#community support worker program | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tafsircareercounselor · 1 month

Text

Empowering Change: Community Service Diploma in Toronto Overview

Are you passionate about helping others and making a positive impact in your community? Do you have a strong desire to work in the field of community care and outreach? If so, then the Addictions and Community Service Worker Diploma program at ABM College's Toronto campus may be the perfect fit for you.

In this article, we'll explore the benefits of studying for your diploma on-campus at ABM College's Toronto campus and how it can prepare you for a rewarding career in community service.

Why Choose an On-campus Program?

While online learning has become increasingly popular, there are still many benefits to studying on-campus. Here are a few reasons why you should consider an on-campus program for your Addictions and Community Service Worker Diploma.

Hands-on Learning Experience

by Glenn Carstens-Peters (https://unsplash.com/@glenncarstenspeters)

One of the main advantages of studying on-campus is the hands-on learning experience. In the field of community service, it's essential to have practical skills and experience to effectively support and assist individuals in need.

At ABM College's Toronto campus, you'll have access to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, allowing you to gain hands-on experience in a simulated work environment. This hands-on learning experience will prepare you for the real-world challenges you may face in your future career.

Face-to-face Interaction with Instructors

Studying on-campus also allows for face-to-face interaction with your instructors. This means you can ask questions, receive immediate feedback, and engage in discussions with your peers and instructors.

In the Addictions and Community Service Worker Diploma program, you'll have the opportunity to learn from experienced professionals who have worked in the field and can provide valuable insights and guidance.

Networking Opportunities

Studying on-campus also provides networking opportunities with your classmates and instructors. These connections can be beneficial in your future career, as you may be able to collaborate on projects, share job opportunities, and receive recommendations.

What Will You Learn in the Addictions and Community Service Worker Diploma Program?

The Addictions and Community Service Worker Diploma program at ABM College's Toronto campus is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to work in the field of community care and outreach.

Here are some of the key topics covered in the program:

Addictions and Mental Health

by Dan Meyers (https://unsplash.com/@dmey503)

The program covers the fundamentals of addictions and mental health, including the different types of addictions, their causes, and the impact they have on individuals and communities. You'll also learn about mental health disorders, their symptoms, and how to support individuals with mental health challenges.

Community Outreach and Support

The program also focuses on community outreach and support, teaching students how to effectively engage with individuals and communities in need. You'll learn about community resources, how to develop and implement outreach programs, and how to provide support to individuals in crisis.

Counselling Techniques

Counselling is a crucial aspect of community service work, and the program covers various counselling techniques and strategies. You'll learn how to conduct assessments, develop treatment plans, and provide counselling to individuals and groups.

Professional Development

In addition to the technical skills, the program also focuses on professional development. You'll learn about ethical and legal considerations in the field, how to maintain professional boundaries, and how to effectively communicate with clients and colleagues.

What Career Opportunities Are Available?

Upon completion of the Addictions and Community Service Worker Diploma program, you'll be prepared for a variety of career opportunities in the field of community service. Here are some of the roles you may pursue:

Community Service Worker

As a community service worker, you'll work directly with individuals and communities in need, providing support, resources, and assistance. You may work in a variety of settings, such as community centers, shelters, or outreach programs.

Addictions Counsellor

As an addictions counsellor, you'll work with individuals struggling with addiction, providing counselling, support, and resources to help them overcome their challenges. You may work in a variety of settings, such as rehabilitation centers, hospitals, or community organizations.

Mental Health Support Worker

As a mental health support worker, you'll work with individuals who have mental health challenges, providing support, resources, and assistance to help them manage their conditions. You may work in a variety of settings, such as mental health clinics, hospitals, or community organizations.

Why Choose ABM College's Toronto Campus?

ABM College's Toronto campus offers a supportive and inclusive learning environment, with experienced instructors and state-of-the-art facilities. Here are some of the reasons why you should choose ABM College for your Addictions and Community Service Worker Diploma.

Experienced Instructors

At ABM College, you'll learn from experienced professionals who have worked in the field of community service and have a wealth of knowledge to share. They'll provide you with practical insights and guidance to help you succeed in your future career.

Hands-on Learning Experience

As mentioned earlier, ABM College's Toronto campus offers a hands-on learning experience, allowing you to gain practical skills and experience in a simulated work environment. This experience will prepare you for the challenges you may face in your future career.

Career Services

ABM College offers career services to help students prepare for their future careers. This includes resume and cover letter writing, job search assistance, and interview preparation. The college also has partnerships with various organizations, providing students with job placement opportunities.

Conclusion

If you're passionate about making a positive impact in your community and want to pursue a career in community service, then the Addictions and Community Service Worker Diploma program at ABM College's Toronto campus is the perfect choice for you. With experienced instructors, hands-on learning, and a supportive learning environment, you'll be well-prepared for a rewarding career in community care and outreach.

#community support worker program #community service diploma #community support worker diploma #community service worker course #addictions worker diploma

0 notes

indizombie · 2 years

Quote

Under Illinois’s new policy, after students have a second mental health-related absence, district officials are required to refer them to the “appropriate school support personnel.” But many schools can’t afford the types of services Plainfield is offering, education officials say, and in rural areas they sometimes have trouble finding people to fill those jobs. Chicago isn’t scheduled to have a social worker in each of its more than 600 schools until 2024. School social workers there often devote most of their time to students who receive special education services dictated by an individualized education program, or IEP. “My door gets knocked on all day long. And I have to choose — am I going to reschedule my IEP services, or am I going to help a student who’s experiencing a crisis like right now?” said Mary Difino, a social worker at Brian Piccolo Elementary Specialty School on Chicago’s West Side. “The neighborhood I work in, there’s a lot of trauma, there’s a lot of community violence, there’s a lot of death and hardship.”

Giles Bruce, ‘For Students Struggling With Mental Health, Schools Try Time Off’, Kaiser Health News

2 notes · View notes

anarchywoofwoof · 4 months

Text

the funny thing is that i don't think younger people - and i mean those under the age of 40 - really have a grasp on how many of today's issues can be tied back to a disastrous reagan policy:

war on drugs: reagan's aggressive escalation of the war on drugs was a catastrophic policy, primarily targeting minority communities and fueling mass incarceration. the crusade against drugs was more about controlling the Black, Latino and Native communities than addressing the actual problems of drug abuse, leading to a legacy of broken families and systemic racism within the criminal justice system.

deregulation and economic policies: reaganomics was an absolute disaster for the working class. reagan's policies of aggressive tax cuts for the rich, deregulation, and slashing social programs were nothing less than class warfare, deepening income inequality and entrenching corporate greed. these types of policies were a clear message that reagan's america was only for the wealthy elite and a loud "fuck you" to working americans.

environmental policies: despite his reputation being whitewashed thanks to the recovery of the ozone layer, reagan's environmental record was an unmitigated disaster. his administration gutted critical environmental protections and institutions like the EPA, turning a blind eye to pollution and corporate exploitation of natural resources. this blatant disregard for the planet was a clear sign of prioritizing short-term corporate profits over the future of the environment.

