ReportWire

Tag: Justice For All

  • Advocates in Tampa Bay push to close racial gap in organ donation

    [ad_1]

    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When it comes to organ donations and those in need of a transplant, numbers show there are some serious racial disparities.

    What You Need To Know

    • Some local donor advocates are sharing their stories to encourage more people to consider live-saving and life-changing options

    • According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Black Americans make up 27% of candidates on the transplant waiting list, and only about 13% of organ donors are Black

    • Experts say a more diverse donor pool can help when it comes to finding the right match


    It’s a gap in life-saving health care that experts say, many times, is rooted in mistrust and misinformation, and it’s affecting the Black community in record numbers.

    Some local donor advocates are sharing their stories to encourage more people to consider life-saving and life-changing options.

    Jacquez Welch, 18, was the picture of perfect health, until he wasn’t.

    “Perfectly healthy. No health issues,” his mother, Marcia, said. “One day at a football game, Friday night lights, he collapsed on the field, and he had a stroke. Got him to the hospital, did tests and found out he had AVM.”

    It was an arteriovenous malformation, a tangled web of blood vessels in the brain that can burst without warning. Marcia said her son was in good health his entire life. So when she watched him collapse at the game, she was shocked. She said there were no warning signs.

    “Me, I thought he was just cramping because a lot of time he cramps. But when he didn’t get up and the coach signaled me down, I knew it was serious then,” she said.

    She learned the condition could’ve taken her son’s life at any time.

    “It’s basically veins in your brain that develops when you’re born and then they tangle up and then they burst and have a stroke,” she said. “What he has is not genetic. It’s not genetic at all. That was my first thing. What if my other kids have it because they all played football? Even my girls. They say it’s nothing genetic. It’s just something that happened while he developed in my stomach while I was pregnant.”

    Marcia said she got educated quickly about her son’s condition. After a few days on life support and learning there was no chance of survival, she had to make a difficult decision. She is grateful Jaquez had already made his wishes clear.

    “We decided to donate his organs when he was 16,” she said. “We went to the DMV to get his driver’s license. And they asked him, and he looked at me and was like, ‘Mom, what does that mean?’ I said that means when you’re gone, you pass away, and somebody takes your organs you can’t use anyway.

    “And he looked at me and said, ‘Sure, why not.’”

    Marcia lost her son, but she says he was able to save the lives of four people and donate tissue to more than 70 patients.

    “He gave his heart, liver, both of his kidneys, pancreas,” she said. “I know it was seven organs.”

    It’s the kind of giving people like the Rev. Kenny Irby are counting on. He has a genetic disorder that he learned he was living with years ago, and over time he learned how it affected his family for decades.

    “I was diagnosed with polycystic kidneys,” Irby said. “My family migrated from Newberry, South Carolina, to Washington D.C. because my grandmother had what was called then, the disease. And the doctors in South Carolina told my great grandmother, ‘You have to get her to the north. The hospitals here can’t treat her.’”

    Reverand Ibry is known for his work with the nonprofit, Men in the Making, and his work as the Faith in Community Justice Liaison with the city of St. Pete. He’s also the former pastor of one of the area’s oldest Black churches. But even that couldn’t prepare him for this.

    “I was diagnosed in 2022 with prostate cancer,” he said. “My wife had breast cancer in 2023, and so we went through 2024, and as soon as we got through that, I got the diagnosis on the renal failure.”

    Irby said the chemo from his prostate cancer treatment worsened his kidney condition. Now, the man of faith, known for his giving, is in need of a gift himself. He needs a kidney donation.

    “I actually did have two brothers that I’ve worked with over the years that said, I’d give you a kidney, but I’ve only got one. Because folks don’t even realize at that level you can live a functional and healthy life,” he said.

    But finding a match can be harder, especially for Black patients.

    According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Black Americans make up 27% of candidates on the transplant waiting list, and only about 13% of organ donors are Black. It’s a gap that has widened over time, leading to longer wait times.

    Experts say a more diverse donor pool can help when it comes to finding the right match.

