Outdoor Afro: Health, Fun, and Healing in Nature

9/16/19 my guest was Rue Mapp, on KPFA.org, 94.1FM for a lively conversation about the history of Outdoor Afro and why time outdoors is so vital for people’s well being.

Listen Now: https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=318539

 

“Outdoor Afro is at the forefront of helping more people, particularly African Americans, equitably reconnect with the natural world through Outdoor Recreation. Outdoor Afro activates networks in nearly 30 states, led by trained volunteer leaders who facilitate activities such as hiking, biking, camping, environmental education, conservation stewardship, and more. These activities promote not only a healthy lifestyle, they also help communities find healing, connect to black history found in many natural areas, and inspire an increased desire to protect vulnerable public lands for all to enjoy.”

Guest: 

Rue Mapp is the Founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro, a national not-for-profit organization with offices in Oakland, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. She oversees a carefully selected and trained national volunteer leadership team of 80 men and women who represent 30 states around the US, and shares opportunities to build a broader community and leadership in nature. Her important work has generated widespread national recognition and support. Since Outdoor Afro’s inception in 2009 as a blog, Rue has captured the attention and support of millions through a multi-media approach that is grounded in personal connections and community organizing. From its grassroots beginning, Outdoor Afro now enjoys national sponsorship and is recognized by major organizations for its role in addressing the ongoing need for greater diversity in the outdoors. In 2010, Mapp was invited to the White House to participate in the America’s Great Outdoors Conference, and subsequently to take part in a think-tank to inform the launch of the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” initiative. She was appointed program officer for the Stewardship Council’s Foundation for Youth Investment to oversee its grant-making program from 2010-2012. Since that time, Rue’s work and op-eds have been featured in publications including The Wall Street Journal, Backpacker Magazine, Seattle Times, Los Angeles Times, Ebony Magazine, Sunset Magazine, NPR, and many others. Rue’s work has also been recognized with numerous awards and distinctions, including: The Root 100 as one of the most influential African Americans in the country (2012 and 2016), Outdoor Industry Inspiration Award, National Wildlife Federation Communication award and Family Circle Magazine selected Rue as one of America’s 20 Most Influential Moms. She remains in high demand to speak around the country and in Canada about her innovative approach that has successfully connected thousands, especially from the African American community, to nature and the benefits of spending more time outdoors. She is proud to serve on the Outdoor Industry Association and The Wilderness Society boards. In 2014, Rue was appointed to the California State Parks Commission by Governor Jerry Brown. A graduate of UC Berkeley, her skills and background make her a unique voice via the leadership and programs she has instituted through OA, enlightening a diverse community to the wonders and benefits of the outdoors. Rue resides in Vallejo, CA and is the proud mother of three young adults.

Health Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is violence or aggression that occurs in a close relationship and affects millions of people in the US each year. 

Have you experienced Intimate partner violence (IPV)? If so you are not alone! About 1 in 4 women and nearly 1 in 10 men have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and or stalking, by an intimate partner during their lifetime, and reported some form of IPV-related impact. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention)

Listen now to the 7/15/19 show on About Health on KPFA.org, 94.1FM, to learn more about IPV and who is most at risk. There is help out there for you or a loved one.

https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=314353

You deserve to be safe!

Guests:

Brigid McCaw, MD, MS, MPH, FACP was the Medical Director of the nationally recognized Family Violence Prevention Program at Kaiser Permanente, Northern California from 2001 until retiring from KP April 2019. She has conducted research and published on developing a healthcare response to family violence; the physical and mental health effects of intimate partner violence;  and adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s) and trauma and resiliency informed care. Dr. McCaw received her MD and MS from the UC  Berkeley-San Francisco Joint Medical Program, and her MPH from UC Berkeley School of Public Health. She completed an internal medicine residency at UC Davis, and was in clinical practiced at the Kaiser Permanente, Richmond Medical Center. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and member of the Forum on Global Violence Prevention, National Academy of Medicine. She has enjoyed living in and raising her family in  the SF Bay area.