AIDS crisis: reagan's gross neglect of the aids crisis was nothing short of criminal and this doesn't even begin to touch on his wife's involvement. his administration's indifference to the plight of the lgbtq+ community during this devastating epidemic revealed a deep-seated bigotry and a complete failure of moral leadership.

mental health: reagan's dismantling of mental health institutions under the guise of 'reform' led directly to a surge in homelessness and a lack of support for those with mental health issues. his policies were cruel and inhumane and showed a personality-defining callous disregard for the most vulnerable in society.

labor and unions: reagan's attack on labor unions, exemplified by his handling of the patco strike, was a blatant assault on workers' rights. his actions emboldened corporations to suppress union activities, leading to a significant erosion of workers' power and rights in the workplace. he was colloquially known as "Ronnie the Union Buster Reagan"

foreign policy and military interventions: reagan's foreign policy, particularly in latin america, was imperialist and ruthless. his administration's support for dictatorships and right-wing death squads under the guise of fighting "communism" showed a complete disregard for human rights and self-determination of other nations.

public health: yes, reagan's agricultural policies actually facilitated the rise of high fructose corn syrup, once again prioritizing corporate profits over public health. this shift in the food industry has had lasting negative impacts on health, contributing to the obesity epidemic and other health issues.

privatization: reagan's push for privatization was a systematic dismantling of public services, transferring wealth and power to private corporations and further eroding the public's access to essential services.

education policies: his approach to education was more of an attack on public education than anything else, gutting funding and promoting policies that undermined equal access to quality education. this was, again, part of a broader agenda to maintain a status quo where the privileged remain in power.

this is just what i could come up with in a relatively short time and i did not even live under this man's presidency. the level at which ronald reagan has broken the united states truly can't be overstated.

#twitter #fuck ronald reagan #fuck conservatives

77K notes · View notes

bocsau · 7 months

Text

What Does a Community Support Agency Do?

Provide information and assistance to individuals seeking emergency assistance, housing or financial help. Duties include making home visits and accompanying clients to group meetings and community activities. Properly maintaining client and program records is also a must.

These professionals act as liaisons between their clients and local programs that can help them with public assistance, food, shelter, gas utility payments and jobs. They may charge a service fee, or be paid through government funds.

Socialization

Community Support Agency Llc is a mental health clinic located at 44 Dream Avenue in Delco, North Carolina. It offers outpatient treatment and partial hospitalization/day treatment services. It also offers psychotherapy and behavioral therapy. It serves adolescents, adults and seniors / older adults.

Community based programs designed to promote independence, productivity and integration. Operates from a family empowerment philosophy and includes multiple types of social supports mixed with professional interventions. Examples of these services are family support groups, parent training by lay therapists and parent aides, membership in recreational centers and transportation and homemaker services.

Community supports are services provided in accordance with an individual’s individualized plan that maximize their immediate and continued community functioning. Community support staff teach, model and practice skills with persons served in order to help them become successful in the living, working, learning and social environments of their choice. Community support services are often provided for a service fee. Some are available for free.

Education

Education services focus on enabling individuals to become more competent in the living, work, learning and social environments of their choice. Staff teach, model, and practice skills with consumers.

Education Support Services are based on the specific goals documented in each participant’s service plan. These can include, but are not limited to: tutoring and classes to receive a Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC) diploma; vocational training or apprenticeship programs; community college, university or any classes to improve knowledge or skills in chosen career; and other general adult educational services.

A broad-based citywide coalition of unions and community groups fought alongside UFT members to preserve free student Metrocards, as well as middle school science labs and community arts programming. Education justice is a core UFT policy. UFT educators also participate in a variety of education initiatives, including the Brooklyn Education Collaborative, the Middle School Initiative and the CC9 Project. Education services also provide family support to address concerns, navigate the school system and connect parents with community resources.

Behavioral Health

A community support agency can help you with your mental health needs. They can provide psychotherapy, medication management and behavioral treatment services. They can also offer socialization and supervision activities. They have a team of highly trained and experienced professionals who can treat young adults, children and adults. They are also able to treat military service members and clients referred by the court/legal system.

These services are time limited based on individual need and are rehabilitative in nature. The goals are to increase self-esteem, a sense of identity and to develop meaningful relationships with others. They can also help with housing, medical and health, education and employment.

Behavioral health services can include Assertive Community Treatment Teams (ACT). These teams consist of psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, and certified peer support specialists who are available 24/7 to help adult individuals with severe and persistent mental illness live in their homes rather than institutions. They can provide an array of community-based services including medication delivery, homemaker services, and respite services.

Employment

Providing opportunities for individuals to develop and build skills necessary to maintain healthy personal, family and community connections. These services may include teaching and assistance in daily living activities, socialization, recreation, community activities, advocacy and other forms of support.

Oftentimes, community support staff will assist the individuals they serve in navigating their local communities by connecting them with formal recovery supports in order to obtain access to housing, employment and education services. They will also assist in linking to community based activities that are personcentered and designed for people with behavioral health diagnoses.

A Community Support Agency strives to recognize that everyone is a valuable member of society and works to ensure their inclusion and full community participation. They accomplish this through applied research, policy advocacy and training programs for Direct Support Professionals. They also work to elevate the profession by fostering leadership and promoting system reform. Through this, they help to transform the way that society views and values people with disabilities.

#community support agency #community support and care #community support program #community support services #community support worker

0 notes

just-a-gal-with-a-boomerang · 2 months

Text

My local queer bookstore is being threatened with eviction over their free narcan and fentanyl test strips, free store for the unhoused, and free narcan trainings.

Bluestockings is an incredible worker-owned community space that has been apart of the Lower East Side for 25 years. But in the last couple years, they've faced increasing harassment from the wealthier neighbors moving in and complaining about the presence of unhoused people around their store front. Despite all their community work being allowed by their lease, the landlord is pushing for an eviction.

Please help support Bluestockings! Visit them (if you're local), order books online, donate! We need more queer and community-oriented spaces, not another overpriced coffee shop or chain franchise.

#lgbtqia #lgbtq community #queer community #bookstore #mutual aid #nyc #lower east side #indie bookstore #support queer business #gentrification

3K notes · View notes

usnatarchives · 2 months

Text

The WAVES of Change: Women's Valiant Service in World War II 🌊

When the tides of World War II swelled, an unprecedented wave of women stepped forward to serve their country, becoming an integral part of the U.S. Navy through the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) program. This initiative not only marked a pivotal moment in military history but also set the stage for the transformation of women's roles in the armed forces and society at large. The WAVES program, initiated in 1942, was a beacon of change, showcasing the strength, skill, and patriotism of American women during a time of global turmoil.

