Latest news with #Prop1
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
I Felt Terrified To Raise A Baby Girl In This World. Then, 5 Words From My OB-GYN Gave Me Hope.
At 38 years old, after a breakup, a move and a series of dating app experiences that served only to provide my comedian friend with material for an entire year of stand-up shows, I decided to pursue single parenthood. For me, motherhood had always been a dream, both in that it's been a lifelong desire and seemed as unattainable as most dreams do. Some of this stemmed from societal assumptions of parenthood; a two-parent household that is preceded by dates wildly more successful than any I'd ever been on, followed by marriage, and, even in this era of delayed pregnancy and scientific breakthroughs in assisted reproduction, the loud ticking of a biological clock. And, more pressingly and personally: Did I deserve the responsibility, joys, and privileges of motherhood? A lifetime of often-crushing people-pleasing and imposter syndrome, coupled with the prospect of an administration that almost immediately began to roll back access to reproductive healthcare and instituted critical threats to human rights, plagued my first trimester even more than my newly fluctuating hormones. Compared to so many others, I was lucky. It was an easy subway ride to the fertility clinic, and I snagged early morning appointments that barely interfered with work. I sent emails from the beautifully appointed waiting room of the Midtown office, and joked with the nurses who had the misfortune of taking my blood for the overwhelming battery of tests required for any fertility journey. Sometimes, I walked the three miles home from the clinic, stopping for a toasted bagel with vegan cream cheese from my favorite bodega and handing out information on New York's Prop 1 ballot initiative and voter registration packets along the way. And, though I hadn't dared to let myself believe it would, could work, the third pregnancy test flashed positive a month before the election. For a month, I carried this perfect, barely-real secret with me as I sat in work meetings lobbying for reproductive medicine access, as I canvassed and phone-banked for the full slate of Democratic candidates, as I hoped for personal and national health and success, as I tried to suppress the fears that prevented me from fully celebrating, from hoping, from buying maternity clothing or Harris-Waltz merch. And then. Well, you know most of what happened next. Many of us mourned as a nation while others, unfettered by the president's fear-mongering, themselves spread a shocking amount of xenophobia, misogyny and racism. And on a personal level, I stayed at home rather than go on a work trip to Florida, which had just instituted a six-week abortion ban under Ron DeSantis' campaigns of intimidation and misinformation. At six weeks pregnant, I knew that the odds of early miscarriage were still high, and that access to care would mean a now-illegal abortion. Those weeks, I woke up, worked, and went to bed nauseous from pregnancy ― and from my terror for my immigrant family and friends, seeing the gleefully entitled hostility among the anti-abortion protestors at the clinic where I had volunteered for years, and now, increasingly aware of my precarious privilege as a pregnant person in New York, where, at the very least, access to and protections for abortion were protected. And I cried, curled up around the vague idea of this early pregnancy, wondering what I had done and what it would mean to bring a human into this country and world. At my 12-week appointment, when I had just been told I was having a girl and my phone was blowing up with a terrifying series of executive orders and nominations, I headed to my second OB-GYN appointment swamped by all of that fear, guilt, and the all-encompassing nausea of the wildly misnamed 'morning sickness.' Stripped to the waist and trying to pretend that I recognized and was moved by the flickering blob of static on the ultrasound screen, I expressed the easiest of my worries, that I wasn't providing my growing fetus with enough (or any) nutrients, as the only thing I was able to keep down was depressingly dry toast and the occasional cup of tea. As she wiped the goo from the ultrasound wand, my OB-GYN said five words that have since become a mantra and a sea change: 'Don't worry; she'll take what she needs.' She left the room as I lay on the table, absorbing the surprising power of that sentence. She'll take what she needs: a reassurance, but also a wish, that this baby girl, born into a terrifying nightmare of government-sanctioned misogyny, dehumanization of immigrants and minorities, cuts to social services, attacks on trans people, will somehow both recognize and demand her rights. Born to a parent who has always struggled with naming her needs, let alone taking what she needs, this being will nevertheless ensure that her own needs are met, even in her earliest moments in utero. And so she has; as the terror of this administration has grown, systematically and purposefully, in tandem alongside the joys and thrills of pregnancy, she has siphoned the iron from my blood to aid in her own development, shoved my internal organs into disarray to make space for her growing body, sent me to the pharmacy for Unisom, ginger tea, Tums, and a dizzying array of vitamins as she has jutted and carved her way into my digestive, endocrine, cardiac, other systems I never paid attention to until she claimed them for her own. And I have delighted in each of these uncomfortable, incredible reminders that my baby girl is, even now, asserting herself. 'She'll take what she needs' has echoed in my mind as a hope and a promise as my due date approaches — you'll take what you need, and I'll learn from you. I rub my belly, jabbed now with elbows and heels and other sharp little body parts demanding room and attention, and make my wish: You'll tell me what you need, and I will keep fighting to make it available for you. We'll take what we need, and we'll make sure that others can, too. Do you have a compelling personal story you'd like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we're looking for here and send us a pitch at pitch@ These Are The States That Will Ignore Your Final Wishes Just Because You're Pregnant People See Me And Think I'm Pregnant. They're Shocked When I Tell Them The Heartbreaking Truth. When I Got Pregnant Again After 3 Miscarriages, My Husband Surprised Me With A Terrifying Gift