    “It’s not that the donor and the recipient have to be the same race or the same ethnicity. But by having genetic variables in common, it helps to increase compatibility,” said LifeLink Florida Associate Medical Director and Recovery Surgeon, Dr. Jacentha Buggs.

    LifeLink is an organ procurement organization.

    “Our team here at LifeLink can’t even approach a family to talk to them about organ donation until one of two things have happened. The patient has been legally declared brain dead, or their injuries are so severe that they’re having conversations about withdrawal of care,” Buggs said.

    She agrees that a history and hesitation to even be listed as an organ donor has created barriers for the Black community.

    “There are valid reasons that people of color would distrust the medical system. Especially when you think about things that happened with the Tuskegee experiment and so forth. But what I think we have to do is meet people where they are,” she said.

    Dr. Buggs said education and building trust are key to saving more lives.

    For Reverend Irby, it’s going to take those efforts and a whole lot of faith. 

    “Certainly at the metaphysical level, when you think about it, when you’re gone, you’re not gonna need it. And if you can be a blessing and your organs and tissues can be a blessing to individuals and medical research, then I think you want to do that as a part of your legacy,” Irby said.

    It’s a plan Marcia’s son made long before she learned to find purpose through her pain.

    “Imagine your child needing a heart, a liver, imagine if it was your parent, a grandparent. Imagine you losing a child and all you have left is to give something to someone else,” Marcia said.

    [ad_2]

    Saundra Weathers

    Source link

  • The Deuces: Where Black community thrived, barred from other parts of St. Pete

    [ad_1]

    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Before the end of segregation, there were two St. Petes: a white one and a Black one. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Segregation and Jim Crow laws restricted where the Black community could go in St. Pete 

    • The Black community created a mostly self-contained community around 22nd Street South 

    •  It offered houses, businesses, schools, healthcare and entertainment

    • Groups now strive to preserve the history of that area 


    Laws restricted Black residents from going to certain portions of the city except for work, limiting them to designated areas and neighborhoods.

    The most famous of those neighborhoods is the one centered around 22nd Street South, often called “The Deuces.”

    “It was more than a street. It was an ecosystem. It was our ecosystem,” said Latorra Bowles, executive director of Deuces Live. “It was the only place African Americans thrived.”

    It was also a self-contained area that tried to cover all facets of life.

    Housing

    The neighborhood offered housing options for African Americans, though early housing was built without formal planning. In 1941, the Jordan Park Housing Complex opened. It incorporated 446 apartments, the state’s largest public housing endeavor to that time.

    “He knew African Americans needed decent and affordable housing,” said Basha Jordan Jr., whose grandfather, Elder Jordan Sr., donated the land for the project. The housing complex is named in Jordan’s honor.

    Businesses

    At its peak, more than 100 businesses lined 22nd Street South and some of the streets that ran parallel and perpendicular.

    “Everything we need is in the corridor,” Bowles said. “You have your small businesses, you have your restaurants, you have your hotels, you have your clubs.”

    Churches

    Numerous churches lined the streets in the neighborhood, especially along 9th Avenue South, which intersected with 22nd Street South. The city notes that in 1939, 19 of the city’s 123 churches were located in the 22nd Street neighborhood.

    Schools

    Jordan Park Elementary opened in 1925, a segregated school located on 9th Avenue South. Gibbs High School, the first all-Black high school in St. Pete, opened in 1927.

    Healthcare

    Mercy Hospital was established in 1923, one of the few healthcare institutions that accepted Black patients during the segregation era. Jim Crow laws precluded some hospitals from treating Black people, while prejudice stood in the way as well.

    Entertainment

    The Royal Theater opened in 1948, one of just two theaters that African Americans could attend in St. Pete.

    Down the street, the Manhattan Casino Hall had launched in 1925. It was the focal point of entertainment, socializing, and music in the neighborhood. It was even a well-known stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit, a network of performance venues safe for African Americans to play during the segregation era.

    “This was a place where African Americans could come, feel at peace, feel human, in the midst of segregation and racism that was running rampant in the city,” Jordan said, sitting underneath a statue of his grandfather that stands on 22nd Street South.

