Addressing Racism

When damage is ongoing: Coping with chronic trauma
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When damage is ongoing: Coping with chronic trauma

What happens when you know you will face at least some form of trauma every day of your life? How do you cope? There are many types of trauma including acute, complex, generational, and chronic trauma. Acute trauma is the kind associated with one big event, like a home invasion or a car accident. But…

Self-care and racial trauma: A tool for healing
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Self-care and racial trauma: A tool for healing

Racial trauma can be caused in so many ways. Racism can be overt or covert. It might take the form of an explosive event or a small comment. People of color also constantly experience microaggressions—tiny hostile communications. Racism is traumatic whether it’s baked into the system or perpetrated by an individual. It’s traumatic when it’s…

Why some HCAN clients resist medical homes
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Why some HCAN clients resist medical homes

TRIGGER WARNING: References to health data and science experiments done on Black people. A recent scene in the HBO series Insecure shows Molly rushing to the hospital to meet her family. Her mother has just had a stroke. The doctor approaches them and says it’s time to say their good-byes. The family is shocked. The…

Rents keep climbing, affecting health negatively
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Rents keep climbing, affecting health negatively

The practice of redlining, or racial segregation and discriminatory practices in the real estate industry, started to be exercised about a hundred years ago.  In many U.S. cities, certain neighborhoods were identified as “hazardous” based on the racial makeup of their inhabitants. Then, lending institutions used this information to deny home loans to people from…

Cathy Boston: Encouraging the greatness within
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Cathy Boston: Encouraging the greatness within

Cathy Boston’s background in Human Resources has allowed her to develop expertise in empowering people “to become their best selves.” She tells the story of how her business, STATEMENTS by Cathy Boston, LLC, came about.  In her previous position, she was responsible for internal training and development. “I was asked to do stress management training…

Denisha Porter: All-in with racial equity
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Denisha Porter: All-in with racial equity

“I get to lead a bunch of wonderful people around policy and systems change,” says Denisha Porter of her position as Director of the All-In Cincinnati Coalition. Driving solutions is her goal, and she always keeps an ear open to suggestions from and needs within the community. All-In Cincinnati works to dismantle racial inequities with…

Food insecurity linked to discrimination and poorer health outcomes
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Food insecurity linked to discrimination and poorer health outcomes

If an individual or family chronically cannot access sufficient nutritious food, they are considered food insecure. This could occur for a variety of reasons, including lack of funds or access. According to the Freestore Foodbank, 270,000 people in the tri-state area are food insecure. More than 80,000 of those people are children.  People in this…

Judith Warren: Health care equity then and now
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Judith Warren: Health care equity then and now

When Health Care Access Now (HCAN) was started in 2009, the health care landscape in Cincinnati was even more divided than it is now.  Prior to HCAN’s formation, Judith Warren led the 20-county Regional Primary Care Access Initiative (RPCAI), an initiative sponsored by Interact for Health (formerly Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati). RPCAI united executives…

The opioid epidemic: Black community disproportionately affected
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The opioid epidemic: Black community disproportionately affected

The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated many existing societal problems, including addiction. Over the last year, “Deaths attributed to synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl, increased 38 percent nationwide”. The Ohio death rate from opioid overdose was at its highest in 10 years during the second quarter of 2020. Three waves At the onset of the opioid crisis,…

Dr. Kamaria Tyehimba: Dismantling racial bias in addiction services
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Dr. Kamaria Tyehimba: Dismantling racial bias in addiction services

When the topic of addiction comes up, the opioid epidemic is currently top of mind for most people. How do you think about those who are addicted to prescription pain relievers, heroin, or fentanyl? Does race affect whether you label the addict as a victim or a villain? It shouldn’t. Dr. Kamaria Tyehimba, who oversees…