National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week was October 22-28, 2023, where many individuals and organizations across the US held various events to increase awareness about lead poisoning prevention in order to decrease childhood exposure to lead. Organizations in Cleveland participated in this weeklong campaign, including the Lead Screening and Testing Commission, which held its quarterly meeting...
Author: Natasha Takyi-Micah (Natasha Takyi-Micah)
Impact of the state budget on older adults and direct care workers
Now that fiscal year 2024-25 is underway, state departments are anticipating the funding commitments laid out in the state budget. Much of that funding will help Ohioans that need assistance in health, food, housing, etc. Agency allocations in the health and human services sector will be especially helpful for special populations like older adults and...
Weathering ages and harms people of color
Activists like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. worked tirelessly to ensure marginalized individuals obtain civil rights but are often gone too soon to realize the impact they have made in society. Dr. King was assassinated at 39 years old, but when pathologists completed his autopsy, they reported that his heart looked like one of a...
Governor DeWine supports local bans on flavored tobacco products in the state budget
On July 4, 2023, Governor Mike DeWine vetoed numerous provisions from the state budget, including the preemptive language that would prevent local regulation on tobacco and alternative nicotine products. Originally, the Ohio Senate included the preemptive language about tobacco regulation and retail licensing in its version of the state budget along with other plans to...
Advocacy and self-care training at Community Health Workers Day
On June 6, Health Impact Ohio hosted its annual CHW (community health worker) Day at the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts in Columbus, OH. It was a call for CHWs to advocate funding for both the Ohio Commission on Minority Health and the Ohio Center for Community Health Worker Excellence (as described...
Programs impacted by the House-passed budget (HB33) for older adults and people with disabilities
On April 26, 2023, the Ohio House of Representatives passed its version of the state budget, known as House Bill (HB) 33. The legislative language for HB33 is over 5000 pages long, but there are two documents prepared by the Legislative Service Commission which may be helpful to use when viewing changes to the programs:...
World Maternal Mental Health Day is May 3: resources to celebrate
You may have heard of awareness markers for mental health such as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, but did you know there is a World Maternal Mental Health Day? A day to raise awareness, change attitudes to reduce stigma, and influence policies about maternal mental health, World Maternal Mental Health Day takes place on May 3,...
Origins of self-care and why activists and advocates need to practice it
We live in a highly stressed society in the United States. According to a survey conducted by The Harris Poll, adults mainly cited violence and crime (75 percent), inflation (83 percent) and the political climate (66 percent) as major sources of stress. Another significant source of stress is the current racial climate (62 percent). This...