Michiko Scott is an MSW candidate at the School of Social Welfare at UC Berkeley while working as a medical assistant at Kaiser Permanente, Oakland Medical Center. She is also an intimate violence (IPV) survivor who overcame various challenges as an immigrant single mother of five children. In the 1990s, she encountered healthcare professionals who facilitated the process of freeing her from abusive situations. She found the calling to spread awareness of the significant role of the healthcare system in bringing IPV victims and their families to safety and in educating them about adverse health outcomes of IPV. In 2005, Michiko received training as an IPV crisis counselor and a public speaker at Stand! Against Domestic Violence, in Contra Costa County. When she worked at the women’s health clinic at Kaiser Richmond, she joined the Family Violence Prevention Program committee. For an undergraduate honor’s thesis, she researched traumatic brain injury in IPV survivors. Michiko is passionate about inspiring IPV victims and survivors to transform their lives by sharing her lived experience of finding healing and her life’s purpose. 

Resources: 

https://www.thehotline.org/

24 hour: 1-800-799 SAFE (7233) 

https://centerfordomesticpeace.org/

English: 415.924.6616  / Linea de apoyo en español: 415.924.3456 /  ManKind: 415.924.1070

Marin Youth Services:  415.526.2557  Monday – Friday, 9am-5pm

http://www.standffov.org/emergency-help

24-Hour, Toll-Free Crisis Line: 1-888-215-5555

https://www.myplanapp.org/home

Alameda County Resources: http://www.acphd.org/media/88820/domestic_violence.pdf

https://www.asafeplace.org/crisis-shelter EMERGENCY LINE 510.536.7233 / 510.536 (SAFE)

CDC: www. cdc.gov: 

Safety Alert: Computer use can be monitored and is impossible to completely clear. If you are afraid your internet usage might be monitored, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233 or TTY 1−800−787−3224. Users of web browser Microsoft Edge will be redirected to Google when clicking the “X” or “Escape” button.

Trauma And Healing In Communities

How does a community heal from trauma, racism, and violence? And how can youth be an important part of the changes that are needed for healing, health, and hope!

Listen now to the show on 6/24/19 on About Health—KPFA.org 94.1FM, for a continuing look at social determinants of health:https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=313121

Youth who live with community violence experience heightened fear that they could be a target and that the world is an unsafe place.  There are communities around the country that are notorious for homicides, and gang violence—places that are too dangerous for children to play outside, and for teens to feel respected and safe. Living in fear takes a toll on a person’s mental health, and ongoing stress can have serious physical consequences as well. Community violence and racism makes it much harder to live a healthy life! We will discuss what communities are doing to give teens a voice, agency, heal, and become change agents.

“West Contra Costa youth bear the burden of multiple health and social inequities. There is a harmful public narrative, promoted in both policies and the media, that youth of color are deficits, not assets, to the larger community.”

Programming at RYSE is anchored in the belief that young people have the lived knowledge and expertise to identify, prioritize, and direct the activities and services necessary to thrive.” 

RYSE Center https://rysecenter.org/

Dalia J. Ramos-Mucino has been the RYSE Member Engagement Coordinator since 2017. As Member Engagement Coordinator, Dalia is responsible for holding a friendly and positive culture within the space and with the youth. Dalia is passionate about creative expression in different forms like dancing, poetry, and storytelling. She will always work to ensure that RYSE is a safe, welcoming, and fun environment where youth feel open to express their thoughts and feelings. Before joining the RYSE staff, Dalia attended RYSE as a 14-year-old member and at 16 became an intern on the RYSE Leadership Team. She has been trained in Non-Violent Communication, Restorative Justice, and more.

Kanwarpal Dhaliwal is one of the co-founders of RYSE and as the Associate Director, she supports and guides the implementation and integration of healing-centered practices, grounded in racial justice and liberation, across all of RYSE’s program areas. She also develops, promotes, and advocates for policies, investments, practices, and research that enliven healing, justice, and liberation across the fields and sectors in which RYSE works. Kanwarpal believes that the purpose of her work and life is to contribute to movements, communities, and legacies of liberation that honor the ancestors who fought for her existence and survival, and to forge a world that is just and gentle for future generations. Before joining RYSE, Kanwarpal received a Master’s Degree in Public Health, and now serves as adjunct faculty at San Francisco State University.

The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting Fund Drive-May 2019

Tune in2265 on May 20, 2019 to “About Health”

KPFA, 94.1FM, or KPFA.org from 2-3PM.

