News

It’s that time of the year when children begin returning to school. However, this year comes with uncertainty as schools reopen for in-person learning, remote learning, and hybrid models. As such, the NNED is sharing articles, resources, funding opportunities, and upcoming events to support educators, students, and their families during this time.

Funding Opportunities:

• Cigna – Healthier Kids for Our Future Mental Health Grant: The goal of this grant is to supplement existing mental health programming and help close gaps both within and outside the school environment to address loneliness, anxiety, depression, and suicide prevention. Applications are due September 30, 2020.
• Administration for Children and Families – American Indian/Alaska Native Head Start and/or Early Head Start Expansion: The purpose of the grant is to expand access to high-quality, comprehensive early learning services for newly-enrolled, income-eligible American Indian/Alaska Native pregnant women, and children from birth to compulsory school age. Applications are due October 21, 2020. 
• Health Resources and Services Administration – Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Program: The purpose of this program is to support innovative, community-based initiatives to improve the health status of infants, children, adolescents, and families in rural and other underserved communities by increasing their access to preventive care and services. Applications are due December 5, 2020.

Upcoming Events:

• Sept 4 –  Student Mental Health During COVID-19: How To Prepare as Schools Reopen
• Sept 10 –  Tribal Schools Reopen Amidst COVID-19
• Sept 10 – Trauma and Trauma-Informed Strategies To Support Migrant Students

Articles and Other Resources:

• School Discipline is Racially Biased and Increases Misbehavior – A new study, published in American Psychologist, examines the impact of official infractions given for minor misconduct, or minor infractions, on students in the American school system. Read more…
• Mental Health America 2020 Back to School Toolkit –  Many who remain at home will feel even lonelier and more isolated as they see members of their peer group out and about.  Loneliness can translate to poor sleep, high blood pressure, greater risk of suicidal ideation, and even alcohol and drug use. Depression, anxiety, and fear can also increase. Download now…

This page will be updated regularly.

Experts are sounding the alarm that beyond the physical and mortal toll the coronavirus has taken on Americans, its impact on mental health can be severe as well, especially for Latinxs as that population remains disproportionately affected by the virus.

A survey released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week revealed that 41% of respondents reported symptoms of some mental disorder, including trauma-related symptoms, depression and anxiety.

According to the study, higher prevalence of symptoms of depressive disorder, suicidal thoughts and anxiety were found among Hispanic respondents. In the case of suicidal thoughts, some 18.6% of Hispanic respondents said they had “seriously considered suicide in the past 30 days.” Black respondents also reported a relatively high instance of suicidal thoughts at 15.1%, as did 7.9% of white respondents, 6% of Asian respondents and 9.8% of other races or multiple races.

The study was based on surveys conducted during the final week of June and included more than 5,000 respondents — 3,453 white, 885 Hispanic, 663 Black, 256 Asian and over 200 respondents of other races or whose race was unknown. The CDC survey noted that symptoms of mental health conditions are more prevalent among essential workers, unpaid caregivers for adults and those receiving treatment for preexisting mental health conditions.

Frederick Sandoval, Executive Director of the National Latino Behavioral Health Association, said two of those groups, essential workers and unpaid caregivers, have large Latino populations.

“What COVID has already taught us in a very quick order is why it is affecting the Latinx community so much,” said Sandoval. “They’re not going to be getting the services to the extent that they could or should because of social determinants that create challenges in terms of limited access to resources, access to transportation, limited income.”

“Because of what’s happened, what we’ve seen from the pandemic, it has very easily increased the level of stress trauma, anxiety,” added Sandoval. “It’s put such emotional pressure on Latinx communities across the country.”

Sandoval told ABC News that parents in communities of color who now have to balance essential worker duties and full time schooling, are likely to experience more psychological distress. For Sandoval, the CDC study is a wake up call for policy makers to prioritize mental health.

“We’re just having a tsunami effect of policies ineffective programs and lack of resources to help people who don’t ask to be fraught with illness.” said Sandoval. “Latinx communities are being devastated by the pandemic and it’s heartbreaking to see. Something needs to change.”

Read more on ABCNews.com.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study on August 19, 2020 examining how COVID-19 is affecting American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) — one of the populations at highest risk for the disease.