New York Post
19-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Los Angeles business owner blasts ‘Baby Shark' on repeat to ward off homeless encampments
A Los Angeles business owner has found a novel way to keep homeless people from camping near his building: playing a children's song on an annoying loop. 'They played 'Baby Shark' all night long,' Tracy, a woman who lives in an encampment next door to the building at the corner of West 11th and Main streets, told NBC4 Los Angeles. 'They're doing everything they can to make us move or drive us crazy. But it's doing the latter. It's driving people crazy.' Advertisement The building owners began playing the song through a loudspeaker pointed directly at the encampment, which Tracy told the outlet had 'kept her and others up all night.' 'This is ridiculous. We can't get any sleep. We can't get housing. We can't eat,' she said. 'And now they're trying to drive us crazy with children's music.' Shalom Styles, who owns the barbershop Styles Barber Lounge, around the corner from the business playing 'Baby Shark' told the outlet that they aren't trying to be mean or insensitive to the homeless, but have businesses to run and are 'just trying to survive.' 'It's not always about being kind, because when people are taking away from business, and all the stores are going out of business,' Styles said. 'We're still here surviving, trying to put up for our family.' Advertisement 5 A loudspeaker pointed towards a homeless encampment hangs on the side of a business in Los Angeles. NBC4 5 The homeless encampment is set up on the sidewalk near the business. NBC4 California Gov. Gavin Newsom released details last week about his multi-billion-dollar plan to tackle the homeless crisis in the Golden State and is pushing cities and counties to take 'immediate action.' On Monday, Newsom shared a model ordinance for cities and counties to 'immediately address dangerous and unhealthy encampments and connect people experiencing homelessness with shelter and services.' Advertisement 'There's nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets,' Newsom said in a news release. The ordinance is backed in part by $3.3 billion in new Prop 1 funding, Newsom's office announced, adding that the governor is 'calling on all local governments to act without delay.' 5 NBC4 5 Tracy, a resident of the encampment, speaks out against the 'Baby Shark' blasting building. NBC4 Advertisement Newsom is also encouraging local leaders to use their authority, affirmed by the US Supreme Court, to address homeless encampments. 'The Governor is calling on every local government to adopt and implement local policies without delay,' Newsom's office said. Newsom's office told Fox News Digital that the governor has 'actively held communities accountable who do not follow state law to address homelessness', sharing an example of when the state sued the City of Norwalk in 2024 for 'its unlawful ban on homeless shelters.' 5 Shalom Styles, who owns the barbershop Styles Barber Lounge, around the corner, says the owners aren't trying to be mean or insensitive to the homeless, but have businesses to run and are 'just trying to survive.' NBC4 The governor's office added that, while national homelessness went up by nearly 7% last year, California's increase was only 0.45% and was lower than those of 44 other states. 'Governor Newsom is the first governor to actively address this issue in our state, and he is reversing a crisis that was decades in the making,' Newsom's office said.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Los Angeles Jewish Health Awarded $28 Million from California Department of Health Care Services
Major Investment Will Dramatically Expand Inpatient Mental Health Services for Seniors in Need LOS ANGELES, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As one of California's leading providers of coordinated senior health services, Los Angeles Jewish Health (LAJHealth) is proud to announce it has been awarded $28 million by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) as part of Proposition 1's Bond Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) Round 1: Launch Ready initiative. The funding, announced by Governor Gavin Newsom, is part of an historic $3.3 billion investment in behavioral health infrastructure, supporting 124 projects statewide. At LAJHealth, this funding will support the expansion of inpatient behavioral health services for seniors, a critical step in addressing California's growing senior behavioral health crisis. This expansion comes at a time of intensifying need. California's senior population is projected to double by 2040, and with it, the number of older adults experiencing behavioral health challenges—particularly those who are low-income, medically complex, or socially isolated—is rising sharply. "California is facing a senior behavioral health crisis," said Dale Surowitz, President and CEO of Los Angeles Jewish Health. "This transformative investment allows us to act urgently and proactively by expanding access to high-quality, compassionate inpatient care for seniors in acute psychiatric distress. We are deeply grateful to Governor Newsom and DHCS for recognizing the urgency of this need and investing in a more sustainable, responsive future for our aging population." Governor Newsom underscored the importance of Proposition 1 in his remarks