The inception of WAVES was a response to the urgent need for additional military personnel during World War II. With many American men deployed overseas, the United States faced a shortage of skilled workers to support naval operations on the home front. The WAVES program was spearheaded by figures such as Lieutenant Commander Mildred H. McAfee, the first woman commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Under her leadership, WAVES members were trained in various specialties, including communications, intelligence, supply, medicine, and logistics, proving that women could perform with as much competence and dedication as their male counterparts.

The impact of the WAVES program extended far beyond the war effort. Throughout their service, WAVES members faced and overcame significant societal and institutional challenges. At the time, the idea of women serving in the military was met with skepticism and resistance; however, the exemplary service of the WAVES shattered stereotypes and demonstrated the invaluable contributions women could make in traditionally male-dominated fields. Their work during the war not only contributed significantly to the Allies' victory but also laid the groundwork for the integration of women into the regular armed forces.

The legacy of the WAVES program is a testament to the courage and determination of the women who served. Their contributions went largely unrecognized for many years, but the program's impact on military and gender norms has been profound. The WAVES paved the way for future generations of women in the military, demonstrating that service and sacrifice know no gender. Today, women serve in all branches of the U.S. military, in roles ranging from combat positions to high-ranking officers, thanks in no small part to the trail blazed by the WAVES.

The WAVES program was more than just a wartime necessity; it was a watershed moment in the history of women's rights and military service. The women of WAVES not only supported the United States during a critical period but also propelled forward the conversation about gender equality in the armed forces and beyond. Their legacy is a reminder of the strength and resilience of women who rise to the challenge, breaking barriers and making waves in pursuit of a better world.

Read more: https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2023/11/06/historic-staff-spotlight-eunice-whyte-navy-veteran-of-both-world-wars/

#WAVES #Women’s History Month #Veterans #Women’s History #Military #U.S. Military #World War II

205 notes · View notes

mostlysignssomeportents · 2 months

Text

Someday, we’ll all take comfort in the internet’s “dark corners”

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me on SUNDAY (Mar 24) with LAURA POITRAS in NYC, then Anaheim, and beyond!

Platforms decay. Tech bosses, unconstrained by competition; regulation; ad blockers and other adversarial interoperability; and their own workers, will inevitably hollow out their platforms, using ultraflexible digital technology to siphon value away from end users and business customers, leaving behind the bare minimum of value to keep all those users locked in:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/30/go-nuts-meine-kerle/#ich-bin-ein-bratapfel

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/23/evacuate-the-platforms/#let-the-platforms-burn

Enshittification is the inevitable result of high switching costs. Tech bosses are keenly attuned to opportunities to lock in their customers and users, because the harder is to leave a platform, the worse the platform can treat you – the more value it can rob you of – without risking your departure.

But platform users are a heterogeneous, lumpy mass. Different groups of users have different switching costs. An adult Facebook user of long tenure has more reasons to stay than a younger user: they have more complex social lives, with nonoverlapping social circles from high school, college, various jobs, affinity groups, and family. They are more likely to have a chronic illness, or to be caring for someone with chronic illness, and to be a member of a social media support group they value highly. They are more likely to be connected to practical communities, like little league carpool rotas.

That's the terrible irony of platform decay: the more value you get from a platform, the more cost that platform can extract, a cost denominated in your wellbeing, enjoyment and dignity.

(At this point, someone will pipe up and say, "If you're not paying for the product, you're the product." It's nonsense. Dignity, respect and fairness aren't frequent flier program perks that tech companies dribble out to their best customers. Companies will happily treat their paying customers as "products" if they think those customers can't avoid other forms of rent-extraction, such as "attention rents")

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/06/attention-rents/#consumer-welfare-queens

Now, consider the converse proposition: for younger users, platforms deliver less value. Younger users have less complex social lives on average relative to their parents and grandparents, which means that platforms have fewer ways to sink their hooks into those young users. Further: young users tend to want things that the platforms don't want them to have, right from the first day they sign up. In particular, young users often want to conduct their socializing out of eyesight and earshot of adults, especially parents, teachers, and other authority figures. This means that a typical younger user has both more reasons to leave a platform as well as fewer reasons to stay there.

Younger people have an additional reason to bail on platforms early and often: if your online and offline social circles strongly overlap – if you see the same people at school as you do in your feed, it's much easier to reassemble your (smaller, less complex) social circle on a new platform.

And so: on average, young people like platforms less, hate them more, and have both less to lose and more to gain by leaving one platform for another. Sure, some young people are also burning with youth's neophilia. But even without that neophilia, young people are among the first to go when tech bosses start to ratchet up the enshittification.

Beyond young people, there are others who tend to jump ship early, like sex-workers:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/21/early-adopters/#sex-tech

Sex-workers' technology changes are only incidentally the result of some novelty-seeking impulse. The real reason to change platforms if you're a sex-worker is that the platforms are either absolutely hostile to sex-workers, or profoundly indifferent to the suffering their policy changes rain down upon them.

The same is broadly true of other disfavored groups, including those with out-of-mainstream political ideologies. Some of these groups hold progressive views, others are out-and-out Nazis, but all of them chafe at the platforms' policies at the best of times, and are far more ready to jump ship when the platforms tighten the noose on all their users.

This is where "dark corners" come in. The worst people on the internet have relocated to its so-called dark corners – privately hosted servers, groupchats, message-boards, etc. Some of these are notorious: Kiwi Farms, 4chan, 8kun, sprawling Telegram groupchats. Others only breach when they are implicated in waves of unthinkably cruel and grotesque crimes:

https://www.wired.com/story/764-com-child-predator-network/

The answer to crimes committed in the internet's dark corners is the same as for crimes committed anywhere: catch the criminals, prosecute the crimes. But a distressing number of well-meaning people observe the nexus between dark corners and the crimes that fester there, and conclude that the problem is with the dark corners, themselves.

These people observe that social media platforms like Facebook, and intermediaries like Cloudflare, DNS providers, and domain registrars constitute a "nexus of control" – chokepoints that trap the online lives of billions of people – and conclude that these gigantic corporations can and should be made "responsible" for their users:

https://www.techdirt.com/2020/06/23/hello-youve-been-referred-here-because-youre-wrong-about-section-230-communications-decency-act/

From there, it's a short leap to conclude that anyone who isn't in a position to be controlled by these too big to jail, too big to fail, relentlessly enshittifying corporations must be pushed into their demesne.

This is a deal with the devil. In the name of preventing small groups of terrible people from gathering in private, beyond the control of the world's insufferable and cruel tech barons, we risk dooming everyone else to being permanently within those unworthy billionaires' thumbs.

This is why people like Mark Zuckerberg are so eager to see an increase in "intermediary liability" rules like Section 230. Zuckerberg's greatest fear isn't having to spend more on moderators or algorithms that suppress controversial subjects:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/03/instagram-users-outraged-by-app-limiting-political-content-ahead-of-elections/

The thing he fears the most is losing control over his users. That's why he bought Instagram: to recapture the young users who were fleeing his mismanaged, enshittified platform in droves:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/03/big-tech-cant-stop-telling-on-itself/

A legal mandate for Zuckerberg to police his users is a legal requirement that he surveil and control those users. It's fundamentally incompatible with the new drive in competition circles to force Zuckerberg and his fellow tech barons to offer gateways that make it easier to escape their grasp, by allowing users to depart Facebook and continue to socialize with the users who stay behind:

https://www.eff.org/interoperablefacebook

Remember: the more locked-in a platform user is, the harder that platform will squeeze that user, safe in the knowledge that the cost of leaving is higher than the cost of staying and tolerating the platform's abuse.

