Health Equity & Social Justice

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.

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 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

The Trump administration’s new public charge rule could discourage immigrants from accessing everything from emergency services to free flu shots, health experts warn.

“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.

This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Courtney Teague, a participant in the 2019 California Fellowship.
Other stories in this series include:
Pricey housing in Napa County can cost more than your paycheck. It can affect your health
Napa Valley strangers talk housing struggles ov

When Kendy Mendoza of East Palo Alto and his wife experienced health scares over the last few years, they took action to turn their lives around. Eight years ago, when his wife was diagnosed with diabetes, she cut out bread and tortillas from her diet.

Roads are a key to everything, a reporter quickly finds out while traveling through the Navajo Nation.