Researchers found that, in 23 selected states, the cumulative incidence of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases among AI/AN was 3.5 times that among non-Hispanic whites.

The study also found that AI/AN individuals who tested positive for the virus tended to be younger on average than non-Hispanic whites who tested positive. The study noted the lack of insufficient data necessary to compare AI/AN individuals’ infection rates with those of racial or ethnic groups other than non-Hispanic whites, which underscored the need to prioritize improved data collection as a key strategy to understand and improve health outcomes in these groups.

Read more on AHA.org.

The mental health effects of the coronavirus are showing up in significant ways for Americans struggling to cope with the pandemic, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the final week of June, 40% of U.S. adults reported struggling with mental health issues or substance use at some point in the previous month as they try to cope with the various challenges of the coronavirus. That number has been climbing slowly but steadily over recent months.

The most common issue was depression and anxiety, with 30% of the 5,412 respondents reporting symptoms in the last 30 days. More than a quarter of respondents said they experienced trauma- and stressor-related disorder and 13% said they used drugs or alcohol as a way of coping with negative emotions related to the pandemic.

Shockingly, 11% said they had seriously considered committing suicide in the last month.

“The research and data are mounting toward a pretty alarming potential for a crisis,” said Dr. Vaile Wright, the senior director of health care innovation at the American Psychological Association. “In terms of the impact of COVID, coupled with the economic downturn as well as systemic racism that has been in the news, it is certainly showing all these things are having a significant effect on people’s mental health.”

Mental health professionals have been warning for months that increased isolation, financial distress and disruptions to normal patterns of life would have significant consequences on Americans’ mental health. Even before the coronavirus hit, one-quarter of U.S. adults suffered from a diagnosable mental health condition. Suicide rates were on the rise as the tenth leading cause of death. Drug overdoses cost more than 71,000 lives and alcohol-related fatalities topped 88,000.

People of color, who are at greater risk of severe or fatal COVID-19 infections, showed a greater incidence of adverse mental health symptoms in the CDC study. Overall, more than half of Hispanics and 42% of Black respondents said they had one or more mental health symptoms in the last month, compared to 38% of white respondents and 32% of Asians. Nearly 19% of those who recently contemplated suicide were Hispanic and 15% were Black.

The disproportionate impact on communities of color has raised concerns among some mental health professionals that people who need help might avoid seeking it. “When you talk about communities of color, minorities, certainly it’s bigger because there’s that stigma and sometimes out communities consider it a sign of weakness or vulnerability,” said Montrella Cowan, a licensed therapist and clinical social worker in Washington, D.C.

For people that might want to seek help, there can be cultural barriers around sharing personal problems with strangers and myths about what mental health really is, Cowan noted. “It can be quite confusing for people,” she continued. “That’s why it’s important that we get it out, to let people know it’s OK and you’re not alone. That’s why it’s important that we not ignore this anymore.”

Read more on WJLA.com.

The devastating impact of COVID-19 is apparent, with nearly three million confirmed cases and more than 131,000 deaths in the US. Among those affected, communities of color bear the brunt of the pandemic. Health disparities in the COVID-19 crisis call attention to long-standing inequities that pervade the health care system and society at large.

The pattern of disparities during the COVID-19 crisis is analogous to the medical concept of “acute on chronic.” This refers to a long-standing medical condition that is exacerbated by an acute illness, often leading to worse outcomes than would have resulted from the acute illness alone. This is the case for COVID-19: It is a novel disease and global pandemic that has unmasked long-standing underlying health disparities.

New federal data reveals that African Americans and Latinxs in the US have been three times more likely to contract COVID-19 than white residents and nearly twice as likely to die from it. Some counties with a majority of African American residents have almost six times the death rate compared to counties that are predominantly white. In some states such as Illinois, Latinxs have nearly seven times the rate of COVID-19 cases compared to white people, while African Americans have the highest death rate. In California, Pacific Islanders face a death rate from COVID-19 that is 2.6 times higher than the rest of the state, while in South Dakota, the rate of COVID-19 among Asian Americans is six times what would be predicted based on their share of the population. Other minority communities are also disproportionately affected, including in New Mexico, where Native American people comprise about 11 percent of the population yet account for more than half of COVID-19 cases.

