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USA Today
3 days ago
- Health
- USA Today
Mental Health After Trauma: Survivors of Abuse PA Highlights the Importance of Healing During Mental Health Awareness Month
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, PA – In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, Survivors of Abuse PA is emphasizing the critical need for mental health support for survivors of sexual abuse and trauma across Pennsylvania. Healing from trauma is an ongoing journey, and for many survivors, the emotional scars left by abuse can endure for years after the physical harm has ended. Throughout May, Survivors of Abuse PA, led by Ashley DiLiberto, Esq., is bringing attention to the importance of accessible mental health care, trauma-informed legal advocacy, and survivor-centered support as essential elements of the recovery process. Survivors of sexual abuse often carry invisible wounds. Conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, dissociation, and trust difficulties are common among those who have suffered abuse. These mental health challenges can affect survivors' personal relationships, work lives, and overall sense of safety and stability. Survivors of Abuse PA believes that seeking justice is just one part of a survivor's healing—equally important is ensuring they have the mental health tools and emotional support needed to reclaim their lives. Ashley DiLiberto, Esq., managing attorney of Survivors of Abuse PA, stressed the deep and lasting impact of trauma. 'The effects of sexual abuse extend far beyond the moment the abuse occurs. Survivors live with the emotional consequences every day, often in silence. At Survivors of Abuse PA, we are committed not only to fighting for survivors' legal rights but also to supporting their mental and emotional well-being throughout the process,' said DiLiberto. This Mental Health Awareness Month, Survivors of Abuse PA is advocating for a comprehensive approach to survivor care, encouraging survivors to seek professional mental health support, join survivor networks, and access legal advocacy services that understand the complexities of trauma. The firm emphasizes that asking for help is a sign of courage, and no survivor should ever feel ashamed to seek the support they deserve. Trauma from sexual abuse often leads to feelings of shame, fear, and isolation, which can prevent survivors from reaching out for the help they need. Survivors of Abuse PA encourages survivors to remember that they are not alone, and there are resources and advocates ready to walk beside them through every step of the healing journey. Pursuing a civil lawsuit is not only a legal act—it can also be a powerful step toward emotional closure and holding wrongdoers accountable for the harm they caused. Survivors of Abuse PA ensures that all legal representation is trauma-informed and survivor-centered, providing compassionate support from the first consultation through the final resolution of a case. The firm also works to connect survivors with mental health professionals, support groups, and community resources throughout Pennsylvania, helping survivors address both the legal and emotional impacts of abuse. During Mental Health Awareness Month, Survivors of Abuse PA encourages survivors to prioritize their mental health and recognize that recovery is possible. Seeking legal support, mental health services, and community connections can make a profound difference in a survivor's life, helping them move from a place of pain to one of empowerment and healing. For those and their loved ones who have dealt with the emotional and psychological aftermath of sexual abuse, contact Survivors of Abuse PA for a confidential consultation. Reach out to Ashley DiLiberto and her legal team at (267) 502-9090 or visit to learn more about your rights and the support resources available to you. Survivors of Abuse PA stands with all survivors this Mental Health Awareness Month and is committed to supporting their journey toward healing, justice, and renewed hope.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NOAA reportedly laying off another 1,000, adding to mountain of federal cuts
Rep. April McClain Delaney (D-6th) was one of several members of Congress who addressed a crowd of hundreds outside NOAA's Silver Spring headquarters March 3, just days after the Trump administration cut hundreds of jobs from the agency. NOAA cut another 1,000 this week. (Photo by Jack Bowman/Maryland Matters) Tom Di Liberto always knew he wanted to be a meteorologist. There's an old family story about how, when he was just 2 years old, he tried to wander out into a thunderstorm. 'I just always loved the weather, even from when I was little,' Di Liberto said Wednesday. 