitous for babies and children with...
View ArticleOpinion: The Central Valley Lacks Public Parks, But We Can Do Better
Trust for Public Land annually ranks park systems across the 100 most populated cities in the United States. Those in California’s Central Valley often rank near the bottom: Fresno ranks 97th....
View ArticleCalifornia Has a Unique Problem With Hospice Fraud. Can Legislation Stop it?
Hospice care provides physical, mental and spiritual care and comfort for a person with a life expectancy of six months or less. But fraudulent enrollment in hospice can be life-threatening. Because...
View ArticleOpinion: How Texting Could Help Californians Access Health Care and Food Banks
The unequal impacts of COVID-19 and the ongoing crisis of police violence in communities of color have exacerbated mistrust and disconnection between these communities and the health care system. This...
View ArticleAnalysis: My Mom Lost Disability Benefits Like Thousands of Californians —...
Like thousands of other Californians, this was not due to any of her own missteps — it was an overreaction of the state as it tries to crack down on fraud. The unintended consequence is that people...
View ArticleCalifornia Finally Pays for Summer Programs for Children with Disabilities,...
The state cut funding for social and recreational services for children with disabilities 13 years ago, which meant regional centers could no longer pay for summer camps, swimming lessons and other...
View ArticleOpinion: How the Workforce Shortage Is Affecting Patient Care
COVID-19’s overall effects on unemployment has received a lot of attention. But there hasn’t been enough focus on the devastation of the health care workforce. More than 3,600 frontline health care...
View ArticleIn South Los Angeles, A Community Poisoned by Oil
California is often held up as a model for climate policy, environmental legislation, and pollution regulation, but those standards are rarely reflected in frontline communities. Since 2000, more than...
View ArticleOpinion: The Gun Violence That Doesn’t Make the News
I’m a pediatric intern at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, a safety-net hospital in Los Angeles County. When I decided to go into pediatrics, I pictured helping children and their families with broken...
View ArticleDisability Often Intersects with Domestic Violence. Here’s How to Better Help...
One in 4 women will experience domestic violence at the hands of a romantic or sexual partner, according to the CDC. Similarly, 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. lives with a disability. Between these two...
View ArticleOpinion: We Need More Mental Health Resources to Tackle Childhood Anxiety
In 2013, my son Ram spontaneously developed a condition called selective mutism, a childhood anxiety disorder. After three months of searching, I finally found a therapist familiar with the condition....
View ArticleTrapped in Harm’s Way as Disasters Mount
Columbia Journalism Investigations in partnership with the Center for Public Integrity and Type Investigations spent a year digging into the growing need for climate relocation across the United...
View ArticleAs Wildfires Grow, So Does California’s Housing and Homelessness Crisis. Here...
As climate change increases the intensity of wildfires in California, more people are losing their homes and facing long-term displacement and instability. Researchers and those who work with disaster...
View ArticleOpinion: California Must Clear the Way for More Mental Health Professionals...
It’s no secret that the nation is suffering from a mental health crisis. At the same time, we have a vast shortage of therapists. As an administrator at a mental health practice in the Central Valley,...
View ArticleOpinion: Most Vulnerable Foster Youth Left Behind in State Budget
At the California Alliance, we hear story after story of foster youth housed in county welfare offices and hotels because there are not enough placements for them in the child welfare system. It...
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