    Deuces Live is attempting to “preserve, promote and revitalize” this corridor, preserving its history while promoting a rich future.

    “It’s extremely important to preserve the history of this area because if we don’t tell the story, it will be rewritten or untold,” Bowles said. “If we don’t tell our story, no one will.”

    [ad_2]

    Jeff Butera

    Source link

  • New year, new me; weight loss victories and disparities

    [ad_1]

    TAMPA, Fla. — New year, new me. That’s a phrase often heard at the start of the new year, especially when it comes to being healthy and weight loss.

    What You Need To Know

    • In recent years, there have been breakthroughs with medication and surgical procedures when it comes to obesity

    In recent years, there have been breakthroughs with medication and surgical procedures. But for some communities, there is still a struggle.

    Numbers show there is a racial disparity when it comes to obesity. There is a group of women in the Bay Area that is determined to change those numbers.

    With their hands shivering, their walking shoes on and good conversation, getting in a workout on the Tampa Riverwalk is a piece of cake for these sisters now. But it hasn’t always been this way.

    They shared photos of themselves just a few years ago battling obesity.

    Vanessa Cowans shared photos of herself before her weight loss journey a few years ago. She has since lost more than 100 pounds.

    “They help me. I help them. We talked about things, shared recipes. We go work out together, walk together. We’ve tried several different gyms,” she said. “I mean, I knew I was overweight, and I knew it was the biggest I’ve ever been and the heaviest I had been my whole life, but I just felt like, ‘I’m functioning, I’m OK.’ But not being able to get up a flight of stairs without feeling literally like I can’t breathe, that was a lot.”

    A “before” photo of the three sisters.

    She said she went to her doctor, where she got a nutritionist, a weight loss pill and eventually GLP 1 injections to help keep the weight off.

    Her older sister, Charlotte Dixon, was also struggling with obesity. She took notice.

    “Right when we first started, my A1C was getting high, and the doctor told me one more time, You’re getting ready to get on medication,” Dixon said.

    It didn’t take long for their younger sister, Sharrel Cox, to join in too. Like her sisters, her health was on the line.

    “I have dilated cardio myelopathy. So, I have a lot of meds that kind of help me retain weight,” Cox said. “So, I didn’t realize that until I got more educated. And once that weight started falling off, my health skyrocketed and got a lot better. So just by seeing them putting their effort first saved my own life.”

    She feared having to go on a heart transplant list, but she says now that’s no longer a worry.

    All of their health concerns are backed up by data. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women have the highest prevalence for obesity when compared to any other race or gender, something that doctors say can lead to a host of long-term problems.

    Dr. Lindsay Wiles is the Obesity Medicine Director of the TGH + USF Bariatric Center.

    Her patients use everything from weight loss surgery, pills and GLP-1 injections to treat obesity, along with diet and exercise.

    “There are known risks with obesity, and those known risks are nine plus types of cancer that you’re at risk for. All of the heart conditions, all the liver conditions, all the kidney and sleep apnea and arthritis and all of those things.” Wiles said. “Those are the real things we live with every day that we can make better.”


    She currently treats all three sisters, and she said they’re the kind of patients whose stories will impact and educate entire communities.

    “That’s why I try to educate my patients so that they can educate the community and their friends and their family and everybody who has something to say about it,” she said. “There’s so much misunderstanding when it comes to this disease. Forever they’ve been told eat less, push away from the table. Exercise more and this can be fixed.”

    For those who do have something to say about weight loss or they’re just thinking about it, Cowans has the same kind of advice she gave to her sisters.

    “Start somewhere. Take the first step. Start somewhere,” she said.

    [ad_2]

    Saundra Weathers

    Source link

  • Childs Park foul odor remains, as residents ask for DEP hearing

    [ad_1]

    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Residents in St. Pete’s Childs Park neighborhood continue to be plagued with a foul odor after years of complaints.

