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There are weeks when Xavier McMillon, 23, knows he can rely on a friend to put him up for a night or two. But there are far too many other days when the Houston Community College student scrambles to find a place to stay or money to eat. It wasn’t always like this, he said. A few months ago, he was sharing an apartment with his best friend and holding down a job. But a dispute over mold infestation got them evicted, and too many sick days because McMillon couldn’t afford his HIV meds got him fired.

“Right now it’s real hard to try to go to school, try to get a job and try to find a place,” said McMillon, who is taking the semester off. “I try not to let a lot of people know about everything that’s going on with me. I don’t like people having to worry.”

Many students suffer the same housing and food insecurity that plagues McMillon, and a new study from the Wisconsin HOPE Lab, in collaboration with the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), shows that the problem is more widespread than people might suspect.

In a survey of more than 33,000 students at 70 community colleges across the country, researchers found that 14 percent were homeless, and one in three were going hungry while pursuing a degree. The findings lay bare the reality of a population of students who remain largely invisible on college campuses.

Homelessness and hunger among college students is prevalent in all regions of the country and is not isolated to urban or high-poverty areas, according to the report. Students with children were more likely to experience food and housing insecurity than those without. Nearly a third of students going without food or shelter held jobs and received financial aid, and many work long hours at low-wage, low-quality jobs and get little sleep, the study showed.

Read more on WashingtonPost.com.

To address persistent rural poverty in America, the philanthropic, nonprofit, business, and government sectors must form new partnerships and make investments aimed at catalyzing broad-based economic growth, a report from NeighborWorks America argues.

Released at NeighborWorks America’s first national conference on rural poverty and economic development, the report, Turning the Tide on Persistent Rural Poverty (pdf), found high rates of persistent poverty — defined as at least 20 percent of the population living in poverty for at least thirty years — in rural areas, primarily Appalachia, Indian country, the Mississippi Delta, and colonias in the Rio Grande Valley. According to the study, factors contributing to the prevalence of persistent poverty in rural areas include population loss due to out-migration, lack of accessible transportation and other vital infrastructure, and reliance on resource extraction. In addition, many rural communities lack services and community development resources; receive limited federal and philanthropic funding, in part due to mandated matching funds that smaller, less well-resourced organizations have difficulty raising; structural bias; a sense of hopelessness; and, in the case of Native-American communities, legal restrictions that hamper business transactions such as collateralizing business loans or home mortgages using trust land.

To address persistent poverty in rural areas, the report calls on business, government, and philanthropy to increase the supply of consumer banking services and partnerships with community development financial institutions in rural markets; provide broadband connections, training, and equipment more deeply into rural communities; and boost commercial lending to grow small businesses and encourage local entrepreneurship. 

Read more on PhilanthropyNewsDigest.org.

The American Psychological Association will engage a variety of audiences during Mental Health Awareness Month in May. More Americans than ever are living with mental health problems and APA is working to shine a spotlight on issues such as the mental health implications of racial bias, stress in the workplace, integrated mental health and primary care, caregivers’ mental health and more.

Wednesday, May 3: APA’s Work and Well-Being Survey Focuses on Political Talk

APA’s Center for Organizational Excellence will release results from its annual Work and Well-Being Survey, focusing on how political discussions are affecting the American workplace months after the 2016 presidential election.

Thursday, May 4: “Partnering for Help and Hope” Panel Discussion

Jack Morton Auditorium, The George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs, 805 21st St., N.W., Washington, D.C., 7 p.m. EDT

May 4 is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. Olympic medalists Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt will be honorary chairpersons of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s annual event. This interactive panel discussion will focus on integrating behavioral health and primary care for children, teens and young adults with mental and/or substance use disorders. The event will also be webcast. APA, an official SAMHSA Awareness Day partner, offers several supplemental resources online.

Thursday, May 4: Smoking Cessation Treatments for People with Behavioral Health Problems webinar

1-2:30 p.m. EDT

Want to know how to help people with behavioral health issues stop smoking? This is the webinar for you. Evidence-based approaches and perspectives will be provided by a psychologist, medical doctor, social worker and a patient. Register online.

May 8-13: “I am Psyched! Inspiring Histories, Inspiring Lives: Women of Color in Psychology” Exhibit

Wright Institute, Berkeley, California

The “I am Psyched!” multi-media pop-up exhibit is touring the country and will visit the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. “I am Psyched!” explores the history of contemporary contributions of women of color in psychology.

Thursday, May 11: “Depression & Kidney Disease, Coping with a Long-Term Illness” webinar

3 p.m. EDT

APA member and clinical psychologist Maureen O’Reilly-Landry, PhD, will present helpful information on mental health, kidney disease and chronic illness in this educational webinar. The event is hosted by Dialysis Patient Citizens, which advocates for people with end-stage renal disease. RSVP on the DPC Education Center website.

Friday, May 12: “Speaking of Psychology” podcast — Helping children manage stress and loss 

Talking to children about death or loss is a challenge but there are right and wrong ways to go about it. In this episode, psychologist and author Bonnie Zucker, PsyD, talks about her new book, “Something Very Sad Happened: A Toddler’s Guide to Understanding Death,” and provides useful resources to parents and educators aimed at helping children manage everyday anxiety and stressors.

Wednesday, May 17: Twitter Chat — “What Family Means in the Fight for LGBT Equality”

#IDAHOTchat 12-1 p.m. EDT

May 17 is International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. Consistent with this year’s theme, APA will host a Twitter chat on the role of families in the well-being of LGBTIQ individuals and supporting the rights of LGBTIQ families, also known as “rainbow families.” RSVP on the Vite website.

