By Jayne O'Donnell Thursday night, March 9, 2017, two groups of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore teenagers gathered at Howard University to celebrate the launch of the Urban Health Media Project, now Youthcast Media Group (YMG), a new community-focused journalism program targeting high school students of color from under-resourced parts of the cities. The youngest were...
Category: News
Foster children at high risk for a multitude of mental health problems
By Yesenia Barrios Lisa Cohen had to start over 13 times. As a foster kid she needed to find new friends at each new school at each home where she was placed. One time, after being forced to leave a foster home she loved, she woke up in her new home with cuts in her...
COVID-19, remote learning left Miami high school seniors stressed, strained and struggling to catch up
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...
Systemic racism spurs COVID-19 to hit Florida communities of color harder
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 that responding...
COVID-19 pandemic leaves ‘transportation deserts’ even more barren
This Urban Health Media Project story was reported by Richard Wright Public Charter School students Grace Reed and Kamaia Bexley, UHMP intern Pam Rentz of Florida A & M University and Georgetown University’s Master’s in Global Health program students Mary Kate Fogarty, Andrew Lizon and Maria Cordero. Principal writing by Richard Willing, UHMP. The members...
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...
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...
‘I thought I was the only one’: Peer support groups help teens fight loneliness, isolation of COVID-19 pandemic
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...
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. 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...
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. “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,”...