This is the problem with "feudal security" – the warlord who lures you into his castle fortress with the promise of protection from external threats is, in reality, operating a prison where no one can protect you from him:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/08/leona-helmsley-was-a-pioneer/#manorialism

Rather than fighting to abolish dark corners because only the worst people on the internet use them today, we should be normalizing dark corners, making it easier for every kind of user to find a cozy nook that is shaded from the baleful glare of Zuck and his fellow, eminently guillotineable tech warlords:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/15/normalize-dark-corners/

Enshittification is relentless. The collapse of the restraints that penalized tech companies who abused their users – competition, regulation, interoperability and their own workers' consciences – has inculcated every tech boss with an incurable enshittification imperative.

Efforts to make the platforms safer for their users can only take us so far. Fundamentally, these vast, centralized systems that vest authority with flawed and mediocre and frail human dictators (who fancy themselves noble, brilliant and infallible) will never be safe for human habitation. Rather than focusing on improving the platforms, we should be evacuating them:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/09/let-the-platforms-burn/

Online communities that control their own moderation policies won't always get it right. But there is a whole host of difficult moderation calls that can never be adequately handled by outsiders overseeing vast, sprawling platforms. Distinguishing friendly banter from harassment requires the context that only an insider can hope to possess.

We all deserve dark corners where we stand a chance of finding well-managed communities that can deliver the value that keeps us stuck to our decaying giant platforms. Eventually, the enshittification will chase every user off these platforms – not just kids or sex-workers or political radicals. When that happens, it sure would be nice if everyone could set up in a dark corner of their own.

Name your price for 18 of my DRM-free ebooks and support the Electronic Frontier Foundation with the Humble Cory Doctorow Bundle.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/23/evacuate-the-platforms/#let-the-platforms-burn

#pluralistic #online harms #interoperability #dma #interop #feudal security #switching costs #dark corners #web theory #darknet #platforms #enshittification #evacuate the platforms #bulletproof hosting #incentives matter #platform decay #shitty technology adoption curve

215 notes · View notes

reasonsforhope · 4 months

Text

Determined to use her skills to fight inequality, South African computer scientist Raesetje Sefala set to work to build algorithms flagging poverty hotspots - developing datasets she hopes will help target aid, new housing, or clinics.

From crop analysis to medical diagnostics, artificial intelligence (AI) is already used in essential tasks worldwide, but Sefala and a growing number of fellow African developers are pioneering it to tackle their continent's particular challenges.

Local knowledge is vital for designing AI-driven solutions that work, Sefala said.

"If you don't have people with diverse experiences doing the research, it's easy to interpret the data in ways that will marginalise others," the 26-year old said from her home in Johannesburg.

Africa is the world's youngest and fastest-growing continent, and tech experts say young, home-grown AI developers have a vital role to play in designing applications to address local problems.

"For Africa to get out of poverty, it will take innovation and this can be revolutionary, because it's Africans doing things for Africa on their own," said Cina Lawson, Togo's minister of digital economy and transformation.

"We need to use cutting-edge solutions to our problems, because you don't solve problems in 2022 using methods of 20 years ago," Lawson told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a video interview from the West African country.

Digital rights groups warn about AI's use in surveillance and the risk of discrimination, but Sefala said it can also be used to "serve the people behind the data points". ...

'Delivering Health'

As COVID-19 spread around the world in early 2020, government officials in Togo realized urgent action was needed to support informal workers who account for about 80% of the country's workforce, Lawson said.

"If you decide that everybody stays home, it means that this particular person isn't going to eat that day, it's as simple as that," she said.

In 10 days, the government built a mobile payment platform - called Novissi - to distribute cash to the vulnerable.

The government paired up with Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) think tank and the University of California, Berkeley, to build a poverty map of Togo using satellite imagery.

Using algorithms with the support of GiveDirectly, a nonprofit that uses AI to distribute cash transfers, the recipients earning less than $1.25 per day and living in the poorest districts were identified for a direct cash transfer.

"We texted them saying if you need financial help, please register," Lawson said, adding that beneficiaries' consent and data privacy had been prioritized.

The entire program reached 920,000 beneficiaries in need.

"Machine learning has the advantage of reaching so many people in a very short time and delivering help when people need it most," said Caroline Teti, a Kenya-based GiveDirectly director.

'Zero Representation'

Aiming to boost discussion about AI in Africa, computer scientists Benjamin Rosman and Ulrich Paquet co-founded the Deep Learning Indaba - a week-long gathering that started in South Africa - together with other colleagues in 2017.

"You used to get to the top AI conferences and there was zero representation from Africa, both in terms of papers and people, so we're all about finding cost effective ways to build a community," Paquet said in a video call.

In 2019, 27 smaller Indabas - called IndabaX - were rolled out across the continent, with some events hosting as many as 300 participants.

One of these offshoots was IndabaX Uganda, where founder Bruno Ssekiwere said participants shared information on using AI for social issues such as improving agriculture and treating malaria.

Another outcome from the South African Indaba was Masakhane - an organization that uses open-source, machine learning to translate African languages not typically found in online programs such as Google Translate.

On their site, the founders speak about the South African philosophy of "Ubuntu" - a term generally meaning "humanity" - as part of their organization's values.

"This philosophy calls for collaboration and participation and community," reads their site, a philosophy that Ssekiwere, Paquet, and Rosman said has now become the driving value for AI research in Africa.

Inclusion

Now that Sefala has built a dataset of South Africa's suburbs and townships, she plans to collaborate with domain experts and communities to refine it, deepen inequality research and improve the algorithms.

"Making datasets easily available opens the door for new mechanisms and techniques for policy-making around desegregation, housing, and access to economic opportunity," she said.

African AI leaders say building more complete datasets will also help tackle biases baked into algorithms.

"Imagine rolling out Novissi in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast ... then the algorithm will be trained with understanding poverty in West Africa," Lawson said.

"If there are ever ways to fight bias in tech, it's by increasing diverse datasets ... we need to contribute more," she said.

But contributing more will require increased funding for African projects and wider access to computer science education and technology in general, Sefala said.

Despite such obstacles, Lawson said "technology will be Africa's savior".

"Let's use what is cutting edge and apply it straight away or as a continent we will never get out of poverty," she said. "It's really as simple as that."

