Environmental Health

When a major wildfire burns into an urban area, federal disaster officials are quick to offer financial help to people who lose their homes. But not everyone is eligible for aid after a wildfire.

Some people say they only had minutes to prepare before they had to flee their homes during the Carr Fire in Shasta County last year. Such short notice was extra challenging for seniors and people with disabilities.

This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Monica Vaughan, a participant in the 2019 California Fellowship.
Other stories in this series include:
Oceano Dunes stays open to off-roading. But California still says big changes must be made
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Stories of abuse or serious neglect in nursing homes make headlines, but patients and consumer advocates are trying to bring attention to overarching issues and push for a better system.

Advocates warn that people who need nursing care may increasingly be sent far away from San Francisco in a developing shortage of affordable nursing home beds.

This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Monica Vaughan, a participant in the 2019 California Fellowship.
Other stories in this series include:
Live on or near the Nipomo Mesa? We’re investigating air quality and need your help

Dena Kapsalis, director of student services at Paradise Unified School District, was surprised at first by how many students chose to return after the Camp Fire destroyed the town.

This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Laura Wenus, a participant in the 2019 California Fellowship, a program of USC Annenberg's Center for Health Journalism.
Other stories in this series include:
Nursing Care Expected To Worsen As California Ages
Nursing Care Crunch Puts The On

“I never imagined that in one day, my whole caseload would have such severe trauma due to a natural disaster,” a school clinical social worker said.

Abandoning your home while fleeing a wildfire can be a traumatic experience. It’s even scarier if you don’t understand the language of the evacuation alerts chiming into your phone.