Wednesday, May 17: Twitter Chat — “Self-care for Caregivers”

#ElderCareChat, 1-2 p.m. EDT

Hosted by OurParents, this chat will feature guest panelists Barry J. Jacobs, PsyD, director of behavioral sciences for the Crozer-Keystone Family Medicine Residency Program, and Deborah A. DiGilio, director of the APA Office on Aging. They will discuss the importance of family caregivers taking the time to care for themselves. Register on the OurParents website.

Thursday, May 25: Kids, Stress and Technology Webinar

7 p.m. EDT

APA and the National Parent Teacher Association will host a webinar focusing on youth technology use and positive and negative effects. Clinical psychologist Mary Alvord, PhD, will talk with parents, educators and youth-serving professionals about establishing healthy technology use for children and tips for parents on how to manage children’s tech habits.

Wednesday, May 31: Fighting Back against Bullying

SPIRE Conference Center, 750 First St., N.E., Washington, D.C., 6:15-7:45 p.m. EDT

APA member and bullying expert Dorothy Espelage, PhD, will speak about bullying as part of APA’s 125th Anniversary Distinguished Speaker Series. In honor of the 125th anniversary of APA’s founding, APA is hosting a series of talks throughout the year focusing on how psychology has helped us understand our world and improve society.

Read the complete list of events on APA.org.

National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day (Awareness Day) seeks to raise awareness about the importance of children’s mental health and to show that positive mental health is essential to a child’s healthy development from birth.

Awareness Day 2017’s national focus is on the importance of integrating behavioral health and primary care for children, youth, and young adults with mental and/or substance use disorders. The 2017 national theme is “Partnering for Help and Hope.” Communities, national collaborating organizations, and federal programs across the country are busy planning local Awareness Day 2017 activities and events.

Olympic champions Michael Phelps, the world’s most decorated Olympian, and Allison Schmitt, an eight–time Olympic medalist, will serve as Honorary Chairpersons of SAMHSA’s National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day 2017 national event! The national event will take place on Thursday, May 4, at 7 p.m. EDT in Washington, DC. SAMHSA will also webcast the event live on www.samhsa.gov/children.

Phelps and Schmitt will receive SAMHSA’s Special Recognition Award for speaking openly about their behavioral health challenges and encouraging youth to lead healthy and active lives.

“Children and young adults often look to athletes as role models for leading healthy lives. By speaking about treatment and recovery, Michael and Allison are helping youth view behavioral health as an important part of their overall health,” said Kana Enomoto, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary.

“Allison and I are excited to be a part of this national effort. As we travel all over the country, we’re often asked about our training, diets, and routines for staying fit,” said Michael Phelps. “Being involved in Awareness Day and with SAMHSA gives us the chance to emphasize that paying attention to mental health is another important component of growing up healthy.”

The event will feature interactive panel discussions about understanding the connection between physical and behavioral health; improving communication between primary care providers, behavioral health providers, and youth and families; and supporting the mental health needs of youth who experience chronic illness.

Read more about Awareness Day on SAMHSA.gov.

Transgender care should be primary care, says Isabel Lowell, a family physician who sees transgender patients. It should require no special center, and unless a procedure is needed, no specialists.  “Any doctor should be able to do this,” she said.

The medical knowledge needed to provide transgender-affirming care is not particularly complex—“it’s about as difficult as managing menopause,” says Madeline Deutsch, the clinical leader of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Center of Excellence for Transgender Health and and the author of the center’s transgender-care guidelines.

Yet physicians often perceive transgender care as hopelessly enigmatic. Although there are few published studies of provider perspectives on transgender care, physicians responding to a 2016 Canadian study were fretful, scared they would offend patients by using the wrong language, or fail to catch side effects of hormones: “There’s this fear that run of the mill problems aren’t run of the mill,” said one study participant. “What if there’s something related to something I’m not aware of, in terms of their hormonal status, in terms of the medications they’re taking? … I have a lot of anxiety seeing these people, not because of who they are, but because I feel I’m not well educated, I’m not well prepared about what the potential concerns are.”

Many physicians are poorly prepared to care for transgender patients. Eighty percent of gynecologists and 81 percent of endocrinologists—both among the specialists most frequently consulted on sex hormone prescription and monitoring—have not received training on the care of transgender patients.

This has the effect of keeping trans people away from the doctor’s office. Although transgender populations have high rates of HIV, mental illness, smoking, and drug and alcohol abuse, nearly a quarter of transgender people report having avoided seeking health care in the past year due to fear of mistreatment. A Lambda Legal survey published in 2011 found that almost 90 percent of transgender people felt there weren’t enough health-care professionals adequately trained to care for people like them. In another survey, access to a provider knowledgeable about transgender health issues was the most commonly reported barrier to care.

Read more on TheAtlantic.com.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requests comments on the proposals that it has received from the Federal Interagency Working Group for Research on Race and Ethnicity (Working Group) for revisions to OMB’s Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. The Working Group’s report and proposals in their entirety, are the result of a two-year, focused review of the implementation of the current standards. The Working Group’s report reflects an examination of current practice, public comment received in response to the Federal Register Notice posted by OMB on September 30, 2016, and empirical analyses of publicly available data. The report also notes statutory needs and feasibility considerations, including cost and public burden. Initial proposals and specific questions to the public appear under the section Issues for Comment.

None of the proposals has yet been adopted and no interim decisions have been made concerning them. The Working Group’s report and its proposals are being published to solicit further input from the public. OMB plans to announce its decision in mid-2017 so that revisions, if any, can be reflected in preparations for the 2020 Census. OMB can modify or reject any of the proposals, and OMB has the option of making no changes. The report and its proposals are published in this Notice because OMB believes that they are worthy of public discussion, and OMB’s decision will benefit from obtaining the public’s views on the recommendations.

Submit comments by April 30, 2017. Read more about the request for comments.