We are in a drought. The human and environmental impacts are being downplayed using tactics similar to the tobacco industry. We are concerned for our health, our reservoir, and our community. We will not be the next Hinkley, Dimock, or Flint. We want clean water. We want clean air.

On any given day a school social worker can help a child who is engaged in NSSI (non-suicidal self-injury) receive wrap around services, assist a child experiencing homelessness with transportation to school, clothes and free meals, give a child with anxiety tools for managing a panic attack, and help a child find their voice to combat bullying. In one school week, and even in one day, all of these situations can arise, alongside countless other complicated situations that need immediate attention. Unfortunately many school districts don't provide schools with a social worker, or they may require a social worker to work at multiple schools. Understaffing means social workers have extremely high case loads and are not able to effectively support student's needs. The TEA reported there were approximately 5,308 Texas students for every one school social worker employed in our state during the 2019-2020 school year. We need a social worker at every school and funds specifically allocated to school districts to provide mental health services. Therefore, we need an amendment to the Texas Education Code to include social work services and the Texas Education Commission to directly distribute funds to school districts for mental health services.

Join & sign our movement for change if you wish to support free menstrual products.

So, what’s the problem?  Though 43.2% of Pueblo’s residents are Hispanic or Latino and 17.8% are living in poverty, there are little to no affordable and accessible treatment services in Spanish without Servicios  48% of avoidable costs in RAE come from substance misuse  RAE 4 got a D grade in its outpatient treatment planning score per a recent audit  Community waits months to be seen. Servicios see everyone in 14 days or less.  Latinos are the second highest utilizers of illegal substances in Colorado. In some neighborhoods, drugs are easier to find than healthy meals.  Latino Coloradoans were the second highest utilizers of mental health services in the State representing 25.8% of all those seeking treatment Root causes to these health inequities include lack of access to bilingual therapists; strong corporate marketing to target poor and BIPOC communities; fear of institutions; lack of resources for immigrant/migrant and refugee communities; lack of transportation; language barriers; retention challenges due to experiencing homelessness; barriers to treatment specific to COVID-19; and stigma. What happens now: Servicios is funded to continue services in Pueblo until 4/30/2023. Health Colorado Inc went from funding us with almost $.5M in Cycle 1 to $0 in Cycle 2. Seeing the massive need for the very services that we expertly provide, we want to know how HCI intends to fill this critical gap in services, and in a culturally and linguistically responsive manner? What can you do: Speak up. La raza! Méjicano! Españo! Latino! Chicano! Or whatever we call ourselves, WE MATTER! When it comes to caring for community, money talks. When resources are taken away, it sends a clear message that our needs and our people just don’t matter and are not valued. Call Christina Brown, the Director of Community Engagement and Transformation at Health Colorado Inc and share your thoughts: (719) 621-8785. Our loved ones are dying and we cannot “wait on time” and expect things to get better by themselves.

Physicians perpetrating violence against women, co-workers, and intimate partners need to be held accountable by the institutions created to do so. We cannot continue to condone domestic violence within our own licensing practices. The Texas Medical Board must act! For additional updates, engagement and access to the recent media coverage, please go to the "Do No Harm" website at: https://www.theuncooperative.org or follow RESPOND Against Violence on Instagram. Consider showing additional support on January 18th, as we support Domestic Violence Awareness by wearing Purple! If you or someone you know may be experiencing domestic violence, please know the resources. The Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224. and the website includes valuable resources: https://www.thehotline.org

Our community is suffering from an unprecedented humanitarian crisis that we haven’t seen since the Indian removal act. The opioid and mental health problems our indigenous relatives are experiencing is killing our children and young adults in our native communities every single day. We must create a safe and culturally healthy space to heal. Western “treatment” is not working for the historical trauma that is the cause for most of the addiction and mental health issues we are facing today. To heal properly, my people must return to our traditional ways of healing and living the best we can in this artificial environment that has been created by the colonists and settlers. This little 6 acre park is perfectly located in the Minneapolis Indian community. The park is only blocks away from the Native American Community Clinic, Indian Health board and the Takota Institute for higher education. This historic move would all but eliminate the homeless encampments in south Minneapolis. Our relatives would be able to be housed with dignity and heal within the community instead of always being “sent away” to get treated and fixed. So please join our historic endeavor to get stolen Indian Landback and create our Red Road Village…

Tangible challenges such as inadequate materials, lack of access to sanitation products and inadequate facilities, coupled with psychological challenges such as the lack of menarche education, fear and cultural stigmatization put secondary school girls and menstruating youth in Nigeria at a disproportionate risk for adverse educational impacts and other negative outcomes.

Republicans, who have won the presidential popular vote only once in the last 34 years, have engaged in a concerted effort to pack the Supreme Court with right-wing extremist judges, who have stripped us of our rights over and over again. And though the Respect for Marriage Act passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, 157 House Republicans voted against it. That’s right: 157 Republicans voted against protecting interracial marriage and same-sex marriage. And ONLY 5 Republicans in the U.S. Senate have publicly said they would vote to pass the bill. It’s unacceptable, but part of the Republican agenda has been to relentlessly attack the LGBTQ+ community. Republicans have not minced words: Florida Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (who is up for re-election in November) said that voting to protect interracial and LGBTQ+ marriage equality was a “stupid waste of time.” And when Indiana Republican U.S. Senator Mike Braun was asked if he would be okay with the Supreme Court leaving the question of interracial marriage to the states, he said “Yes.” It’s disgusting. After Roe v. Wade was overturned, LGBTQ+ couples and families have been anxiously rushing to the courts to get married, completing second parent adoptions with their partners, worrying about whether or not their partners and families will be covered by their health insurance in the future, and so much more to protect their families from these attacks. It’s heartbreaking. No one should have to worry that their rights (that so many have fought and died for) will be stripped away at the hands of corrupt, illegitimate, and unelected Supreme Court justices that do not represent the people. The U.S. Senate needs to act before it’s too late. It’s time to pass the Respect for Marriage Act to protect interracial and LGBTQ+ marriage NOW.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade requires bold action. It is important for the Surgeon General to issue a letter to every American household giving them complete and accurate information about medication abortion, to increase knowledge and availability of this safe and effective process.

The language the media uses requires accuracy.

These organizations aggressively lie to teens in their most vulnerable moments – telling them abortion is dangerous, that ultrasounds or other procedures are required when they aren’t, and that local clinics don’t have appointments available when they do. This creates a significant public health risk. Some experts estimate abortion bans will increase maternal mortality in women and girls of color by 33%, the same population most likely to see abortion services from a deceitful center. By profiting from these centers’ advertisements, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat are spreading misinformation about critical health issues to vulnerable kids.

Ketamine works for Major Depressive Disorder, PTSD, Bi-Polar Disorder, and other mental health disorders. It stops suicide cold, in just a few hours. Clinicians have been administering these infusions for many years. It is safe and effective. The initial course of therapy is six infusions over three weeks, and costs up to $500 per infusion. People on Medicare and Medicaid typically have low incomes and many cannot afford the cost because CMS has not approved it for coverage. It is immoral to have Americans resorting to suicide when there is medication therapy that can help! The medication should not be out of reach because of cost. Many other FDA-approved drugs are routinely used off-label and approved by CMS. Ketamine is FDA-approved. Ketamine is safe. Ketamine SAVES LIVES!