Health disparities during COVID-19 reflect two important patterns of inequity. First, minority communities have a high likelihood of contracting the virus by living in urban areas and disproportionately working in higher-risk environments. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a greater number of African American workers are unable to work from home, compared to white workers. A study of the “Mission District” community in California showed that Latinxs accounted for more than 95 percent of positive COVID-19 cases and 90 percent of individuals with positive tests were unable to work from home. Certain industries that have workers that are predominantly minorities face higher rates of COVID-19: At meatpacking plants, where the rate of COVID-19 infections is higher than the rate in 75 percent of US counties, nearly half of workers are Hispanic and a quarter are African American.

Second, racial minorities also experience higher rates of chronic medical conditions, including obesity, diabetes, and kidney disease, which are risk factors for severe illness from COVID-19. These statistics occur on a backdrop of existing disparities in outcomes: For example, African Americans have higher rates of maternal mortality and death from cancer and heart disease than any other racial and ethnic group. Individuals from underserved communities are also more likely to have undiagnosed chronic disease, compounding the acute impact of COVID-19. These inequities are tied to long-standing barriers to accessing essential resources such as food, transportation, and housing, as well as a long history of unequal treatment, discriminatory policies, and systemic racism.

COVID-19 has resulted in stopping key social programs that are community lifelines, such as schools and senior centers. Home visitation programs that have been instrumental in reducing infant mortality and lead poisoning have been put on hold. Many who have chronic conditions face additional problems of accessing care. The acute impacts of COVID-19 worsen underlying conditions in individuals and communities. Solutions must therefore focus on both aspects.

Read more on HealthAffairs.com.

In order to highlight pockets of excellence across the country, the NNED selects a partner organization to highlight once a month. Change Happens! has been selected as the Partner of the Month for August.

Change Happens!, formerly known as Families Under Urban & Social Attack (FUUSA), is a nonprofit that transforms the lives of families and children in high-risk communities of the Gulf Coast Region 6 with primarily focus in Texas. They provide a variety of programs that reflect our mission to empower people to help themselves. Change Happens! relies on support from individuals, foundations, grantors, and corporations interested in improving communities and the lives of families. When it comes to family-focused nonprofits, Change Happens! is a premier provider of services designed to bring positive change to communities.

Since 1989, Change Happens! has fulfilled its mission by providing a variety of programs focused on educating and enriching our youth, promoting pro-active healthcare measures and housing displaced families.

Some of the programs and services that are currently offered:

• Rescue Youth – The Rescue Youth Program aims to prevent youth involvement in drugs, alcohol, gangs, and other self-destructive/unhealthy activities. The Rescue Youth Program is delivered in schools, local shelters and community centers, after school and summer programs. The community-based program utilizes evidence-based curriculum for youth ranging from 6 to 18 years old and delivers youth and adult presentations that range from 30 minutes to an hour depending on your organization’s schedule.
• HYPE 2.0 – Helping Youth Prevent Engaging in Risky Behavior (HYPE 2.0) program was designed to educate youth ages 14-19 on abstinence, teen pregnancy prevention, HIV/AIDS, STDs/STIs, and positive youth development.
• My Brother’s Keeper – The Goal of this mentoring program is to help boys and young men of color (BYMOC) improve academic achievement, self-esteem, social competence, and avoidance of high risk behavior by providing a relationship with a caring adult who works to help your child achieve his full potential.
• Stairs 2.0 – The purpose of the STAIRS 2.0 program is to integrate behavioral health treatment and services for substance use disorders (SUD) and co-occurring mental and substance use disorders (COD), permanent housing, and other critical services for individuals experiencing homelessness.
• Rescue in Motion – The RESCUE In Motion Permanent Housing Program 2.0 provides case management, a wide array of supportive services, and rental subsidies to 68 chronically homeless men and women with a documented disabling condition who reside in scattered site housing throughout Harris County.

Learn more about Change Happens! and their variety of programs that reflect the mission to empower people to help themselves for families and children in high-risk communities of the Gulf Coast Region 6.

View a list of previous NNED Partners of the Month.