-via Good Good Good, February 16, 2022

#older news but still relevant and ongoing #africa #south africa #togo #uganda #covid #ai #artificial intelligence #pro ai #at least in some specific cases lol #the thing is that AI has TREMENDOUS potential to help humanity #particularly in medical tech and climate modeling #which is already starting to be realized #but companies keep pouring a ton of time and money into stealing from artists and shit instead #inequality #technology #good news #hope

201 notes · View notes

the-greatest-fool · 2 months

Text

I basically only post and read posts in my bubble aside from occasionally scrolling through Real Tumblr, but people’s takes about US politics on this website are fucking unbelievable. They talk about our government as if it didn’t save us from a pandemic-induced financial collapse, pump trillions of dollars into public works, not to mention substantially invest and rein in pharmaceuticals, and is instead some sort of ultra-neoliberal-corporate kitty shooting machine.

Like let’s be for real. Do they…know what the government does? How it works? Do you know what a conservative is? Do you know what an authoritarian is?

Because a system of government whose citizens are all lucky it has had continuous peaceful transfer of power for centuries could very well have its greatest norm violated—that those who reject its legitimacy must be rejected—and we don’t blink an eye.

Because the first major investment against climate change, coupled with life saving investments into healthcare, cancer research, and drug costs could be shredded by indiscriminate fiscal conservatives who don’t care if we die in forest fires, cancer from pollution, lose insurance because we’re jobless, or, apparently, all die in a fricking plague.

Because a foreign policy establishment that had finally reversed two decades of foreign intervention in favor of a normalization strategy aimed at reducing American foot presence, drone strikes, and indiscriminate killings is about to be replaced by the whims of a man who dropped the “mother of all bombs” on the Middle East, gave American soldiers up to Russian bounty hunters, extorted a foreign leader for political favors and arguably indirectedly resulted in that country being BRUTALLY INVADED BY AN IMPERIAL NEIGHBOR, is in the pockets of CCP-funded billionaires, and WANTS TO “FINISH THE JOB” IN GAZA.

Because a President who is against family separations and promotes a path for DREAMERs and more legal immigration and rights for unodcumented people could be replaced by a man who wants to separate families, PUT UNDOCUMENTED PEOPLE IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS, RESTRICT EVEN LEGAL IMMIGRATION, ESPECIALLY THAT OF MUSLIMS, AND SHOOT MIGRANTS.

Because a President who stopped a repeat of the Great Recession and the painful decade that followed it with strong fiscal stimulus which CUT CHILD POVERTY IN HALF BEFORE CONSERVATIVES MADE IT EXPIRE, then managed to cut deficits and presided over a decline in inflation, resulting in record high real wages (aka taking into account inflation) for workers is going to be replaced by a President who wants to TARIFF ALL FOREIGN GOODS by 15%, CUT TAXES FOR THE FILTHY RICH AND THE TAX ENFORCEMENT TO STOP THEM, INCREASE CHILD POVERTY AND UNINSUREDNESS by cutting gov’t programs, and HURT UNIONS which by every measure will lead to lower wages, higher prices, and more poverty and starvation.

Because a President who has pledged to sign a bill codifying Roe v. Wade (which has yet to be possible in recent memory, whatever these kids say), who enshrined the right to marry someone of the same sex or different race, who supports the Equality Act which would enshrine LGBTQ protections into the law, could be replaced by THE MAN WHO REMOVED AMERICA’S RIGHT TO ABORTION, whose Christian nationalist supporters want to END SEXUAL FREEDOM as we know it including TARGETING IVF AND BIRTH CONTROL, who wants to reverse LGBTQ discrimination law in favor of Christian bigots who hate queer and trans people, and who demonizes that community to win political support.

Ask yourself if you really think there’s no difference between the two. Ask yourself if a reasonable person given these facts would choose the latter. Ask yourself why you see so much propagandizing against the reasonable choice. Ask yourself why so many people seem to have opinions on this when they “don’t even go here”.

Maybe I’m just preaching to the choir here. Maybe people who say this inane stuff wouldn’t vote anyways. Maybe somehow we’re screwed anyways. Maybe people will stupidly vote third party and we’re fucked. Maybe this will get me attacked.

I don’t care anymore. If I have to see one more fucking post acting like we live under the fucking Evil Empire while a SELF PROCLAIMED DICTATOR is about to end the best streak of decent governance I’ve ever seen in a while, I just can’t anymore.

112 notes · View notes

mysterycitrus · 3 months

Text

genuine q for the jasonheads and jason moots— has he been shown in canon text to engage in restorative community work (ie safe injection sites, exchange programs etc) or support children and sex workers specifically? essentially any long-term community planning in either new52 or rebirth canon

#he was not doing any of that pre flashpoint #spokes #jason todd #dc comics #drug use tw #ig?

125 notes · View notes

allthecanadianpolitics · 7 months

Text

As rates of HIV transmission grow exponentially across Manitoba, leaders of a newly launched treatment and prevention project hope to secure more funding from the new provincial government.

The Manitoba HIV Program says the outgoing Progressive Conservative government was unwilling to support its new Program to Access Treatment for HIV and Support (PATHS).

The project quietly started up last week in Winnipeg with its first pod, made up of a nurse, a social worker and an outreach worker.

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

#cdnpoli #canada #canadian politics #canadian news #canadian #manitoba #HIV #AIDS #HIV/AIDS

203 notes · View notes

bocsau · 10 months

Text

A Community Support Program for Serious Mental Illness

The community support program provides services to maintain consumers with serious mental illness in the community. These services include consumer involved treatment planning, psychiatric rehabilitation, symptom management, support groups and outreach/recreational activities.

Clients from sociocentric cultures may have strong family networks that can be tapped in the rehabilitation process. Studies should explore strategies for incorporating cultural relevance in rehabilitative interventions.

Lifeline Connections

Lifeline Connections offers treatment services for those with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders. The facility also provides a residential program for patients in need of long-term care. It is a safe environment that was designed to promote recovery and a healthy lifestyle. It is a licensed drug and alcohol rehab center. It accepts most insurance and is networked with many providers.

The facility is able to accommodate 60 patients at a time in its main department. All rooms are gender-specific, and two patients are placed into each room. The facility also offers a detoxification unit where up to 16 patients can be treated at a time.

The treatment program at Lifeline Connections includes psycho-education and individual therapy with a recovery coach. Patients can also attend community meetings and group activities. The staff at Lifeline Connections includes registered nurses, social workers, case managers, and addiction counselors. Many of the staff members are fluent in American Sign Language.

Section 29 Services

The program works with people to develop a plan for employment. It can connect them with a Vocational Rehabilitation counselor and help with job searching or finding long-term job coaching services. A person can start with the service in high school as part of their transition planning.

Often the nursing assessment is just the beginning of the process to get the waiver services that will help a person live in the community. People must apply for the waiver through DHHS. Typically the person’s case worker will make the application. If a person is looking for residential or work support services they will need to submit an application for both Section 21 and Section 29.

There are waitlists for both. As of September 2022, the waitlist for Section 21 — the comprehensive waiver that provides the highest level of support — was at 2,028 people and the waitlist for Section 29 – which is geared more toward in home and work supports – was at 218.

