Credit: Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News/CatchLight Local

Senior Lunch Program Addresses Barriers to Health Beyond HungerWalk into the Moreno Valley Senior Center around lunchtime and you’ll find something special — hundreds of senior residents chatting, laughing, and sharing stories, all while enjoying a fresh, nutritious meal. As Black Voice News reports, popular lunch programs like this one served 12,670 seniors last year across Riverside and San Bernardino Counties with 848,000 meals. They are run by the Family Services Association (FSA), a faith-based group that started in Riverside and tackles food insecurity among seniors. However, getting elders a good meal is not the FSA’s only goal. It also targets loneliness in older adults and the slew of health conditions it can exacerbate. “Loneliness is far more than just a bad feeling,” wrote U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in a 2023 advisory on the loneliness public health crisis. “It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death.”People become socially isolated for a million different reasons. For those over 50, it’s often linked to loss of a partner or loved one, declining physical and mental health, lower mobility, or changes in employment or housing. “We need to interact and relate to each other,” John Afolayan, a 62-year-old attendee in Moreno Valley, tells Black Voice News. “By doing that, you prolong your life.” Read the full story here → Plus: Inland Empire Not Prepared to Accommodate Aging Population (Black Voice News)

Credit: Dymanh Chhoun/Sahan Journal

Pro-Palestine health care workers call for end to employer intimidationHealth care workers gathered at the Minnesota State Capitol on Friday to protest Israel’s continued assault on Gaza, demand state divestment, and call for a national arms embargo. They also spoke out against how their employers have treated them since they started vocally supporting Palestine. Workers report that events featuring Palestinian doctors have been canceled or the recordings unreleased, and that employees have been silenced and fired for posting on social media.  “It’s an intentional intimidation tactic,” Alycia Garubanda, a local speech pathologist, told Sahan Journal. “It’s making us feel like we are doing something wrong when we know we are doing the absolute best we must do.” The event at the Capitol was planned by the Twin Cities chapter of the national network Healthcare Workers for Palestine. One of the featured speakers was Willy Massay, an intensive care nurse who spent time in Gaza this year as a medical care provider. He told the crowd of his experiences and what it has been like to return home. “I cannot eat, I cannot sleep, I cannot do anything,” he said. “Many of the providers, doctors and nurses who went … they all say the same thing.” More from Sahan Journal → 

Credit: Ogar Monday, via The Human Journalism Network

In vaccine-hesitant north Nigeria, cash incentives are driving up immunization ratesNorthern Nigerians have historically been wary of vaccines, and for good reason. A botched trial of a Pfizer meningitis vaccine in 1996 ended up killing 11 children and disabling more. Plus, the cost of traveling to vaccination centers is a barrier for poor communities and often leads to missed shots, even if families want them, Scroll writes. Yet immunization rates are significantly rising. Playing a role in the uptick is a cash support program from New Incentives, a US-based nonprofit that offers a small payment to families when their child gets a dose on time, plus a larger sum when an entire vaccine schedule is completed. The program reports having distributed about $444,358 to incentivize over three million vaccinations. Workers at vaccine facilities say they can see the change in vaccine apathy. They used to have to go out into communities and convince families to come into the clinic. Now, there are 50 caregivers with their children waiting in line by 10 a.m for shots, Scroll reports. On top of protecting Nigerians from common childhood illnesses, such as measles, the program’s financial support also combats hunger.“My husband has not received his salary,” Ashaitu Adamu, who got shots for her 15-month-old, tells Primer Progress. “[He] will come back to see food in the house today, all thanks to this money.” Full story at Scroll →

Highlighting the innovators transforming health outcomes in our communities

The Oshun Center for Intercultural Healing was founded in Minneapolis following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, when local healers supporting communities of color faced immense burnout. Accomplished dancer and choreographer Alanna Morris tells Sahan Journal that she has brought her Roots and Wings Institute to the Center, where she will combine technical training with therapeutic movement to facilitate personal and communal liberation. → Credit: Sahan Journal