Author: Hope Lane-Gavin (Hope Lane-Gavin)

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Village of Health where black moms matter
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Village of Healing: Where Black Moms Matter

Upon making the decision to prioritize improving the dire maternal and infant health crisis our state is facing, Community Solutions committed itself to ensuring said efforts are rooted in the lived experience of the families and professionals in our communities. Thus far, these collaborations have come in a myriad of forms, including engaging with practicing...

Aftershock when a Black mom dies
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Aftershock afterthoughts: exploring advocacy and equity in the media

The Center for Community Solutions understands that to effectuate the change we want to see in our communities, we must ensure we as an institution and we as individual staff and board members are committed to race equity and institutional change. This change, however, does not occur overnight and requires refined language, tools, experiences, continuous...

Juneteenth, slavery, and the origins of health disparities
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Juneteenth, slavery, and the origins of health disparities

While Juneteenth has been recognized over the last two centuries as Black Independence Day—a celebration commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans—it also serves as a cruel reminder of how long our country has to go before overcoming entrenched systemic racism. It is widely accepted that the first kidnapped Africans to reach European colonies in...

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One primary election still to go: what do we know?

It was supposed to be just like any other midterm election year in Ohio: 2022 would require a single partially open primary election on May 3 to determine who would represent each political party as the nominee in the November 8, 2022 general election. Historically, midterm elections, which in Ohio have typically included all statewide...

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The Menthol Movement: How Tobacco Became a Racial Justice Issue

Since the beginning of the opioid epidemic, advocates in our state including Community Solutions have worked tirelessly to ensure substance use disorders (SUD) and the individuals they impact receive the attention and support they deserve to recover. This includes fighting for additional mental health and addiction services funds in the state budget, supporting diversion instead...

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Frequently Asked Questions about using SNAP online

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Center for Community Solutions has been carefully monitoring the issue of food security for Ohioans, including nutrition policy on the federal and state level and U.S. Census Pulse data to assess the extent of the problem. Community Solutions has also been tracking grocery shopping innovation and alternatives,...

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Need to address college student hunger gains well-deserved attention and momentum

Throughout the pandemic, federal and state government have worked together to ensure that individuals and families impacted by this unprecedented time in history were not plagued by food insecurity. Much of this work involved guaranteeing that those already eligible for benefits had numerous ways to access food, that the benefit was sufficient for a household’s...

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Racial equity and reparations are good for everyone

This week marks the Juneteenth holiday. In honor of this important day in American history, several Community Solutions staff members have written about the history of Juneteenth, and every day this week we will share posts about the holiday, the lasting impact of slavery and what structural racism means for Black Americans to this day. Read...

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What is a midwife?

For the past several years, Community Solutions has raised awareness of poor maternal and infant health outcomes by advocating for policy changes that would increase the availability of data; eliminate racism, discrimination and prejudice in the health care system; and to increase insurance access for low-income mothers. Recently, however, we have identified that for favorable...