Community & Public Health

There can be no discussion of Indian culture without dedicating a portion of the topic to food. The country has a culinary history and lifestyle as diverse as it is rich. Does Indian food, however, come with a price?

Chronic Disease, Food and Nutrition

Older approaches to homelessness required people to achieve sobriety or enter treatment before being moved into permanent housing. Under Housing First, people receive support to stay in their homes and are later paired with services such as health care, substance abuse treatment, and job counseling.

Mental Health, Housing and Homeslessness

Decades ago we made our criminal justice policies tougher, but in a way that turned out to be neither just nor equitable. As the prison population has soared, we've come to realize our justice system is also terrible for your health. And the forces driving lockups and bad health are often the same.

Race and Equity, Mental Health

Many homeless people have severe mental disorders yet remain on the streets for months or even years. The challenge for social service providers and authorities is that these vulnerable and sometimes volatile people often refuse help.

Mental Health, Housing and Homeslessness

A Cultural Services Unit established by Minnesota's public health authorities to work with minority communities became a boon to West Africans living in the state during the Ebola crisis. Together they fought stigma and helped loved ones living in the hot zone of the outbreak.

Chronic Disease, Patient Safety and Ethics

Among Ventura County’s chronically homeless, 37 percent reported a mental illness in the 2015 count. Some officials believe the real percentage is likely higher because the annual survey relies on homeless people self-reporting mental illness, and some may not realize it or don’t want to admit it.

Mental Health, Housing and Homeslessness

Rhode Island’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families is struggling to cope with an influx of neglect and abuse cases and has run into financial trouble. Reporter Kristin Gourlay explores how a national "home visiting" program aims to keep families from entering the system in the first place.

Race and Equity, Housing and Homeslessness

Rhode Island doesn’t have enough foster families to meet a growing need. That’s one reason the state's child welfare agency places a higher percentage of kids in group homes than almost any other state. Officials acknowledge the problem, but recruiting new foster families has been tough.

Race and Equity, Housing and Homeslessness