Los Angeles-based perinatal health program, launched the California Black Doula Directory last month. (Image courtesy of Frontline Doulas via Black Voice News)A new Calif. doula directory responds to the state’s worsening maternal mortality crisisCalifornia, the state with the highest number of births per year, has seen a worsening maternal mortality crisis in recent years, disproportionately impacting Black and Brown women and birthing people. Frontline Doulas, an organization founded in 2019, has decided to respond to a growing demand for culturally-competent and sensitive community doulas for families in the state with the California Black Doula Directory. “We want to make sure that there’s equitable access for all birthing families to find the care provider that they need and that they deserve, and that has mutual respect and cultural alignment,” said one of the group’s co-founders Khefri Riley. With this much-needed resource, families can search for providers based on their location as well as other factors that are important to them, including religion, ethnicity and speciality. Black Voice News has more here →
A freeze warning sign is placed outside an apartment complex as temperatures dropped below freezing on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, in Conroe, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)Surviving the extreme cold in Texas prisonsEvery October, Kwaneta Harris, a woman who has lived in solitary confinement in a Texas prison for the past eight years, begins collecting blankets. This past winter season was no different. Harris writes for Prism that, just a week into the new year, heating vents in the prison facility started blowing in cold outdoor air at a time when temperatures in cities like Austin reached 20 degrees below zero. She highlights that the city even released guides and emergency kit checklists to help residents prepare for the increased risk of hypothermia and frostbite. "Soon, my cell was like a walk-in freezer," she recounts.
At the other end of the spectrum, last year Texas had its hottest year on record, with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas issuing daily warnings to prevent power outages. As the state's prison system operates without air conditioning, Harris writes that this leaves Texas' most vulnerable residents at an increased risk of extreme weather and climate-related deaths.
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Via UnsplashHow to create boundaries with loved onesLet's say you grew up in a family where you had to navigate a second culture, language and tradition, and the help you provided for loved ones allowed them to navigate the dominant culture with more ease. For example, you may have been expected to translate government and medical documents into English for non-English speaking family members from a very young age, and over time this created unspoken expectations to always help your loved ones. What if those expectations have left an impact on crucial life decisions, like where to live, go to school or who to date, creating challenges for how you live your own life? If any of this resonates, Luz Media offers ways to establish healthy boundaries with loved ones through effective communication, saying no when needed and giving yourself grace in the process.
Meet the Game Changers
Highlighting the innovators transforming health outcomes in our communities
It took Briana Rice, 38, about eighteen months to regain her ability to read and write, walk without difficulty and navigate memory loss after sustaining a traumatic brain injury two years ago. “I thank God that I don’t look like what I’ve been through, but I do lead a life of accommodations,” said the former scientist. Learn more about how Briana navigates life with an invisible disability and more.
Credit: Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News