'I was not afraid of thunderstorms – I just wanted to be in them.' Di Liberto got to live out his dream, passing on higher-paying career paths and leveraging his aptitude in math to become a climate scientist, and public relations specialist, at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Until around 3:45 p.m. on Feb. 27, when Di Liberto received an email informing him that, as a probationary employee, his services and skills no longer matched NOAA's needs. The firing took effect at 5 p.m. that day, just over an hour after the notification. Di Liberto, along with many others, fell victim to mass layoffs that have been rolling through the federal government as part of President Donald Trump's mission to reduce the federal workforce. NOAA reportedly laid off more than 1,000 more workers Wednesday. Combined with the original round of cuts, the total number of NOAA employees out of work totals about 20% of its original workforce of 12,000. The Commerce Department, which oversees NOAA, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday on the latest round of firings. Federal layoffs pose workforce threats beyond Prince George's, Montgomery counties Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) reiterated, as he has at several rallies, that he believes the layoffs are illegal. 'The Trump Administration's illegal actions to severely gut NOAA's workforce – indiscriminately and without cause – will only hurt vital services that Americans depend on,' Van Hollen said in an emailed statement. A spokesperson for Van Hollen said that the layoffs are not expected to take effect immediately, and are likely a reaction to the Trump administration deadline of March 13 for reduction in force plans. The latest NOAA layoffs come a day after the Department of Education said it would fire about 1,300 workers. With previous reductions, that brings cuts at Education to just under 2,000, about half the department's previous staffing. 'Today's reduction in force reflects the Department of Education's commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers,' Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement.. 'I appreciate the work of the dedicated public servants and their contributions to the Department. 'This is a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system,' she said. Rep. April McClain Delaney (D-6th) took aim Wednesday at the cuts made to both NOAA and the Education Department. 'I have no idea the rhyme or reason by which they are going after some of these programs and the workforce,' she said. McClain Delaney, who previously served as deputy assistant secretary of communications at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said the cuts are not the result of a good-faith effort to determine the efficacy of programs and workers. She said that sort of evaluation requires time and careful consideration the administration is not taking. 'To really know an organization and whether an employee is doing a great job … it takes time, McClain Delaney said. 'You can't do that in a week, or two, or three, particularly [within] a massive agency.' Di Liberto expressed a similar sentiment, saying the layoffs seemed like they weren't thought out. 'It was not like they did a lot of thought, or actually looked at anything, for the most part, before they sent things out,' Di Liberto said of the decision of which employees to let go. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8th), whose district is home to NOAA's Silver Spring headquarters, said Wednesday that, beyond the impact on workers, the cuts to the agency represent a safety issue. '[Maryland], like the rest of America … depends on the weather information and forecasts that are coming from NOAA,' Raskin said. He also said that Maryland is uniquely affected, both as a coastal state at risk of severe weather and as the home of many of NOAA's workers. 'We are profoundly affected, both as beneficiaries of NOAA's work and also as people who help deliver it,' Raskin said. As cuts and layoffs continue on a near-daily basis, Raskin said that the easiest way to 'undo this nightmare' going forward is through the courts. 'We also could clearly undo it in Congress if we had support from our Republican colleagues,' Raskin said. 'But so far they are acting sheepishly and in a servile way towards Trump.' It's not because GOP districts have been untouched by the cuts overseen by billionaire Elon Musk, who is directing the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency. 'The Republicans were making the same complaints we were about effective programs being dismantled and about civil service workers … they did not want to see fired,' Raskin said. 'Elon Musk gave the Republican members his phone number and the phone number of his assistant. 'We would like that phone number, too,' Raskin said.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Scientists react to ‘stupid' NOAA firings with more on the way: ‘It's just utter cluelessness. It's malevolence'
Layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday drew a swift rebuke from scientists and politicians, who say the move could devastate the country's ability to respond to extreme weather events and stop the flow of life-saving data. Around 800 employees at the 12,000-person agency were impacted by the unceremonious firings, which came even after the Trump administration has scrambled to reverse some of its previous terminations at the National Park Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Agriculture. Like at the Park Service, NOAA employees who were let go were in critical positions. However, that hasn't stopped Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency from stumbling forward — this time aiming their spears at government workers with all levels of experience, in ocean science, climate science, forecasting, fisheries, and other areas. One of those employees was Tom DiLiberto, a climate scientist who has worked at NOAA since 2010 and ran the agency's blog about monitoring and forecasting El Niño and La Niña climate patterns and their regional and global impacts. NOAA forecasts the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, one of the most important climate phenomena on Earth, for the entire world. 