BY AKILAH WISE (FGJ ‘20) -- Life was good at the beginning of the year for Cayla Lamar, a 17-year-old in her second-to-last year of high school. “I was getting very in tune with myself and my surroundings, and I just started my new job at Vox in January,” said Cayla, who works as a journalist for Vox Teen Communications, a teen-led non-profit organization in Atlanta, Georgia. “So, it was a very good time for me.” READ MORE. 

BY AKILAH WISE (FGJ ‘20) -- The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented crisis that requires us to develop critical stress-coping mechanisms as we protect ourselves against infection. READ MORE. 

BY AKILAH WISE (FGJ ‘20) -- As the country faces the COVID-19 pandemic, abortion providers in the United States are fighting to continue providing care. The emergency measures being taken in response to the novel coronavirus present a new set of challenges for abortion providers, and lawmakers are taking advantage of the crisis to further restrict abortion access. Within the last few weeks, Ohio, Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and other states moved to make surgical abortion a nonessential surgery and stop services during the pandemic. READ MORE. 

BY AKILAH WISE (FGJ ‘20) --  The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the critical importance of a robust and prepared public health infrastructure that can support people with limited income and resources — a grim reality for an increasing number of Americans given the mass shutdown of the U.S. economy. READ MORE.

BY AKILAH WISE (FGJ ‘20) --  In a recently unearthed 2015 audio clip, Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg defends stop-and-frisk, the controversial policy he oversaw as mayor of New York City, while acknowledging the “unintended consequences” — namely, the disproportionate arrest of Black and Latino residents on minor charges. READ MORE.

BY AKILAH WISE (FGJ ‘20) -- A movement to recognize and address trauma in schools is gaining traction across the United States.Nearly half of U.S. children — 31 million — have experienced a potentially traumatic event according to the 2017-2018 National Survey of Children Health, which is sponsored by the federal government. READ MORE. 

BY AKILAH WISE (FGJ ‘20) --  The United States has one of the most abysmal maternal health records among industrialized nations, and Black women bear a disproportionate share of the burden.  U.S. women are two to three times more likely to die than women in Canada from the start of pregnancy to one year after delivery. READ MORE. 

BY AKILAH WISE (FGJ ‘20) -- Good maternal care is key to a healthy mother and baby. But what happens when those who provide health care are struggling with the physical and emotional demands of their profession?The U.S. maternal health crisis has garnered attention in recent years and a groundbreaking study published this year in the journal Reproductive Health found 1 in 6 women are mistreated during labor and delivery. At the same time, concern has increased over physician burnout, with some reports finding that obstetrician-gynecologists (OB-GYNs) are at higher risk, raising questions about whether maternity care can improve without more support for these doctors. READ MORE.