Aggregator

Charl Howard, 49, was arrested Nov. 13, 2018 and charged with stabbing a man 38 times. He says his mental and physical health have deteriorated.

One Pound . . .  . . .  that’s what nutritionists say the average person will gain over the holidays. For the portly, the news is worse—they’ll add 5 pounds! If these numbers are set in gastronomique stone, what’s a foodie to do? Nutritionists suggest including some of the following foods in your diet each... 

Read More »

The post How to Eat Your Way Through the Holidays with Less Guilt appeared first on Good Food St. Louis.

Police said the man was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting.

SLPS elementary school The Froebel Literacy Academy, is the newest home to a “Believe Project” Literacy Lab, a St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature [STLBACL] initiative designed to improve reading proficiency for kindergarten through third grade students.

True-crime TV series 48 Hours will explore a high-profile, mid-Missouri murder case resolved in court earlier this year.

A Thursday evening fire damaged the historic St. Augustine Church, causing a partial collapse and leaving scorch marks on the north St. Louis property.

by Abigail Kramer, THE CITY

This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with THE CITY. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published.

In November, we published a story about three New York City teenagers who struggled to get mental health services that the city’s public schools are legally obligated to provide. We identified one of those teenagers by her full name and the second by his first name only. For the third teenager, we agreed to use just his middle name and — unlike the other two — to refrain from naming a parent at all.

We followed families’ stated preferences for their children’s privacy. But in doing so, we wrestled with difficult questions about how to best serve readers and the kids we were writing about.

The standard in journalism is to identify sources by their full names whenever possible. Readers deserve to know who’s talking, particularly when a source is accusing a person or a public system of wrongdoing. And it’s part of our job, as reporters, to demonstrate why we deserve a reader’s trust. Especially in investigations, credibility is the most important currency we have, and we try to earn it by being as transparent about our reporting as we possibly can.

In writing about kids with mental health challenges, however, things get complicated. Over the year that I’ve been working on this series about access to mental health care for kids in New York, I’ve found myself writing about some of the most intimate, painful moments in the lives of people who aren’t old enough to give informed consent.

In many cases, I’ve been able to speak directly to the kids I’m writing about, on or off the record. In other cases, that wasn’t possible — either because the kids were in crisis, or away in a residential program, or just because they were so tired of the whole subject that they had no interest in rehashing it with me. Young people in the mental health system are often required to discuss their worst memories — or the worst things they’ve ever done — with what can seem like an endless succession of intake specialists, new therapists, school principals, deans, probation officers and so on. There’s a limit to how many times anyone wants to tell the story of how they attempted suicide or the time they attacked their mother.

Reporting for my most recent article posed an additional ethical dilemma: The family asking for the highest level of anonymity — that of the teenager we identified by just his middle name — was also the family with the greatest financial resources, a fact that was crucial to the story. In granting their request, were we contributing to the idea that the kid with the most money was the most deserving of privacy or that he had more to lose? Were we implying that a wealthy family should be more ashamed of mental illness than a poor one?

In the end, we stuck with the policy we’ve used from the beginning of the project — which is that we allow parents and guardians to decide how identifiable or anonymous their children will be.

Parents’ decisions have often been fraught with worry: How will their kids feel seeing personal information published online? Will their family be publicly defined by what we write? Will the story pop up in a Google search if a future college admissions counselor or employer looks up their child’s name? Will their in-laws see it?

Some parents also worry about retaliation. The universe of care for children with very serious mental health challenges is small, and the sickest kids are often in the physical custody of outside caregivers. What if families need to put their children back in a hospital or school that they’ve publicly criticized?

There was one thing, though, that every child and parent I’ve spoken to has said about why they decided to talk to me: They all wanted to make the system better. Kids in mental health crises face a nearly universal set of problems, including underfunded programs, waitlists for services, constant staff turnover and inadequate care. And yet those problems are all but invisible to the outside world. Without exception, the kids and parents who appeared in these stories decided that they were willing to compromise their privacy in the hope that some other family wouldn’t have to endure what theirs did.

“I’m just hoping that someone will take this on — some legislator, some oversight committee, someone will really take this on,” said Tamara Begel, a Long Island parent who spent many hours this year helping me to understand her yearslong fight to get mental health care for her son. “When politicians just hear the numbers, ‘Oh it’s hundreds or thousands of kids sitting in waiting rooms or psych ERs, waiting for beds,’ it’s too easy to say ‘aww’ and move on. I want them to see that it’s real.”

When I first wrote about Begel’s family, she chose to identify herself and her son by their middle names. Shortly after the story was published, however, New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, held a hearing about the lack of access to mental health care across the state, and Begel decided to testify publicly. Since then, she’s become more outspoken in her advocacy for Long Island kids and families.

But the choice to be public with her name and story remains difficult, Begel told me recently. “I’m still not 100% comfortable. I still wake up at night wondering if I did the right thing, or if it will have a negative effect on my child. Only time will tell.”