    Previous Stories About Childs Park Odor


    Pinellas County Air Quality officials said they are working out the bugs with the air quality monitors that are on loan from the Environmental Protection Agency.

    Even with that, they have collected some data that could narrow down the source of the odor.

    While they sift through that data, the community is taking matters into their own hands. 

    It’s business as usual in the industrial corridor in the Childs Park neighborhood. But it’s that business that’s still the issue for many of the residents in the Childs Park neighborhood surrounding it.

    “The smell is still here. Yeah, the smell is still here,” said Childs Park Neighborhood Association President, Brother John Muhamad. “It’s literally an oil refinery in the middle of a residential neighborhood with homes, a football field for youth and a library and a school right across the street.”

    One business in the industrial complex is Howco Environmental Services, which is a used oil and material processing facility. Records from the EPA show the company is currently up for several permit renewals, including one related to air quality. Brother John said this is an opportunity for the community to make their voices heard.

    “There’s inspections that happen annually, but the timeline on the permit is something we just became aware of. Like, here’s an opportunity because there’s been an intent to renew,” he said.

    Howco is one of five companies with air permits in the industrial complex, according to county officials. Brother John said this is the company’s first permiresponset renewal with the DEP since the neighborhood association launched the “Smell Something, Say Something” campaign four years ago.


    Interactive map of the Childs Park neighborhood

    “It’s because they’re up for permit renewal and they’ve been one of the most perpetual consistent sources of odor,” he said.

    Spectrum News reached out to Howco Environmental Services both by phone and email for a response, and never heard back. 

    In a report from Pinellas County air quality officials, the list of odor complaints for the neighborhood shows chemical smells and gas odors continue to be reported.

    The community’s renewed efforts to identify and eliminate the odors here are part of what got Rachael Curran and students at Stetson Law School’s Jacobs Public Interest Law Clinic involved. The group just requested a hearing, asking DEP officials to meet with residents before the air permit is issued.

    “We’re hoping the neighborhood association’s voice will be heard in decision making, so as state regulators consider whether to permit this facility for another five years to continue operating the same as usual,” Curran said.

    Childs Park Neighborhood Association meeting. (Spectrum News/Saundra Weathers)

    Curran said this is just one step they’re planning to take. After years of complaints, Brother John said he’s hoping it’s a step that will lead to finally airing out the odor issue.

    “We’re looking for more long-term solutions and things we can do for the long term, which ideally would be to realize this business is no longer in the right place at the right time,” he said. “So, not renewing permits and shutting them down would be the ideal scene.”

    It’s a big ask but one he believes is part of their right to clean air.

    Attorneys working for the neighborhood association said after sending three requests, the DEP has acknowledged their request for an informal hearing. They are reviewing it and fill follow up with next steps.

    Even with years of complaints from residents and industrial companies in the area, there is nothing officially stating that a particular company is the source of the odor.

    [ad_2]

    Saundra Weathers

    Source link

  • Families search for loved ones in historic Black cemetery

    [ad_1]

    GULFPORT, Fla. — Going to visit your loved one at their final resting place shouldn’t be an intense or impossible task. But it’s the case for thousands of families at a historic Pinellas County cemetery.

    What You Need To Know

    • Historic Lincoln Cemetery in Gulfport is a historically Black cemetery that opened back in 1926

    • According to Greater Mount Zion AME Church Pastor Clarence Williams, owner of Cross and Anvil Human Services, half of the 8,000 people buried there are not identified

    • Families of the descendants that are buried at the cemetery are trying to find answers on how they can locate their loved ones

    • Williams said his nonprofit service is determined to unearth the history and use it as a teaching tool one day
    • RELATED: Grave Betrayal: The Black history that lies beneath us


    It’s a cemetery that has ties to some of the area’s richest history, but a lot of that history is feared to be lost if the people buried there aren’t identified.

    When it comes to headstones, heroes and history, you don’t have to look hard to find any of those at the Historic Lincoln Cemetery in Gulfport. It’s located just outside St. Pete’s city limits.

    For Tomeeka Wright, it’s what she can’t find that has her digging, trying to locate her son, who died in 1995.

