Coronavirus Produces School Closures, Uncertain Futures, Extra Stress for Alabama Teens

By |

Just like teenagers across Alabama and the nation, Frazier is trying to finish a school year without the grounding of his usual routine — in the middle of a global public health crisis. While it’s rare for young people to have life-threatening reactions to coronavirus, that doesn’t mean they aren’t struggling through the disruptions in daily life. Being away from the routine and safety of school, extracurriculars, work and friends can be dangerous for young people’s mental and physical well-being.

Proposed Waiting Period Law for Firearms Aims to Save Lives of Suicidal Alabamians

By |

This story is part of a series on public health and firearms. The first examined groups working to reduce homicide in Birmingham. The second interviewed Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin about his office’s peace initiative. The third examined a proposed voluntary “do not sell” list for Alabamians suffering mental illness, which aims to prevent firearm access for people with suicidal ideation.

trauma: 3 men talk outside.

Youth Caught in Crosshairs of Cycles of Gun Violence. Is Anybody Listening?

By |

Cassio Batteast, a community advocate in Jackson, recently sat down with 20 of the students in the local school district who were causing the most trouble.
Over weekly meetings, they gradually opened up to him. “I learned that 10 of the 20 had fathers who had been murdered or fathers who had murdered someone. Half,” he said.

Coverage of the Los Angeles March for Our Lives

By |

When the Los Angeles March for Our Lives crowd stepped off on March 24, students at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism were there to cover it.