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An effective strategy that has been proven to help kids, who are struggling, is mentorship.  For youth who are at risk for substance abuse, school failure, etc, having a mentor has been proven to improve their school performance and protect them from engaging in risky behavior.  Big Brothers Big Sisters is a great mentorship programs, however, I wish schools and communities would prioritize facilitating mentorship for young people.

posted 2 years, 8 months ago
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I coordinate a community coalition that works to reduce youth substance abuse by improving the community that youth live in, we call it environmental change, because we are focused on changing the environment kids are in rather than changing the individual kid’s behavior.  We focus on policy change, access to services, and social attitudes and norms, things that impact every kid in a community.  A lot of great public health work has been done this way, and I imagine elements could work really well for improving education, especially seeking to improve policies in schools and neighborhoods to positively impact youth and the education process.   The downside to this “environmental approach” is that many kids do need direct services and interventions, often because direct services are the most expensive services to provide, they are the first to get cut.

posted 2 years, 8 months ago
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Often public workers are given enormous tasks with little resources, than belittled for inefficiency.  My mom works for Oregon DHS as a case manager for families in need.  Oregon has gotten every penny’s worth with my mom, she skips lunch, works well past the end of her work day, and often goes in on weekends to try to meet the needs of her clients and serve Oregon well.  Despite her ever-growing case-load, pay-freezes, and bad bosses, she enjoys her work because she enjoys connecting families with resources and opportunities.  It seems to me that rather than picking on state workers who are already doing a whole lot for very little, the Governor should ask the state workers (the actual workers, not the supervisors) to identify where there is waste and how procedures can be improved.  My mom would be able to point out policies and procedures that waste money.   One of the problems is that the leadership (not union represented) tend to be “yes men and women” who are not encouraged to think creatively about solving the state’s problems.  State workers are an easy target, rather than examining and fixing the state’s systems, evaluating  leadership and considering tax revenues .

posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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TV's should come with a warning on the package similar to cigarettes or alcohol "watching more than 1 hour a day will put children at increased risk for violence, substance abuse, obesity, etc."  Its true!  I am 26 years old and have never owned a TV.  Growing up without a TV meant more time reading, talking with family, and being creative.  As an adult, I spend way too much time on the internet and have a severe NPR addiction....I am not media free.  But, when I do watch TV (at a hotel or friends) I can't believe how shallow so much of it is.  I really worry about how women and girls are portrayed on reality shows.  So often they are shown in competition with each other and obsessively focused on material gain.  Fortunately, these reality shows don't begin to reflect the beauty and complexity of reality.

posted 3 years, 1 month ago
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I just listened to Friday’s Podcast on Harm Reduction and was disappointed to hear one of your guests share false information without being challenged or corrected.  When Emily asked David Duncan about parents who let their kids drink at home to reduce harm, Duncan stated that in countries where parents do allow their kids to drink at home there are fewer problems with alcohol.  Although this is a common myth in the U.S., it is simply not true.  The U.S. has lower rates of alcoholism, youth binge drinking and health problems caused by alcohol than most European and Central and South American countries where drinking at younger ages with family is more common than in the U.S. The lowest rates of alcohol problems are in countries where national religions make drinking strictly prohibited or culturally unpopular.  See this map from WHO: http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/facts/alcohol/en/index.html .  A more extensive report from the U.S. Department of Justice addresses this misconception: http://www.dontletminorsdrink.com/downloads/Compareyouthdrinkrate_europe%20&%20us%202005%20ojjdp.pdf

I am not suggesting that strict prohibition is the answer (I don’t think it is).  Harm reduction has its place in public health.  But please get the facts right!!!!!! 

posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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Raising premiums are only one way that insurance is getting more expensive.  I receive treatment for what was once a severe eating disorder.  Though my health has improved some, I need ongoing medical and mental health treatment to stay in good health.  When Mental Health parity passed, I was so relieved that I would no longer be fighting with my insurance company to receive more than 14 therapy sessions per year.  Now that parity is the law, my insurance company (Blue Cross) has decreased the amount they pay per session so that it is only about 50%.  Further, they impose new rules telling me after the fact that I needed to have treatments pre-approved.  They deny coverage because I didn’t call them to pre-approve my care.  The implication with mental health treatment is that it is a luxury.  I would be dead if it weren’t for the treatment I receive and the stress and anxiety of dealing with insurance companies to try to get life-saving treatment covered is criminal.

posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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I think we worry to much about creating an equal playing field for youth athletics.  of course some schools will have inherent advantages.  There is much to learn from trying your best and loosing, it happens in life all the time. 

What bothered me in high school was that Football and Baseball were the only sports that garnered attention: pep-rallies, community support, money, and these athletes often received special treament (not being suspended even though caught drinking).  Despite the fact that my High School Football team hadn't won much in years, they constantly received praise and funds.  Our Cheerleading team won state 11 years in a row and didn't even have a bus.