GODFREY – The Lewis and Clark Community College Veterans Club has joined forces with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve to bring joy to area children in the 2022 Toys for Tots campaign. “This annual, nationwide toy drive offers a great and easy opportunity to help area kids have a happy Christmas,” L&C Director of Veteran and Career Services Terry Lane said. “Since it is a project of the Marine Corps Reserve, we can rest assured the toys will get to the kids who need them.” Donations of new, unwrapped toys will be accepted until noon on Friday, December 16. Collection boxes can be found on the Godfrey Campus in Baldwin Hall, Room 2420, and in The Commons Café, located in the McPike Math and Science Complex. Toys can be dropped off at any time in the Campus Safety Office, located at the campus’ north entrance. Veterans Club members will be available to pick up donations from those who are unable to make it to campus. For more information, o

Continue Reading

BETHALTO - On December 9, 2022, Civic Memorial High School held a ribbon-cutting event for its new American Education program, which started during the Fall semester. This program is granted funded through the American Pathways grant from the Illinois State Board of Education. The "grow your own" program allows students to begin working towards their teacher's certification while earning four credits from Lewis and Clark Community College. This innovative program is the first step in helping solve the teacher shortage problem that plagues many communities across Illinois and throughout the nation. All students enrolled in this program are guaranteed a job interview upon completing their teacher certification. Mr. Werden, ROE 41 Superintendent; Dr. Jill Griffin, Superintendent of Schools; Mr. Justin Newell, Principal; Mrs. Angie Neilson, Instructor; Ms. Yvette McLemore, Lewis and Clark; Ms. Cathy Laramee, Lewis and Clark; Ms. Birdy Pruessner, Lewis and Clark, and students enrolled

Continue Reading

SPRINGFIELD – In preparation for the new year, employers should be aware of upcoming changes to the One Day Rest in Seven Act taking effect January 1, 2023. The One Day Rest in Seven Act (ODRISA) gives workers the right to a day of rest every workweek and breaks for meals or rest during daily work shifts. Changes to ODRISA under Public Act 102-0828 and Public Act 102-1012 taking effect on January 1st include: • New meal and rest break requirements: Requires employees be given a 20-minute break if working a 12-hour shift or longer, and at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every consecutive 7-day period, clarifying the day of rest requirements for workers whose schedules don’t align with a Sunday to Saturday calendar week. • Notice posting requirements: All employers covered by ODRISA must post a notice at the workplace notifying employees of their rights under the Act. IDOL will provide this notice on its website for employers to download and post.

Continue Reading

EDWARDSVILLE - Effie Hortis, associate director of academic advising at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, has been appointed as a board member of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) International Conference Advisory Board. The board members are chosen with the intent of showing representation across the globe. “This invitation to be part of the board is an honor,” said Hortis. “It provides a great opportunity to promote SIUE globally by collaborating with colleagues from around the world, building relationships and participating in culturally-diverse initiatives that can strengthen and motivate our practices.” The NACADA promotes and supports globally quality academic advising in institutions of higher education to enhance the educational development of students. The International Conference Advisory Board works to provide quality international conferences held each year. Hortis served as a former conference chair leading the efforts

Continue Reading

EDWARDSVILLE – For the past several months, District #7 has been working closely with the Edwardsville Public Library and other libraries in the District #7 footprint to provide each student enrolled in District #7 access to a public library card. That program is now active. “This partnership between District #7 and the public libraries serving the school district allows us to provide access to all students,” said Superintendent Dr. Patrick Shelton. “This is possible due to the cooperation of the local public libraries and an Intergovernmental Agreement between District #7 and the Edwardsville Public Library to provide access to students living outside of a library taxing area.” Student’s cards will be registered at one of the following libraries based on their home address: Edwardsville Public Library, Glen Carbon Centennial Library, Worden Public Library, Wood River Public Library, Bethalto Public Library District, Maryville Community

Continue Reading

ST. LOUIS - The Hope Revival Tour with Sarah Jakes Roberts will arrive at St. Louis’ Stifel Theatre this upcoming February. Sarah Jakes Roberts is coming in with hope for a new-fashioned revival event in St. Louis at the Stifel Theatre on Feb. 23. Sarah, Dr. Anita Phillips, and the Woman Evolve Delegation for a one-night-only experience. The event details are follows: Who/What: Woman Evolve Presents The Hope Revival Tour with Sarah Jakes Roberts. Where: Stifel Theatre. When: Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at 7 p.m. Cost: $39, $96 and $129. Ticket Info: Tickets on sale now via Ticketmaster. Ticket Link: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/06005D5F9685222C

Continue Reading

EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Stephen Hupp, PhD, professor in the Department of Psychology, and best-selling author, Richard Wiseman, teamed up to publish a book called Investigating Pop Psychology: Pseudoscience, Fringe Science, and Controversies. The book covers topics such as horoscopes, demonic possession, and extrasensory perception (ESP). “The best thing about the book is the amazing list of authors we found to write each chapter,” said Hupp. “For example, Steven Novella, neurologist and host of the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe podcast, wrote a chapter on alternative medicine.” The book has many other notable contributors including Indre Viskontas, cognitive neuroscientist and co-host of the Inquiring Minds podcast, who wrote a chapter on brain training products. Karen Stollznow, linguist and co-host of the Monster Talk podcast, wrote a chapter on risqué encounters with ghosts. Additionally, SIUE’s

Continue Reading