psychologists acting with conscience together

This post ’s designed to ask NIH to devote more stimulus money to prevention work in communities, in line the President’s vision. Visit the sight and sign on to their petition.

As members of the prevention science community, we are concerned about the research priorities of the National Institutes of Health as indicated by its plans for spending the $10 billion in stimulus funds allocated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

President Obama has clearly articulated an agenda for bringing about change in our communities through evidence-based programs and comprehensive efforts to address the risk factors that put people at risk for multiple problems. Yet the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and NIH funding of research that would advance these priorities is extremely limited.

Biological and behavioral research has brought us to the point where it is possible to substantially improve human wellbeing in most American communities.1 Nevertheless, actual wellbeing—especially in impoverished communities—lags far behind what the evidence shows could occur. Prevention science can help us reach that goal.

via The Economic Stimulus and Prevention « Nurturing Environments.

From Alternet: Chomsky notes that while the recent bank bailouts have brought a great deal of attention to the disconnect between public investment and private profit, it has become routine for the taxpaying public to foot the bill for important research that eventually creates big corporate profits. To ensure that we all reap the benefits of our investments, it is essential to make institutions accountable to their communities, rather than exclusively dedicated to maximizing shareholder returns.

Noam Chomsky: Workers Will Build the Recovery, Not Wall Street | Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace | AlterNet.

An encampment is made up of over a hundred pink tents and is named to protest Seattle Mayor Greg Nickel’s policies around the homeless.

Nickelsville: Seattle’s Homeless Name New Tent City After City’s Mayor | Rights and Liberties | AlterNet

• Differences in Neighborhood Food Environment May Contribute to Disparities in Obesity – Mailman School News

  Access to “healthy” food stores associated with lower prevalence of obesity in New York City

  Tags: obesity, research, food environment

• Financial Safety Net of Nonprofit Organizations Is Fraying, Survey Finds – NYTimes.com

  The financial health of the nation’s nonprofit groups is rapidly deteriorating, according to a survey of some 900 nonprofit leaders around the country.

  Tags: non-profit, economy, organizations

Posted from Diigo. The rest of Society for Community Research and Action group favorite links are here.

 On Friday, Good Morning America ran an inaccurate and unbalanced story, painting public pre-kindergarten as a “scam” and a “waste of money.” 

The three-minute segment did not have a single word about the four decades of research proving that quality pre-k benefits all children or that it returns $2 or more for every dollar we invest.

Add your name to the petition to GMA producers and help make sure our children don’t pay the price for news stories that omit the facts about pre-k!

Take Action: Stand up to media attacks on pre-k

U! S! A! We’re Number …. 15? | Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace | AlterNet

A new report shows that in terms of aggregate health, education, purchasing power, security and general well-being, the U.S. has been in decline.

But there is one larger force underlying these trends that has been gaining steam over the past three decades, and that’s income inequality.

• COMM-ORG

  Tags: community organizing, community development, action

• Improving the Health of Canadians: Exploring Positive Mental Health

  Improving the Health of Canadians: Exploring Positive Mental Health brings together available information and data analyses that look at one way of defining positive mental health, how we currently measure it, its role in health, the factors associated with high levels of positive mental health and what strategies are, or may be, effective at promoting mental health at a population level.

  Tags: SDOH, mental health, prevention, Canada

• Esurio: Journal of Hunger and Poverty

  Esurio is a student refereed academic journal published by the Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) with the proud support of Direct Energy.

  Esurio publishes articles on issues of hunger and poverty through a youth lens.  The journal features articles written and reviewed by graduate and undergraduate students and is published twice annually.

  Tags: hunger, poverty, journals, students

Posted from Diigo. The rest of Society for Community Research and Action group favorite links are here.

Ratify CEDAW Petition

To:  U.S. Senate
Dear Senators:

We, the undersigned, are writing to urge your strong support for ratification by the United States of the Treaty for the Rights of Women, formally the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). It is the most comprehensive international agreement on basic human rights for women.

185 nations have already ratified this important Treaty. However, the United States is one of only eight countries yet to ratify CEDAW, alongside Sudan, Somalia, Qatar, Iran, Nauru, Palau and Tonga.

This Treaty has enormous support within the United States. Over 200 leading organizations representing millions of people across this country form a strong coalition in support of U.S. ratification. The coalition groups range from the AARP and Amnesty International, to Business and Professional Women USA, and the American Association of University Women, to B’nai B’rith International and the American Bar Association.

Report: 1 in 50 U.S. children face homelessness – CNN.com
The report, by the National Center on Family Homelessness, analyzed data from 2005-06 and found that more than 1.5 million children were without a home.

“These numbers will grow as home foreclosures continue to rise,” Ellen Bassuk, president of the center, said in a statement.

The study ranked states on their performance in four areas: the extent of child homelessness, the risk for it, child well-being and the states policy and planning efforts.

The states that fared the poorest were Texas, Georgia, Arkansas, New Mexico and Louisiana.

Connecticut, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Rhode Island and North Dakota performed the best.