Football, baseball and basketball almost provide more for parents, community members, and alum than for the student body.  In the age of slim budgets I recommend cutting funds for athletics and letting the community support them.  Schools would probably not have a hard time getting donations and volunteers and the next time a school levy or tax was proposed the community seeing that football was cut would probably pass the darn thing.

Sports and activities are good for kids, especially if the adults can keep their emotions in check.

posted 3 years, 5 months ago
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In college, I attempted to conduct a formal research project on views of the death penalty and how they relate to religious and political views.

I was surprised that across the political and religious spectrum significant majorities support the death penalty (these local stats are consistent with national stats).

As a strong opponent of the death penalty, I was most disturbed by the reasons given to justify their support.  Most people referenced crime deterrence and cost-effectiveness, yet these two factors are not supported by any factual evidence.  Studies indicate that the death penalty does not deter murder.  In fact, in states with the death penalty violence is often higher, and immediately following a publicized execution crime generally spikes.  As for cost-effectiveness, because of the system of appeals and the trials we require in death penalty cases, the death penalty sentence is more expensive than life in prison by millions of dollars.

I was not surprised that the survey respondents who supported the death penalty were far more likely to get basic stats about executions in the U.S. wrong.  For example, most did not realize that the U.S. is ranked among the highest in the world in executions (we are currently ranked 4^th, but in previous years has been ranked higher).

There are so many reasons to oppose the death penalty: spiritual (hello, what would Jesus or Buddah do?), political (minority and poor people are disproportionately executed and why would we give the state the power to kill?), logistics (all the reasons given to justify are not valid, it comes down to retribution).  Our country has the blood of innocent people on our hands because of our desire to perpetuate retribution.

posted 3 years, 6 months ago
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Uggh….another program about obesity and no mention about the controversy of calling it an “obesity epidemic”.  A whole show on a study that is still underway?  As if women are not bombarded enough with images and advice about how they should look, now the powerful time of pregnancy is reduced to dieting.  Let’s make mothers feel guilty about their bodies as they are creating life.  Sounds good…..All of the numbers about the obese in our country are based on the BMI scale which is an enormously flawed measurement tool.  The multi-billion dollar weightless and beauty industry have largely defined this epidemic and while there correlations between weight and certain diseases causality is yet to be proven.  The caller, Jennifer touched on how the women she see’s who are overweight are dealing with multiple problems associated with poverty.  The obesity issue is a poverty issue, an “overweight” person who exercises frequently and has good health care has better health outcomes than a thin person who doesn’t. 

 

Think Out Loud has done several shows about obesity without mention (at least that I have heard) of the sad reality that 1 in 8 adolescent girls report starving themselves. 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat. 51% of 9 and 10 year old girls feel better about themselves if they are on a diet. 40% of mothers tell their adolescent daughters to diet.  Dieting does not work and usually causes more health problems then being overweight in the first place. 

 

Please bring some balance on this topic!!!!!

posted 3 years, 7 months ago
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When I was a freshman in high school, the vice principal called me into his office and told me that I need to dress more modestly because I was just too cute and it was distracting to the boys.  I was not dressed inappropriately for school, but I was still told to alter myself to make it easier for the boys.  Prior to High School I was fairly confident, enjoyed life, and enjoyed being successful. During high school, I became increasingly self-deprecating and apologetic for my presence.  It seemed that because I was attractive, being confident and outgoing drew unwanted sexual attention from boys and harsh judgment from many girls.  My freshman year, I also struggled with a life threatening eating disorder that was triggered by this need to reduce my own power.  Our society diminishes women’s power by focusing on our appearance.  It distracts women from growing and taking risks when they are constantly self-conscious about attaining an impossible and unhealthy ideal.  Women who don’t fit the ideal are made to feel inadequate, women who are considered attractive are assigned a highly sexualized unhealthy kind of “power”, and so many women feel uncomfortable in their bodies.  I often wonder what kind of revolution could happen if women were not worrying about their image.

posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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You have covered some great mental health topics in your “As we are” series.  I would love to see a show about eating disorders.  As someone who has struggled with Anorexia and Bulimia for over 10 years, it is a disease that is often misunderstood.  It is seen as a disease about vanity and it is often poked fun of in the media.  In reality, eating disorders effect people of diverse ethnicities, socio-economic status, ages, and both women and men.  They can be triggered by social pressures, but are complex mix of biological, psychological, family and social issues. The average recovery period for anorexia is 3-7 years and 10%-15% of people with anorexia die.  Treatment is very expensive and often not covered by insurance.  If you do a show about eating disorders, I highly encourage you to include diverse perspectives, including men with eating disorders and Compulsive Overeaters.  There are limited treatment options in Portland and there is an emphasis on the Maudsley Approach, a rather controversial approach that does not work for a lot of people and is not even recommended for adults seeking treatment.  There is very little conclusive research about what works.

 

Thanks for considering, I think TOL would do a great job on this topic!

posted 3 years, 9 months ago
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