'Everything that's happened is just making the U.S. less safe and really making the world less safe,' he told The Independent on Friday. '...This affects everybody, no matter where you live.' 'The idea that there's going to be this big blind spot across the United States moving forward, for the global community, is just terrifying when it comes to weather and climate and the oceans because the oceans and the weather don't care about borders,' DiLiberto said. He noted that the decision from the Trump administration flies in the face of NOAA's mission to help people — no matter who they voted for last election. Natural disasters certainly don't care. 'They just don't understand the concept of federal workers and what we do,' he added. 'It's just utter cluelessness. It's malevolence,' said DiLiberto. Dr. Kayla Besong-Cowan, a physical scientist who works on seismic monitoring and tsunami prediction at NOAA's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii, was also let go. Her husband Dr. Levi Cowan, who earned his doctorate in meteorology from Florida State University, had previously written on social media that workforce cuts would 'irreparably harm' NOAA and its agencies. 'Remember, most of the NWS is understaffed as it is,' he said after the layoffs hit on Thursday. 'While there surely is waste to be found, this is not where to look. Indeed, this is not 'looking.' This is a blind swing of a sword.' That was a sentiment shared by many scientists, including both those impacted by that swing and others outside of NOAA. 'The now-confirmed and rumored additional cuts to come at NOAA/NWS are spectacularly short-sighted, and ultimately will deal a major self-inflicted wound to the public safety of Americans and the resiliency of the American economy to weather and climate-related disasters,' UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain wrote. 'I can't reiterate how reckless it is of this (or any!!) administration to fire NOAA/NWS personnel. The general public has no idea the importance these folks play in our lives. Visit a local office - they're already understaffed & working double shifts! Let me be blunt: STUPID,' said meteorologist Matt Rudkin. 'I don't have words for what's happening to my friends and colleagues at NOAA right now… absolutely reckless destruction of one of the world's premier science-driven, public-serving organizations,' wrote estuarine wetland scientist Christina Toms. 'Trump's mass firings at NOAA are an act of sabotage aimed at one of our most important federal agencies,' Miyoko Sakashita, the Center for Biological Diversity's oceans director, said in a statement. The American Geophysical Union, a global community that supports more than half a million advocates and professionals in the Earth and space sciences, wrote a letter urging Congress to protect the agency. 'Our economy, environment, and safety depend on it,' the union said. A multitude of politicians have chimed in to amplify that message. 'The weather service? The ones that predict blizzards, tornados, hurricanes … Maybe when you've got a bunker and security that doesn't matter to you, but for the rest of us…,' mused Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar. 'Gutting NOAA without any plan weakens Colorado's ability to respond to wildfires or track the West's worsening drought,' Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper said. 'Science and weather services for Americans is not government waste. Firing the hardworking Coloradans who do this work with no strategy or communication is wrong.' 'Two billionaires who have no clue what NOAA does and why it matters are laying off weather forecasters. Our whole economy hinges on the weather,' asserted. Washington Sen. Patty Murphy. 'Meteorologists support wildland firefighters. They help planes & ships navigate. This is going to cost lives and property.' The impact of the layoffs is already been felt. The agency's Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab is taking an 'indefinite hiatus' from communications due to the cuts. They provide critical updates about the extent of harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie that can leave communities without drinking water. The mass firings also come just days ahead of a potential severe weather outbreak in the southern and central U.S. and less than 100 days away from the Atlantic hurricane season. NOAA helps to provide critical outlooks and real-time information that can save lives in extreme weather events. There are also reports of more layoffs on Friday. Former NOAA administrator Rick Spinrad, who was working through last year, says it will likely take years to really know the full scope of the effects of staff cuts. NOAA leaders have been "able to pick and choose the best and the brightest." However, "if you lose the intellectual capital, it's going to take decades to get that back," Spinrad told NPR.