    “He was an infant born premature. He kind of passed away through the night and it was unexpected, so it was really traumatic for me,” Wright said.

    She said she finally got her son a headstone, but overtime, the grass has grown over where she thought he might be.

    “When most people pass away, you’re able to go visit them and their spot is usually taken care of. So, it’s very emotional, but I’m determined to find him. I’m not going to stop looking,” she said.

    Her story is shared by other descendants, and it dates back decades. Tamiko Keaton, who can’t find four of her family members, believes they were buried at the Historic Lincoln Cemetery.

    “It would be a beautiful thing for me to find them, because I love going to the cemetery and putting flowers on my mom and my uncle’s grave,” Keaton said. “Being able to sit out there and cry and say, ‘This is what I’m going through, I miss you,’ but I can’t come out here and do that. It’s hurtful.”

    Sierra Clark poured out her hurt in a book she wrote about a quest to locate her grandparents.

    “It’s been almost like a hamster wheel. Like you don’t have really answers. Like where are the grave records? It’s a lot of mumbo jumbo behind the scenes that’s stopping people from getting real answers,” said Clark.

    There used to be a wooden sign nailed to a tree in the cemetery that said, “There are 4,029 unmarked graves here.” For a cemetery that’s had several different owners since it opened almost a hundred years ago in 1926, Greater Mount Zion AME Church Pastor Clarence Williams says that’s not a surprise, especially with Lincoln Cemetery being a historically Black cemetery.

    Williams’ nonprofit, Cross and Anvil Human Services, took over the cemetery almost two years ago.

    “When you talk about Black cemeteries in the Jim Crow era, there was no requirement, no record requirement. No records had to be kept,” he said. “We have some records, but the records are they’re not complete. They’re really kind of fragmented, for a lack of a better word.”

    He said there are some graves that were there in the 1800’s, long before it was an official cemetery. And with about half of the 8,000 people buried there identified, Williams said his nonprofit is determined to unearth the history and use it as a teaching tool one day.

    “There have been several anthropologists out here trying to determine how best we can go about doing that and I think they have scientific methods that they can find about when the person was buried, but as far as the name and identity, we may not ever know that,” he said.

    It’s a hard truth these descendants like Wright aren’t willing to accept, especially not as long as they’re able to show up and keep searching for their loved ones.

    [ad_2]

    Saundra Weathers

    Source link

  • New land surveying project provides framework for cemetery database

    New land surveying project provides framework for cemetery database

    [ad_1]

    HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — College students from a land surveying class unveiled a project which mapped out a large northern Kentucky cemetery and charted grave spaces for future reference.

    Cincinnati State’s land surveying certification class has spent months mapping out half of the historic Linden Grove Cemetery in Covington.

    What You Need To Know

    •  Students from Cincinnati State’s land surveying certification class have spent months mapping out half of the historic Linden Grove Cemetery in Covington

    • They located hundreds of graves, which will be documented and will be used to set up an online-based system where people can go through and find loved ones

    • The remaining half of the cemetery will be surveyed in collaboration with another Cincinnati State class during the upcoming school year


    Jennifer Townsend says finally presenting the capstone project came with a great sense of gratification.

    “There’s never been a boundary on Linden Grove. So, we were the first to do it,” she said. “We started off with locating all monumentation we could find. We pulled original deeds for the cemetery and we went out and found everything we could to come back and tell them, ‘This is where your property line lies.’ “The original deed for the cemetery is also very vague. We had to go off of everything that was connected to the cemetery to come up with our boundary.”

    On top of that, they located hundreds of graves — an impactful experience for Jesse Waggoner.

    “It was neat to see how much history was here in Covington. “I think it’s important to document this information, as what we’re doing now is setting up the groundwork for an online-based system, to where people can go through and find loved ones, and see stones that maybe they don’t live nearby,” Waggoner said.

    Waggoner said many of the stones there are sandstone, and the weather has worn them down over time.

    “There’s going to be quite a few of these graves that we won’t be able to make out. But the hope is that we can make out the people around them, and then slowly work our way into being able to identify some of these unmarked graves,” he said.

