Originally published on The Hour. Dr. Megan Sandel, an associate professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, said the pattern of evictions often follow the historic trends of disinvestment in communities from redlining, the unequal treatment in lending faced by many communities of color. “You see this perpetuation of housing discrimination even to […]
Originally published on Medical Xpress. A new perspective published in Pediatrics warns of the detrimental consequences food insecurity can have on children and families. Written by pediatric health experts from Children’s HealthWatch, based at Boston Medical Center, the perspective highlights the importance of protecting and enhancing SNAP benefits given the financial challenges facing millions of families, particularly […]
Originally published on The Hill. The $600 weekly Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) has expired and is gone until Congress acts. Opponents of continuing the PUA cite a fictional entitlement myth, just like Reagan’s welfare queen — namely that people will refuse to work, staying at home and living off government largesse if they make more on unemployment than […]
Originally published on On The Home Front. As pediatricians, we see the child health impacts of housing instability and homelessness in our clinical practice daily. We worry about the ongoing health of our patients if these families are evicted or forced into homelessness. Based on current data, we know that the COVID-19 crisis is likely […]
Originally published on Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. While the four walls of my clinic at Arkansas Children’s Hospital have felt more virtual due to telemedicine visits, the stress on the parents of my young patients is palpable. They worry about whether or not they will have enough money to pay for rent, food, and medicine, […]
Originally published on The Boston Globe. In Massachusetts, a worker making minimum wage would need to log 80 hours a week just to afford a two-bedroom apartment, let alone heat, medical bills, and childcare, leaving little to nothing left for food. And minority and under-resourced communities are being hit the hardest. The State of Hunger […]
Originally published on Rewire News. Moms 4 Housing has framed their fight for housing as a human right; their claim to secure and affordable housing is shaped through their identity as mothers with children in their care. Their demand for a home in which they can securely dwell and raise their family is a core […]
Originally published on The Brink. How is COVID-19 impacting Boston’s young families? Megan Sandel, BU School of Medicine (MED) associate professor of pediatrics and School of Public Health (SPH) associate professor of environmental health, and Deborah A. Frank, MED professor of pediatrics and SPH assistant professor of community health sciences Children aren’t COVID-19’s usual victims—medically. But […]
Originally published on Positively Naperville. Since the onset of COVID-19, food insecurity has increased dramatically. The U.S. Food Security Scale states that one in five families with children under the age of six struggles to provide enough food to lead active, healthy lives and are food insecure. Currently, 64% of clients that receive food at Loaves […]
Originally published on Opportunity Starts at Home. On June 30, partners of the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign published a new peer-reviewed commentary inAcademic Pediatrics that calls on pediatricians to advocate for more robust and equitable affordable housing investments. Authored by experts at the National Low Income Housing Coalition and Children’s HealthWatch, the commentary highlights the decades of […]