The Independent
28-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Scientists react to ‘stupid' NOAA firings with more on the way: ‘It's just utter cluelessness. It's malevolence'
Layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday drew a swift rebuke from scientists and politicians, who say the move could devastate the country's ability to respond to extreme weather events and stop the flow of life-saving data. Around 800 employees at the 12,000-person agency were impacted by the unceremonious firings, which came even after the Trump administration has scrambled to reverse some of its previous terminations at the National Park Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Agriculture. Like at the Park Service, NOAA employees who were let go were in critical positions. However, that hasn't stopped Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency from stumbling forward — this time aiming their spears at government workers with all levels of experience, in ocean science, climate science, forecasting, fisheries, and other areas. One of those employees was Tom DiLiberto, a climate scientist who has worked at NOAA since 2010 and ran the agency's blog about monitoring and forecasting El Niño and La Niña climate patterns and their regional and global impacts. NOAA forecasts the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, one of the most important climate phenomena on Earth, for the entire world. 'Everything that's happened is just making the U.S. less safe and really making the world less safe,' he told The Independent on Friday. '...This affects everybody, no matter where you live.' 'The idea that there's going to be this big blind spot across the United States moving forward, for the global community, is just terrifying when it comes to weather and climate and the oceans because the oceans and the weather don't care about borders,' DiLiberto said. He noted that the decision from the Trump administration flies in the face of NOAA's mission to help people — no matter who they voted for last election. Natural disasters certainly don't care. 'They just don't understand the concept of federal workers and what we do,' he added. 'It's just utter cluelessness. It's malevolence,' said DiLiberto. Dr. Kayla Besong-Cowan, a physical scientist who works on seismic monitoring and tsunami prediction at NOAA's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii, was also let go. Her husband Dr. Levi Cowan, who earned his doctorate in meteorology from Florida State University, had previously written on social media that workforce cuts would 'irreparably harm' NOAA and its agencies. 'Remember, most of the NWS is understaffed as it is,' he said after the layoffs hit on Thursday. 'While there surely is waste to be found, this is not where to look. Indeed, this is not 'looking.' This is a blind swing of a sword.' That was a sentiment shared by many scientists, including both those impacted by that swing and others outside of NOAA. 'The now-confirmed and rumored additional cuts to come at NOAA/NWS are spectacularly short-sighted, and ultimately will deal a major self-inflicted wound to the public safety of Americans and the resiliency of the American economy to weather and climate-related disasters,' UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain wrote. 'I can't reiterate how reckless it is of this (or any!!) administration to fire NOAA/NWS personnel. The general public has no idea the importance these folks play in our lives. Visit a local office - they're already understaffed & working double shifts! Let me be blunt: STUPID,' said meteorologist Matt Rudkin. 'I don't have words for what's happening to my friends and colleagues at NOAA right now… absolutely reckless destruction of one of the world's premier science-driven, public-serving organizations,' wrote estuarine wetland scientist Christina Toms. 'Trump's mass firings at NOAA are an act of sabotage aimed at one of our most important federal agencies,' Miyoko Sakashita, the Center for Biological Diversity's oceans director, said in a statement. The American Geophysical Union, a global community that supports more than half a million advocates and professionals in the Earth and space sciences, wrote a letter urging Congress to protect the agency. 'Our economy, environment, and safety depend on it,' the union said. A multitude of politicians have chimed in to amplify that message. 'The weather service? The ones that predict blizzards, tornados, hurricanes … Maybe when you've got a bunker and security that doesn't matter to you, but for the rest of us…,' mused Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar. 'Gutting NOAA without any plan weakens Colorado's ability to respond to wildfires or track the West's worsening drought,' Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper said. 'Science and weather services for Americans is not government waste. Firing the hardworking Coloradans who do this work with no strategy or communication is wrong.' 'Two billionaires who have no clue what NOAA does and why it matters are laying off weather forecasters. Our whole economy hinges on the weather,' asserted. Washington Sen. Patty Murphy. 'Meteorologists support wildland firefighters. They help planes & ships navigate. This is going to cost lives and property.' The impact of the layoffs is already been felt. The agency's Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab is taking an 'indefinite hiatus' from communications due to the cuts. They provide critical updates about the extent of harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie that can leave communities without drinking water. The mass firings also come just days ahead of a potential severe weather outbreak in the southern and central U.S. and less than 100 days away from the Atlantic hurricane season. NOAA helps to provide critical outlooks and real-time information that can save lives in extreme weather events. There are also reports of more layoffs on Friday. Former NOAA administrator Rick Spinrad, who was working through last year, says it will likely take years to really know the full scope of the effects of staff cuts. NOAA leaders have been "able to pick and choose the best and the brightest." However, "if you lose the intellectual capital, it's going to take decades to get that back," Spinrad told NPR.