Benefits Counseling

A team of highly mobile, flexible counselors provides benefits counseling to consumers who are in need. This service helps them navigate complex issues related to health insurance coverage, complaints and appeals, navigating the medical bill process, as well as other financial needs.

Family Stabilization Services assist HIV-affected families in making decisions related to custody and care of children, helping to stabilize new family dynamics. This service also works closely with legal staff to refer families for legal services as needed.

Originally called “Respite” in 1994, this program is now known as Community Support-Individual (CS-I). This is a consumer driven and intensive case management service for adults and adolescents who have serious and persistent mental illness and have significant trouble managing their lives because of the nature of their mental health diagnosis. This service includes home based support, group and individual activities, work services, socialization, psychosocial rehabilitation, counseling, psychiatric and nursing services and benefits counseling. No one is denied access to this service because of inability to pay and a sliding fee schedule is available.

Community Integration

Community integration is about integrating people with disabilities into their communities in ways that respect them as individuals rather than reducing them to their disability labels. It can mean living in affordable, integrated housing that reflects an individual’s needs and preferences. It may also mean pursuing meaningful work in non-segregated employment settings, participating in religious or faith-based activities, or visiting local parks and nature centers.

Sunshine believes that true community integration only occurs when people of all abilities participate side-by-side. To facilitate this, we offer opportunities to learn and build practical life skills that help participants become more engaged in their communities.

Providing consumers with the opportunity to interact with each other in a variety of settings also encourages the development of self-advocacy, which is the ability to speak up for one’s own interests, values and beliefs. Consumers can do this by participating in regional CSP committees and through a national coalition that connects local, state and regional committees.

#community support program #community support services #community support worker #community support

0 notes

dostoyevsky-official · 9 days

Text

There were two central issues at Columbia: the question of divestment and that of university decision-making. The heart of the divestment argument is that money changes things. If economic sanctions against South Africa were pursued with the vigor of, say, the destabilization of the democratically elected government of Allende in Chile, the regime might well be prevented from prosecuting the war in Namibia, and forced into negotiating with the African National Congress. Divestment, as an act of solidarity with the black trade unions and the United Democratic Front in South Africa, can help make South Africa ungovernable. [...] As the Columbia Coalition points out, "IBM is still supplying computers which keep track of blacks under the pass law system, Mobil is still providing oil to the South African military, and all companies are still obliged under the Key Points Act to offer their factories to the military in case of black unrest. " At present, Columbia's investment policy looks more and more like the Reagan administration's "constructive engagement "-which has meant backing IMF loans to South Africa, sending 2,500 electric shock batons to apartheid's police, and encouraging American investment. Indeed the changes that have taken place in South Africa-like the heavily-boycotted "Coloured" and Asian Parliaments-are, as Stanley Greenberg of Yale's Southern Africa Research Program has argued, signs not of the success of "constructive engagement" but of the vulnerability of the apartheid regime. But the Columbia blockade was not only about divestment: since the University Senate had unanimously voted for full divestment, the blockade focused attention on the unaccountability of the university trustees. In the course of the blockade, two visions of the university came into conflict: on the one hand the humanistic ideal of the university as a community, which, if not quite democratic, still recognizes the rights and responsibilities of its several bodies-faculty, students, staff, alumni; and on the other hand, the reality of the university as a real estate corporation, directed by a corporate board, increasingly dependent on corporate monies, and selling a service to student consumers. Students at Columbia became particularly aware of the second Columbia-Columbia Inc.-when the administration bitterly resisted recognizing the clerical union earlier this school year. They have seen it again in the trustee's resistance to the university community's decision for divestment. And during the blockade, the support from community and tenants groups included an education about Columbia as landlord and gentrifier. The various lived experiences of the corporate university was the ground for the reciprocal support between students and clerical workers, and for the two major marches: one from Harlem to Hamilton Hall, the other from Hamilton Hall to Harlem. As Tanaquil Jones of the Coalition said, "We're going to give back to the Harlem community what they've given us."

[...] The Columbia blockade sparked sit-ins, demonstrations and arrests at cam puses across the country: among them, Berkeley, Rutgers, Purchase, Cornell, Princeton, Santa Cruz, and Syracuse. Though each of these has their own history and internal dynamics, and all of them, including Columbia, are part of a larger history of actions against American support for apartheid, the events of April do provoke the question: "why divestment? " The divestment movement has uniquely condensed the unquestioned opposition to the apartheid regime of the mass of students, a focus on a specifically university issue of investment, and, perhaps most strikingly, the possibility of multiracial action, the prefigurative politics of a rainbow coalition.

Michael Denning, Money Changes Everything: The Divestment Bockade at Columbia Inc. (1985)

#1985

64 notes · View notes

batboyblog · 3 months

Text

The Biden-⁠Harris Administration Advances Equity and Opportunity for Black Americans

Growing Economic Opportunity for Black Families and Communities Through the President’s legislative victories, including the American Rescue Plan (ARP), the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—as well as the President’s historic executive orders on racial equity—the Biden-Harris Administration is ensuring that federal investments through the President’s landmark Investing in America agenda are equitably flowing to communities to address longstanding economic inequities that impact people’s economic security, health, and safety. And this vision is already delivering results. The Biden-Harris Administration has:

Powered a historic economic recovery that created 2.6 million jobs for Black workers—and achieved both the lowest Black unemployment rate on record and the lowest gap between Black and White unemployment on record.

Helped Black working families build wealth. Black wealth is up by 60% relative to pre-pandemic—the largest increase on record.

Cut in half the number of Black children living in poverty in 2021 through ARP’s Child Tax Credit expansion. This expansion provided breathing room to the families of over 9 million Black children.

Began reversing decades of infrastructure disinvestment, including with $4 billion to reconnect communities that were previously cut off from economic opportunities by building needed transportation infrastructure in underserved communities, including Black communities.

Connected an estimated 5.5 million Black households to affordable high-speed internet through the Affordable Connectivity Program, closing the digital divide for millions of Black families.

Helping Black-Owned Businesses Grow and Thrive Since the President entered office, a record 16 million new business applications have been filed, and the share of Black households owning a business has more than doubled. Building on this momentum, the Biden-Harris Administration has:

Achieved the fastest creation rate of Black-owned businesses in more than 30 years—and more than doubled the share of Black business owners from 2019 to 2022.

Improved the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) flagship loan guarantee programs to expand the availability of capital to underserved communities. Since 2020, the number and dollar value of SBA-backed loans to Black-owned businesses have more than doubled.

Launched a whole-of-government effort to expand access to federal contracts for small businesses, awarding a record $69.9 billion to small disadvantaged businesses in 2022.

Through Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative, invested $10 billion to expand access to capital and invest in early-stage businesses in all 50 states—including $2.5 billion in funding and incentive allocations dedicated to support the provision of capital to underserved businesses with $1 billion of these funds to be awarded to the jurisdictions that are most successful in reaching underserved businesses.

