By Jayne O'Donnell Hi, I’m Jayne from Youthcast Media Group™ (YMG). Boy, it’s going to be awhile before that rolls off my tongue. But it’s true — starting this week — so let me explain. In late 2016, former Washington public health commissioner Dr. Reed Tuckson and I formed a health journalism training program for...
Tag: published externally
Illegal dumping in the Bronx isn’t just ugly – it’s a health hazard
By Yesenia Barrios This story was published in the Bronx Times on April 4, 2022. On a cold Sunday afternoon, Mike Cintron is sweeping the sidewalk in front of his home on Rosedale Avenue in the Bronx. The wind has scattered garbage from piles of waste paper, household trash, broken furniture and used electronics that...
Together, Philly mom and son cope with mental health issues
By Aileen Delgado and Julianne Hill This article was published in the Philadelphia Tribune on March 29, 2022. At two-and-a-half years old, Elijah Tillman was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder after getting expelled from day care. At 5, he experienced a traumatic episode, causing post-traumatic stress disorder. At 12, major depressive disorder was added to...
When the local barber’s chair becomes a therapist’s couch
By Shawna James This article ran in print and online in the Philadelphia Tribune on March 15, 2022. PHILADELPHIA — When you walk into “Clean Is Mandatory” in North Philadelphia, everything looks like a normal barbershop. A fish tank hums, the 76ers are on the mounted flat-screen TV, and clients sit on couches waiting for...
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...
‘Enough is enough — I am going to die’
Therapy Thursday panelists talk about the multiple obstacles victims face to leave an abusive relationship By Yesenia Barrios From the outside, it looked like Roblyn Lewter had a good marriage with a wonderful man. But for years, what no one knew was that she endured violence by his hands, fearing for her life. Finally, she...
Health disparities hit survival rates for cancer, COVID
By Jayne O’Donnell, Julianne Hill, and Enijah Brennon Leana Wen knew her mother, who got winded walking to her car, wasn’t simply anxious or depressed. But that’s what the medical doctors treating Sandy Ying Zhang thought and that’s what mattered. It was the early 2000’s and Wen was in medical school, but her mother scoffed,...
Homeless, anxious, depressed and young
But there’s hope and help when home conflicts, mental health struggles lead to homelessness for 500,000-plus youth each year By Julianne Hill, Caitlyn Hutabarat and Amira Horowitz Urban Health Media Project This story was also published in The Afro on November 23, 2021. (Photo: Berri Wilmore) After Jordan DeVega’s grandmother died when he was 16,...
‘Stop it! You’re making me sick!’: Moving documentary spotlights the pivotal battle to declassify homosexuality as illness
By Julianne Hill and Hermes Falcon Urban Health Media Project As recently as 1973, homosexuality was considered a “sexual deviancy” and gay people were classified as mentally ill by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). The LGBTQ+ community and its allies have activists such as Barbara Gittings and DC’s own Dr. Frank Kameny to thank for...
Missouri high school students recommend ways to improve school safety, student mental health
By Brie Zeltner and Malaya Mason St. Louis, MO - More licensed therapists on campus. Requiring parent or guardian participation in all school safety discussions. Implementing “calm rooms” where students can go to center themselves. Making every school inclusive and welcoming of students of all genders, sexual identities, races and abilities. These are just some...