This story was originally published on Black News & Views online version on Sept. 2, 2022 Gary Jaggers had spent nearly 40 years in prison when he discovered a way to escape his confinement, at least in his mind: reading and writing. And now that he’s been released, reading books and writing poetry and short...
Category: mental health
AccesSOS brings emergency services to Deaf community
Gabriella Wong received a text from her father saying he had gotten into a car accident, and she immediately called 911 for him. Both of her parents are deaf, and she is their hearing emergency point of contact that represents a life-or-death difference for them. While Wong spoke to a dispatcher on the phone, she...
As 988 launch date approaches, progress on crisis hotline builds
By Hermes Falcon, Youthcast Media Group™ A new hotline launches July 16 to handle mental health and substance use crises in place of 911. Similarly to 911, the hotline is only three numbers long: 988. Speakers at Virtual NAMICon 2022 conference “Together for Mental Health” in June discussed the importance of this new hotline and...
Lifelong friends Larry Owens and Donald Shakir use art to handle life after prison
This story ran in Black News & Voices with the National Association of Black Journalists online July 28, 2022 By Aileen Delgado On May 24, 2012, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that portions of specific jury instructions were unconstitutional and that individuals convicted in criminal cases before 1980 were entitled to new trials —...
Miles Hall’s mom says he’d ‘likely be alive today’ if she could’ve called 988 instead of 911
Published in the San Bernardino American, June 28, 2022 By Radiah Jamil and Julianne Hill, Youthcast Media Group™ Four officers from the Walnut Creek Police Department in California arrived at Taun Hall’s home just minutes after she called 911, seeking help for her son Miles who was experiencing a mental health crisis. For years, Hall...
YMG teaches skills that are ‘applicable in anything,’ says former student
by Aileen Delgado Asha Davis, 19, a sophomore at the University of Maryland College Park studying public health, was one of Youthcast Media Group’s first students in 2017. As a freshman at Mercy High School in Baltimore transitioning into sophomore year, Davis worked with other Baltimore students at Morgan State University and in partnership with...
Climate gentrification: Rising seas lift home prices in drier, cheaper neighborhoods like Miami’s Little Haiti
Louis Rosemond lived in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami, Florida, for 30 years, but was evicted in 2016 when his landlord sold the apartment building to developers who are preparing to build high-rise, high-priced condominiums on the property. Rosemond, pictured in his new apartment in Opa Locka, Florida, on April 19, 2022, says developers...
‘Alienated’ and other poems by Samantha Mills
Alienated I find it difficult to communicate with you, It's like you are of another species. I am an alien. Or maybe You are. We speak two different languages. I hold an alienated out of this world Tongue –I come from– Far out A million light years away My home planet sits On the corner...
“I am not broken, I just need help”
Young caregiver and experts talk about the challenges of being a youth caregiver By Yesenia Barrios Abigail Gafter was 12 years old when she started taking care of her great uncle. He was obese, had substance use disorder, and depression. “It’s almost like being a parent with a newborn going ‘okay, where do I have...
How a counselor shortage is hurting students struggling with anxiety, depression
School counselor retention was already a problem before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to mental health experts. They said it's only gotten worse in recent years. By Nicole Cortes, Zioni Moore and Whitney Souffrant This story was published to USA TODAY on April 21, 2022. It's a typical school day at Miami Lakes Educational Center located in this northwestern...