    Cincinnati State is one of the few colleges that offers a four-year surveying degree. Townsend says it’s important work that’s she’s proud of.

    “It’s very important because of the history aspect,” she said. “There’s a lot that went into it. It’s basically the framework of how the whole city and how Covington was laid out.”

    Now, future generations, who will be able to easily look up where their relatives are laid to rest, can thank them.

    The remaining half of the cemetery will be surveyed in collaboration with another Cincinnati State class during the upcoming school year.

    [ad_2]

    Sam Knef

    Source link

  • Human trafficking: How to spot it and get help

    Human trafficking: How to spot it and get help

    [ad_1]

    ORLANDO, Fla. — Human trafficking awareness training is taking place in the private sector to address this worldwide widespread crime. Law enforcement and many private businesses are making sure they’re on the lookout for the signs of human trafficking, too, in order to help victims and bring the perpetrators to justice.


    Florida requires hotel and lodging businesses to give their employees approved training. This includes housekeepers, front desk clerks, those at the concierge desk, valets and others.

    In Texas and Ohio, hairstylists and cosmetologists are being trained, too. They’re required to take courses on spotting human trafficking in their clients. The Truckers Against Trafficking organization is also working to put the brakes on trafficking. Training programs like the one at the Roadmaster Drivers School teach truckers about the red flags they could encounter on the road and at truck stops and what to do about them. 

    “If truckers are sitting in their truck and they see a Lincoln Navigator pull in and then girls get out, there’s no reason why 10 girls are getting out of a Navigator at a truck stop scantily clad — wearing clothing that is revealing. That’s an indicator that they should call the 1-800 number,” said Roadmaster Drivers School President Brad Ball.

    It’s a trend the transportation industry as a whole is following.

    At a recent event at Port Tampa Bay, organizers were focused on raising awareness about precious cargo that shouldn’t be there.

    “It’s extremely important for all sectors in the maritime industry to be aware of human trafficking,” said Brianna Cho of Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST). “It can be occurring in the cruise industry but also fishing, cargo or shipping. Really in any setting. There are four main indicators of human trafficking. It’s control, distress or injury, confusion and behaviors that indicate sex buying.”

    You don’t need formal training to spot the signs of human trafficking.

    You may hear announcements over the loudspeaker in airports. You may see signs posted there, in bus stations, restaurants, bars and even restrooms. At Orlando International Airport, like many other airports, employees receive special training on identifying trafficking and taking action.

    Here’s how to spot the signs of human trafficking according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security:

    • Does the person appear disconnected from family, friends, community organizations, or houses of worship?
    • Has a child stopped attending school?
    • Has the person had a sudden or dramatic change in behavior?
    • Is a juvenile engaged in commercial sex acts?
    • Is the person disoriented or confused, or showing signs of mental or physical abuse?
    • Does the person have bruises in various stages of healing?
    • Is the person fearful, timid, or submissive?
    • Does the person show signs of having been denied food, water, sleep, or medical care?
    • Is the person often in the company of someone to whom he or she defers? Or someone who seems to be in control of the situation, e.g., where they go or who they talk to?
    • Does the person appear to be coached on what to say?
    • Is the person living in unsuitable conditions?
    • Does the person lack personal possessions and appear not to have a stable living situation?
    • Does the person have freedom of movement? Can the person freely leave where they live? Are there unreasonable security measures? 

    If you, someone you know, or someone you see appears to be in a human trafficking situation, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

    The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is the place to report missing children or child pornography. 

    Human trafficking is a worldwide widespread crime. The U.S. State Department estimates there are more than 27 million victims at any given time. Traffickers exploit and profit at the expense of adults and children by compelling them to perform labor or engage in commercial sex.

    The National Human Trafficking Hotline says many times sex crimes are taking place in hotels, spas and illicit businesses. When it comes to labor trafficking, it’s being seen in agriculture, on farms and in domestic work or hospitality.

    [ad_2]

    Tammie Fields

    Source link