CBS News
28-02-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Hundreds of NOAA employees laid off in latest cuts to federal workforce
Hundreds of staffers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, were laid off Thursday as the Trump administration and its newly-created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, continue slashing the federal workforce. A congressional source told CBS News the layoffs affected 880 NOAA employees. An administration official told CBS News about 5% of the agency's staff was let go, and nobody who was deemed critical to NOAA's responsibilities, such as National Weather Service meteorologists, was affected. A source at the National Weather Service disputed this, however, telling CBS News some meteorologists were included in the cuts. Laid off staffers who were considered probationary employees received an email Thursday, which read in part, "OPM has advised that '[p]robationary periods are an essential tool for agencies to assess employee performance and manage staffing levels.' (4) In light of that guidance, the Agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and/or skills do not fit the Agency's current needs." Some 400 employees at the National Weather Service were in a probationary period, a NWS source told CBS News, but it's not clear how many of them were included in the layoffs. Tom DiLiberto, who until Thursday had worked as a Climate and weather scientist and public affairs specialist, told CBS News he started as a contractor for NOAA back in 2010, but became a federal employee less than two years ago. His probationary period was set to end on March 13, 2025, two weeks from the day he was terminated. "You're seeing the whittling away of scientists, and the people who got fired today are some of the best people you can imagine," DiLiberto said. "These people have dedicated their lives to help others. There's no politics in this. When we forecast, or think of the oceans and keep them clean, we're not thinking about the politics. This is an insult on science and all that's good." DiLiberto had been a forecaster for El Niño and La Niña and, as a public affairs specialist in the office of communications, said he wrote for the El Niño Southern Oscillation blog for a decade. He published his final blog for the service the same day he was let go. He said he has been given no information on any next steps or if he would be receiving severance. Congressional Democrats had been worried DOGE and billionaire Elon Musk, who is classified as a "special government employee," had their eyes set on NOAA for deep cuts. Former NOAA officials told CBS News earlier this month that current employees had been told to expect budget cuts of 30% and a 50% reduction in staff. Prior to Thursday's cuts, NOAA had about 12,000 staffers across the world, including 6,773 who are scientists and engineers, according to the agency's website. Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Washington State Democrat who chairs the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, which oversees NOAA, said the job cuts "jeopardize our ability to forecast and respond to extreme weather events like hurricanes, wildfires, and floods—putting communities in harm's way. They also threaten our maritime commerce and endanger 1.7 million jobs that depend on commercial, recreational and tribal fisheries, including thousands in the State of Washington. This action is a direct hit to our economy, because NOAA's specialized workforce provides products and services that support more than a third of the nation's GDP." House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman, a Democrat who represents California's 2nd Congressional District, called Thursday's cuts a "betrayal of the American people." "Musk and his fake officials, the DOGE tech bros, have been rummaging through our most sensitive data without authority in violation of the law for weeks now," Huffman said in a statement. "And this has come with sweeping, indiscriminate layoffs of nonpartisan public servants. Park rangers, firefighters, scientists – all of these people, whose purpose is to serve everyday Americans, have had the rug pulled out from under them. And we will all be worse off for it." "Musk's sham mission is bringing vital programs to a screeching halt," Huffman continued. "People nationwide depend on NOAA for free, accurate forecasts, severe weather alerts, and emergency information. Purging the government of scientists, experts, and career civil servants and slashing fundamental programs will cost lives." Congressional aides previously told CBS News that lawmakers had received multiple complaints about DOGE staff coming into NOAA offices earlier this month. Former NOAA officials, who spoke directly with current staffers, also previously confirmed to CBS News they saw members of the DOGE team at NOAA headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, and the Hoover Building, in Washington, D.C., where NOAA's parent agency, the U.S. Commerce Department is located. The NOAA runs the National Weather Service, which issues vital weather warnings — such as hurricane and tornado warnings — and the National Marine Fisheries Service. It is also responsible for monitoring the health of the oceans and the warming of the climate. House Science Committee ranking member Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat who represents California's 18th congressional district, said in a statement, "This will cost American lives." "Protect lives and property; that is NOAA's mission," Lofgren said. "Firing the employees that allow the agency to carry out that mission will bring about dire consequences. People will die and face great hardship thanks to the recklessness of Co-Presidents Trump and Musk." Dr. Juan Declet-Barreto, senior social scientist for climate vulnerability in the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, also criticized the cuts, saying Thursday in a statement, "NOAA's data and science are used routinely by weather forecasters, mariners, farmers, emergency responders, businesses and everyday people across the country. Everyone in the United States relies on NOAA in their daily lives whether they realize it or not, something that will come into focus for many in the weeks and months ahead." President Trump has nominated Neil Jacobs to lead the agency. Jacobs, who was acting director of the NOAA for a time during Mr. Trump's first term, was reprimanded for ethics violations after Mr. Trump held up a hurricane forecast map with black marker appearing to extend the storm's potential path into Alabama — an incident that became known as "Sharpie-gate." The Senate has yet to vote on his confirmation.