Helped more than 37,000 farmers and ranchers who were in financial distress, including Black farmers and ranchers, stay on their farms and keep farming, thanks to resources provided through IRA. The IRA allocated $3.1 billion for the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide relief for distressed borrowers with at-risk agricultural operations with outstanding direct or guaranteed Farm Service Agency loans. USDA has provided over $2 billion and counting in timely assistance.

Supported small and disadvantaged businesses through CHIPS Act funding by requiring funding applicants to develop a workforce plan to create equitable pathways for economically disadvantaged individuals in their region, as well as a plan to support procurement from small, minority-owned, veteran-owned, and women-owned businesses.

Created the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that will invest in clean energy projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities.

Increasing Access to Housing and Rooting Out Discrimination in the Housing Market for Black Communities To increase access to housing and root out discrimination in the housing market, including for Black families and communities, the Biden-Harris Administration has:

Set up the first-ever national infrastructure to stop evictions, scaling up the ARP-funded Emergency Rental Assistance program in over 400 communities across the country, helping 8 million renters and their families stay in their homes. Over 40% of all renters helped are Black—and this support prevented millions of evictions, with the largest effects seen in majority-Black neighborhoods.

Published a proposed “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” rule through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which will help overcome patterns of segregation and hold states, localities, and public housing agencies that receive federal funds accountable for ensuring that underserved communities have equitable access to affordable housing opportunities.

Created the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity, or PAVE, a first-of-its-kind interagency effort to root out bias in the home appraisal process, which is taking sweeping action to advance equity and remove racial and ethnic bias in home valuations, including cracking down on algorithmic bias and empowering consumers to take action against misvaluation.

Taken additional steps through HUD to support wealth-generation activities for prospective and current homeowners by expanding access to credit by incorporating a borrower’s positive rental payment history into the mortgage underwriting process. HUD estimates this policy change will enable an additional 5,000 borrowers per year to qualify for an FHA-insured loan.

Ensuring Equitable Educational Opportunity for Black Students To expand educational opportunity for the Black community in early childhood and beyond, the Biden-Harris Administration has:

Approved more than $136 billion in student loan debt cancellation for 3.7 million Americans through various actions and launched a new student loan repayment plan—the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan—to help many students and families cut in half their total lifetime payments per dollar borrowed.

Championed the largest increase to Pell Grants in the last decade—a combined increase of $900 to the maximum award over the past two years, affecting the over 60% of Black undergraduates who rely on Pell grants.

Fixed the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, so all qualified borrowers get the debt relief to which they are entitled. More than 790,000 public servants have received more than $56 billion in loan forgiveness since October 2021. Prior to these fixes, only 7,000 people had ever received forgiveness through PSLF.

Delivered a historic investment of over $7 billion to support HBCUs.

Reestablished the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans.

Through ARP, secured $130 billion—the largest investment in public education in history—to help students get back to school, recover academically in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and address student mental health.

Secured a 30% increase in child care assistance funding last year. Black families comprise 38% of families benefiting from federal child care assistance. Additionally, the President secured an additional $1 billion for Head Start, a program where more than 28% of children and pregnant women who benefit identify as Black.

Improving Health Outcomes for Black Families and Communities To improve health outcomes for the Black community, the Biden-Harris Administration has:

Increased Black enrollment in health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act by 49%—or by around 400,000—from 2020 to 2022, helping more Black families gain health insurance than ever before.

Through IRA, locked in lower monthly premiums for health insurance, capped the cost of insulin at $35 per covered insulin product for Medicare beneficiaries, and helped further close the gap in access to medication by improving prescription drug coverage and lowering drug costs in Medicare.

Through ARP, expanded postpartum coverage from 60 days to 12 months in 43 states and Washington, D.C., covering 700,000 more women in the year after childbirth. Medicaid covers approximately 65% of births for Black mothers, and this investment is a critical step to address maternal health disparities.

Financed projects that will replace hundreds of thousands of lead pipes, helping protect against lead poisoning that disproportionately affects Black communities.

Provided 264 grants with $1 billion in Bipartisan Safer Communities Act funds to more than 40 states to increase the supply of school-based mental health professionals in communities with high rates of poverty.

Launched An Unprecedented Whole-Of-Government Equity Agenda to Ensure the Promise of America for All Communities, including Black Communities President Biden believes that advancing equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity is the responsibility of the whole of our government, which will require sustained leadership and partnership with all communities. To make the promise of America real for every American, including for the Black Community, the President has:

Signed two Executive Orders directing the Federal Government to advance an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda that matches the scale of the challenges we face as a country and the opportunities we have to build a more perfect union.

Nominated the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court and more Black women to federal circuit courts than every President combined.

Countered hateful attempts to rewrite history including: the signing of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act; establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday; and designating the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Mississippi and Illinois. The Department of the Interior has invested more than $295 million in infrastructure funding and historic preservation grants to protect and restore places significant to Black history.

Created the Justice40 Initiative, which is delivering 40% of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments in clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, clean water, and other programs to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution as part of the most ambitious climate, conservation, and environmental justice agenda in history.

Protecting the Sacred Right to Vote for Black Families and Communities Since their first days in office, President Biden and Vice President Harris have prioritized strengthening our democracy and protecting the sacred right to vote in free, fair, and secure elections. To do so, the President has:

Signed an Executive Order to leverage the resources of the Federal Government to provide nonpartisan information about the election process and increase access to voter registration. Agencies across the Federal Government are taking action to respond to the President’s call for an all-of-government effort to enhance the ability of all eligible Americans to participate in our democracy.

Repeatedly and forcefully called on Congress to pass essential legislation, including the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act, including calling for an exception to the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation.

Increased funding for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, which has more than doubled the number of voting rights enforcement attorneys. The Justice Department also created the Election Threats Task Force to assess allegations and reports of threats against election workers, and investigate and prosecute these matters where appropriate.

Signed into law the bipartisan Electoral Reform Count Act, which establishes clear guidelines for our system of certifying and counting electoral votes for President and Vice President, to preserve the will of the people and to protect against the type of attempts to overturn our elections that led to the January 6 insurrection.

Addressing the Crisis of Gun Violence in Black Communities Gun violence has become the leading cause of death for all youth and Black men in America, as well as the second leading cause of death for Black women. To address this national crisis, the President has:

Launched the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and taken more executive action on gun violence than any President in history, including investments in violence reduction strategies that address the root causes of gun violence and address emerging threats like ghost guns. In 2022, the Administration’s investments in evidence-based, lifesaving programs combined with aggressive action to stop the flow of illegal guns and hold shooters accountable yielded a 12.4% reduction in homicides across the United States.

Signed into the law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun violence reduction legislation enacted in nearly 30 years, including investments in violence reduction strategies and historic policy changes to enhance background checks for individuals under age 21, narrow the dating partner loophole in the gun background check system, and provide law enforcement with tools to crack down on gun trafficking.

