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Poor access to mental health care leaves Georgia children who need a psychiatrist in the lurch
Georgia Public Broadcasting by Ellen Eldridge, January 22, 2024: When Layken Edenfield was little, her moods would switch quickly, her mother, Teresa Edenfield remembers. “One minute she’d be happy and laughing, and the next minute she’d be crying her eyes out,” Edenfield said. “She was really hypersensitive about certain things…
Arizona’s anti-immigrant policies foster a culture of fear and create barriers to mental health care for undocumented communities
Cronkite News by John Leos, January 16, 2024: Ileana Salinas has to renew her immigration status this year. If she misses the deadline or doesn’t get approved, she doesn’t know what will happen to her job, her family, or her life in the United States. Living each day in survival…
Alcohol addiction treatment is available in Colorado, but people struggle to get the help they need
The Denver Post by Meg Wingerter, January 4, 2024: Some people with addiction face insurance hurdles, unaware of options beyond AA or rehab. Warren Musselman credits his post-alcohol life to two things: finally finding a program that offered counseling he could connect with, and deciding he just couldn’t suffer through…
Beer and wine became more widely available in Colorado even as drinking deaths rose
The Denver Post by Meg Wingerter, January 4, 2024: Alcohol is socially acceptable and can be hard to avoid for people in recovery. Five years ago, a workgroup tasked with finding ways to reduce Colorado’s rate of drinking-related deaths — among the highest in the country — issued a simple…
Colorado has some of the lowest alcohol taxes and highest drinking deaths. That’s no coincidence, experts say.
The Denver Post by Meg Wingerter, January 4, 2024: Researchers say higher prices can be effective in reducing alcohol consumption. Colorado’s taxes on alcohol are among the lowest in the country, and even though the state consistently ranks as one of the worst for drinking deaths, lawmakers have shown little interest…
Colorado alcohol deaths surged 60% in 4 years, but there’s been no public outcry or push to save lives
The Denver Post by Meg Wingerter, January 4, 2024: When fentanyl deaths spiked, the state responded. When alcohol deaths did the same, Colorado was silent. Fatal drug overdoses had been slowly rising for a decade, but when the number of Coloradans killed by fentanyl soared during the first two years…
Colorado’s quiet killer: Alcohol ends more lives than overdoses, but there’s been no intervention
The Denver Post by Meg Wingerter, January 4, 2024: Four-part series examines why state isn’t sounding the alarm after drinking deaths spiked during pandemic. Colorado consistently has one of the worst rates of drinking-related death in the country, but alcohol hasn’t gotten nearly the attention devoted to other drugs. In this…