Hear Dr. Brené Brown talking about Raising Children with Courage, Compassion, and Connection

Drawing on her years of research on vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame, she presents guideposts to creating “whole-hebrene-brown-home-360x239arted” families. 

Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work.  She is the author of five  #1 New York Times Bestsellers: Rising Strong, Daring Greatly, The Gifts of Imperfection, Braving The Wilderness, and Dare To Lead. 

….think about making a tax-deductible donation to KPFA, so they can do what they’ve been doing for 70 years, speaking truth to power and making a transformative impact.

Please donate at kpfa.org or by calling 1-800-439-5732.

Novel Uses For Forbidden Medicine

Listen to today’s conversation (3/18/19)  about the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics for healthhttps://kpfa.org/player/?audio=306781

“About Health” 94.1FM, KPFA.org

Psychedelic science is making a comeback. New research suggests that using psychedelic drugs such as LSD, MDMA, Psilocybin (magic mushrooms), ketamine, along with psychotherapy, can improve symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and addiction.

Guests:

Harry McIlroy, MD, is an integrative physician certified with the Institute for Functional Medicine. Before medical school and completion of residency at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center, he had a background in nutrition and obtained a Master’s degree in acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Dr. Harry McIlroy strives to provide patients with health tools that empower them to improve their well being. Some of his specialities include Medical Cannabis, Chronic Pain, Digestive HealthRegenerative Medicine and Insomnia. He serves as a clinical faculty member for the UCSF Medical School, and mentors and teaches medical residents at the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center, which provides medical care to underserved populations.

 

Mariavittoria Mangini, PhD, FNP, has written extensively on the impact of psychedelic experiences in shaping the lives of her contemporaries, and has worked closely with many of the most distinguished investigators in this field. She is a founder of the Women’s Visionary Council, a nonprofit organization that supports investigations into non-ordinary forms of consciousness and organizes gatherings of researchers, healers, artists, and activists whose work explores these states. She has been a Family Nurse Midwife for 35 years, and for 24 years has been in primary care practice with Dr. Frank Lucido, one of the pioneers of the medical cannabis movement. Their practice was one of the first to implement the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996, the first state medical cannabis initiative. Her current project is the development of a Thanatology program for the study of death and dying.

 

For information regarding the Integrative Mental Health Conference in San Francisco| April 15-17, 2019 | Hilton SF Union Square, go to: https://imhc.arizona.edu/   Speakers include 35 best-selling authors, award winning physicians, researchers, scientists and professors, including Dr. Andrew Weil, Michael Pollan, Dr. Gabor Mate, and Shauna Shapiro

Health Consequences of Climate Change

All of us are harmed by Climate Change. For example, The Lancet reports that pollution from particulate matter, a key component of wildfire smoke and vehicle exhaust, contributed to 2.9 million premature deaths in 2015 alone. There are mental health impacts, vector-born diseases, food shortages, and increased asthma—all examples of the consequences of climate change. 

Listen now to the show on “About Health” (KPFA, 94.1FM) 1/21/19 https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=302977

 

Guests:

Michael Martin, MD, MPH, MBA, is an Associate Clinical Professor in UCSF’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Dr. Martin completed his medical training at the University of Chicago, his Internal Medicine Residency at Yale, and his Clinical Epidemiology Fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. He also received both an MBA and MPH from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Martin is an active member of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), nationally and locally, and he is the co-chair of their national Environment & Health Committee, which deals with issues related to climate change. PSR views climate change as a major threat to individual and  public health. He also founded and is the president of the nonprofit group, Physicians Against Red Meat (PhARM.org). Dr. Martin teaches at UCSF, and for over 30 years he saw patients in the General Medicine Clinic at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. 

Matthew Renner is the Deputy Director at The Climate Mobilization. He has been working as a nonprofit executive in clean energy, climate policy, and journalism for over a decade, focusing on the near-term social and economic impacts of climate change. Previously he was the Executive Director at the World Business Academy, and the Development and Strategic Partnerships Director at the Clean Coalition. With a deep passion for local energy solutions and a vision of the flourishing world they can help create, Matt focuses on growing the Climate Emergency Movement and attracting resources for this work.