Secured the first-ever dedicated federal funding stream for community violence intervention programs, which have been shown to reduce violence by as much as 60%. These programs are effective because they leverage trusted messengers who work directly with individuals most likely to commit gun violence, intervene in conflicts, and connect people to social, health and wellness, and economic services to reduce the likelihood of violence as an answer to conflict.

Enhancing Public Trust and Strengthening Public Safety for Black Communities Our criminal justice system must protect the public and ensure fair and impartial justice for all. These are mutually reinforcing goals. To enhance equal justice and public safety for all communities, including the Black community, the President has:

Signed a historic Executive Order to put federal policing on the path to becoming the gold standard of effectiveness and accountability by requiring federal law enforcement agencies to ban chokeholds; restrict no-knock warrants; mandate the use of body-worn cameras; implement stronger use-of-force policies; provide de-escalation training; submit use-of-force data; submit officer misconduct records into a new national accountability database; and restrict the sale or transfer of military equipment to local law enforcement agencies, among other things.

Taken steps to right the wrongs stemming from our Nation’s failed approach to marijuana by directing the Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice to expeditiously review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law and in October 2022 issued categorical pardons of prior federal and D.C. offenses of simple possession of marijuana and in December 2023 pardoned additional offenses of simple possession and use of marijuana under federal and D.C. law. While white, Black, and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionately higher rates.

Announced over 100 concrete policy actions as part of a White House evidence-informed, multi-year Alternatives, Rehabilitation, and Reentry Strategic Plan to safely reduce unnecessary criminal justice system interactions so police officers can focus on fighting crime; supporting rehabilitation during incarceration; and facilitating successful reentry.

FACT SHEET

#Joe Biden #Thanks Biden #Black History Month #black americans #african american #kamala harris #politics #US Politics #Economy #student loan debt #marijuana #criminal justice #gun violence #voting rights #from the White House #long post #because a lot has happened

68 notes · View notes

gumjrop · 7 days

Text

Masking and Protests

In a win for community care,masks are being used broadly at recent protests on college campuses across the country, making these protests more accessible as well as showing solidarity with disabled communities. Some college campuses have attempted to ban or discourage masking at protests. University of Texas at Austin’s Provost issued a statement including a rule banning masks, and University of North Carolina’s Provost asked protestors not to mask, citing a state law from 1953 enacted in response to the KKK. Notably, the North Carolina mask law contains an amendment, introduced in 2020, to allow masking “to ensure the physical health or safety of the wearer or others” (see PDF link to the amendment).

Masking at protests must be allowed to make protests accessible for disabled and immunocompromised people, and safer for everyone. COVID and other infectious diseases can spread both indoors and outdoors, especially in crowded settings. Share our guide to accessible protests on Instagram or Substack, and also check out our statement and call to action on Palestine. Also consider supporting mask distribution efforts such as local mask blocs, which may be seeing increased demand related to protests.

Wins

Remember our allies at the University of California Academic Worker Union from our January 2023 webinar, who fought for COVID safety protections? They're running for office this week on the executive board of UAW local 4811. Check out their slate—which includes disability justice and COVID protections—and learn how to vote here.

The Weather

The CDC’s reported COVID wastewater levels by state show “Low” or “Minimal” wastewater levels across all reporting states and territories as of April 25, with no data available from North Dakota, West Virginia, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Guam.

Wastewater levels across all four regions are at lower levels than this year’s fall-winter peaks, with all regions showing either a slowing of the rate of decrease or a leveling off. You can still be infected during times of lower wastewater COVID levels. Precautions including consistent masking in all public spaces are still necessary in our daily lives to reduce the risk of infection, to prevent Long COVID, and to practice community care.

Variants

The CDC’s variant tracking has been updated and now shows many JN.1 sublineages, including KP.2, JN.1.7, and JN.1.13.1. Regional variant NowCast predictions are not available as of April 26 for any US region.

COVID Treatment

With the end of the national Test to Treat program in mid-April, we have lost an important route for affordable and convenient access to Paxlovid. Still, Paxlovid continues to be an important treatment to prevent the development of severe COVID. A few important facts about Paxlovid eligibility that people may not be aware of:

Paxlovid can be started within 5-7 days of the start of COVID symptoms. Initially, starting within 5 days was the recommendation. The extended window for treatment is particularly important as folks may test positive later in the course of their infection, sometimes a few days after symptoms develop.

People aged 50 and older are eligible even if they do not have other medical conditions.

Younger people with certain medical conditions may also be eligible for Paxlovid.

The PAXCESS program may provide a Paxlovid discount from the manufacturer and provides free Paxlovid for people who receive Medicare or Medicaid and uninsured people without prescription drug benefits.

If you are infected with COVID, make sure you also talk with your doctor about over-the-counter medications or supplements you may be taking. Even over-the-counter medications can have significant risks that should be discussed in the context of your individual medical history.

COVID Prevention

An effective multilayered approach to COVID prevention should include proven measures such as masking with high-quality respirators (N95s, KN96s, KF94s or better), improving indoor air quality with ventilation and filtration, physical distancing, getting the latest vaccines, and using COVID tests appropriately. Unproven methods should not be considered part of a multilayered approach. Topical nasal products such as sprays or ointments may seem tempting but are not proven to prevent COVID infections (none are FDA approved for COVID) and may have risks. For example, Vaseline and petrolatum-based ointments can cause pneumonia if applied to the inside of the nose, as they may be subsequently inhaled where they can damage the lungs. Over-the-counter antibiotic ointments are intended to protect from bacterial infection in minor skin wounds and should not be used inside the nose. Although early research on other uses has been publicized, given the risks of petrolatum-based ointments if used in the nose, it is important to wait for larger scale studies to understand both potential risks and benefits. Colloidal silver, sometimes touted in nasal spray form, is not proven to treat or prevent any medical condition and can cause permanent gray pigmentation of the skin as well as other serious side effects. Research studies shared in the news or on social media should not be used in place of medical advice from an individual healthcare provider you trust.

While we expect masking and other multilayered precautions to remain a mainstay of prevention, we hope that further research will lead to FDA-approval/authorization of additional drugs for COVID treatment and prevention in the future.

Measles

Measles outbreaks within the US continue, with the first Wisconsin case being reported. Measles transmits through the air as well as through contact with surfaces, and is highly contagious. Now is a good time to check vaccination records for yourself and your loved ones, get any catch-up vaccinations, and check with your local healthcare provider if you are uncertain about vaccination or immunity status. In some cases, lab testing for measles immunity (antibody titers) can be helpful.

Take Action

Use MaskTogetherAmerica’s letter campaign to ask your elected officials to reinstate the Test to Treat program for free and convenient COVID and influenza testing, telehealth, and treatment access.

Support science-based COVID isolation guidance from the CDC using our letter campaign to contact your elected officials or sign on to our expert letter.

If you know someone who is organizing a protest, share our guide to accessible protests with them, via Instagram or Substack.

51 notes · View notes