By Rose Hoban Just as in Marvel comics, when a superhero summons the team with the “Avengers assemble!” rallying cry, one member of the national disability rights group ADAPT put out a call — and advocates from across the country responded with collective force. This past week, people with disabilities from Minnesota, Texas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, […]
Posted inChildren's Health
Child care advocates protest at state legislature over funding shortfall
By Jennifer Fernandez and Grace Vitaglione Updated 7:40 p.m. June 27 The N.C. General Assembly has passed about $67 million to keep child care providers afloat for the first half of the fiscal year. The state Senate on Thursday afternoon approved an amendment to Senate Bill 357 that included the funding, which the state House […]
Posted inMental Health
‘Something from a horror novel’: U.S. Senate slams owner of N.C. psych hospitals
By Taylor Knopf A U.S. Senate report released last week accused four of the nation’s largest behavioral health companies of putting profits above the safety and treatment of children placed in their care. The blistering report — Warehouses of Neglect — is the result of a two-year investigation by Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden […]
Posted inState Health Policy
Mask bill questions swirl as N.C. lawmakers weigh veto override
By Anne Blythe Update: The N.C. House of Representatives voted 70 to 46 late afternoon June 26 to override the governor’s veto of House Bill 237. Among other things, the legislation regulates when and where face covereings can be worn in public. The state Senate voted June 27 to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s June […]
Posted inMental Health
Communities across N.C. work to curb suicides amid worsening mental health crisis
CONTENT WARNING: This article references suicide. Please take caution when reading. If you need mental health support, call or text the national suicide and crisis lifeline — 988 — or consult our mental health resources page. By Rachel Crumpler Rik Emaus came home one afternoon in August 2021 to find his teenage daughter distraught. “She […]
Posted inConsumer News
Deaths on the railroad tracks can torment train engineers
By Emily Vespa When a train barrels toward a pedestrian on the tracks, it’s almost always too late for the engineer to stop. A strike — so often fatal — can happen in mere seconds, but for a train driver, the collision and the fallout from it can haunt them for a lifetime. “There’s absolutely […]