“We have observed a significant increase in youth experiencing housing instability, as well as an increase in the proportion of Spanish-speaking newcomers, immigrants and refugees seeking assistance within our bilingual centers,” Greener shared in an email.
Category: Social justice
Posted inSocial justice
Local parents urge Polis to sign bill requiring social media crackdown on illegal activity after losing kids to overdoses
A report found that although most platforms already have policies banning illegal drug sales and have made some efforts to work with law enforcement to address the issue, companies’ responses to such activity on their platforms have had limited effectiveness.
Posted inSocial justice
COVID-19 was ‘the great accelerator.’ Its impacts are still rippling out.
“It’s convenient for people not to think about the pandemic, and sometimes you sound like a bit of an oddball when you talk about it,” said Katherine Sand, director of the resource center Aspen Family Connections. “But I think it’s a defining moment in our lives.”
Posted inSocial justice
‘Our teens need us’: Local mom spreads awareness about fentanyl and encourages creative outlets after losing her daughter
While Adams wants students to understand the dangers of fentanyl, she also wants to help them address the underlying causes of drug use and addiction by seeking mental health support and finding sources of meaning in their lives.
Posted inSocial justice
Garfield County commissioners pick former City Council member Tony Hershey to fill library board seat
Although the commissioners thanked former trustee Use for her service, they also expressed disappointment that she and other members had not made certain changes in response to a citizens petition led by two local residents to restrict or remove books with parental advisory warnings.
Posted inSocial justice
Long-COVID patients seek awareness and understanding for a still-enigmatic condition
They have told this story before, to doctors and specialists and holistic medicine professionals and family and friends, and they have told it again and again until they could find somebody to believe them — somebody, at least, to listen.
Posted inSocial justice
New Queer Resource Space aims to serve rural community in Garfield County despite worries of backlash
Although there haven’t been any direct threats to the new center, Stahl and some of her colleagues have been the subjects of discriminatory and menacing social media posts related to their advocacy work on issues such as a recently passed name-changes policy for transgender students in the Garfield Re-2 School District. Stahl worries that could escalate.
Posted inSocial justice
Locals join nationwide protest against immigration crackdowns
Alvarez said even people who have legal residency are worried about losing their status because of the severity of the push to crackdown on immigration as well as the spread of rumors and misinformation.
Posted inSocial justice
Garfield Re-2 wants to notify parents if a transgender student requests a chosen name change
Stahl and others pointed out that requiring a transgender student who wants to use a chosen name at school to tell their parents about their gender identity before they’re ready could put them at risk of verbal or physical abuse at home, mental health challenges and even suicide.
Posted inSocial justice
Retiring Habitat for Humanity President Gail Schwartz reflects on decades tackling affordable housing challenges
Habitat for Humanity of the Roaring Fork Valley President and CEO Gail Schwartz announced this month that she’ll be stepping down in April. Reporter Eleanor Bennett spoke with Schwartz about what she’s learned from her decades of work tackling the valley’s affordable housing challenges.