announcing the awards: "Californians demanded swift action to address our state's behavioral health crisis when they voted for Prop 1 in March 2024. Today, we're delivering our biggest win yet. Whether it's crisis stabilization, inpatient services, or long-term treatment, we're ensuring that individuals can access the right care at the right time." This funding is part of California's broader strategy to modernize the behavioral health system—increasing transparency, expanding access, and building the infrastructure necessary to provide a full continuum of care for individuals living with mental illness and substance use disorders. Through Proposition 1 and BHCIP, the state aims to create more than 6,800 new residential treatment beds and 26,700 outpatient treatment slots, addressing urgent gaps in care across every region of California. About Los Angeles Jewish Health Founded in 1912, Los Angeles Jewish Health (formerly Los Angeles Jewish Home) is the largest nonprofit, single-source provider of comprehensive senior healthcare services in the Los Angeles region. LAJHealth serves nearly 4,000 older adults annually through a continuum of community-based and residential programs, including skilled nursing, assisted living, short-term rehabilitation, senior behavioral health, geriatric psychiatry, hospice and palliative care, memory care, and the Brandman Centers for Senior Care (PACE). LAJHealth is home to more than 1,000 residents. Learn more at About BHCIP BHCIP is administered by DHCS and supports the development of new or expanded behavioral health facilities across the state. Through BHCIP, DHCS has competitively awarded grants to construct, acquire, and expand properties and invest in mobile crisis infrastructure for behavioral health. Proposition 1, passed in March 2024, increases funding opportunities to expand BHCIP to serve even more Californians with mental health and substance use disorders through infrastructure development. For information on Bond BHCIP Round 2: Unmet Needs, visit the BHCIP webpage. Media Contact: Scott Higdon(818) View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Los Angeles Jewish Health
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
California wrestles with approach to homeless encampments
May 16 (UPI) -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his model ordinance to address homeless encampments with dignity this week but advocates say the approach ignores real solutions. Newsom's ordinance "Addressing Encampments with Urgency and Dignity" calls on local jurisdictions to immediately begin removing homeless encampments, giving 48 hours notice when possible. Jay Wierenga, deputy secretary of communications for the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, told UPI the issue of addressing encampments is ultimately a local issue. "The governor's model ordinance is a template for them to address encampments with care, humanity and urgency," Wierenga said. "They can, and should, begin this work immediately. The governor's actions are reversing a crisis that is decades old, as the numbers show." Newsom and the state government have blunted the growth of the population of unhoused people who are completely without shelter, according to Jennifer Hanson, assistant deputy director of external affairs for Housing and Community Development. Unsheltered homelessness grew by 7% in the United States but only 0.45% in California. In the five years prior to Newsom being elected governor, unsheltered homelessness grew twice as fast, on average, than it has during Newsom's term, Hanson added. "This administration is the first to have made addressing homelessness a top priority and has provided local governments with unprecedented assistance to address it," Hanson told UPI in an email. "California is now reversing decades of inaction." The ordinance is backed, in part, by $3.3 billion in voter-approved Prop 1 funds. In the fall, the governor's office said the state invested $40 billion to create more housing and $27 billion to "help prevent and end homelessness." The California State Association of Counties pushed back on the claim that $27 billion has gone to address homelessness, Jeff Griffiths, president and Inyo County supervisor, told UPI. "Nearly half of that is for housing," Griffiths said. "It hasn't actually translated into units built on the ground that are sufficient enough to meet the scale of the problem." Griffiths agrees that county leaders would like to see encampments cleared but Newsom's ordinance lacks any assurance that there will be shelter or transitional or permanent housing for people. "The problem is clearing an encampment doesn't do anything if there's no place for those people to go," he said. "What we need are clearly delineated responsibilities of which level of government is responsible for which part of solving the homeless issue and then we need sustained funding." California currently allocates $1 billion annually toward counties to address homelessness. This sum is spread across the 58 counties in the state. Griffiths noted that this amount of funding is inadequate, and the short-term nature of providing funding annually makes it difficult for county governments to plan long-term solutions. CSAS has designed its own framework for addressing homelessness in California, the At Home plan. It calls for a clearer breakdown of the roles of different levels of government in addressing the issue, increasing and maintaining affordable housing units to meet a variety of needs and increased outreach programs and workforce to support those programs. The plan also calls for more social safety nets to prevent people from becoming homeless and the creation of programs and employment opportunities for people who are unhoused. "We will continue to work in good faith on all of the initiatives for having a comprehensive solution to homelessness," Griffiths said. "We believe the framework is there to make a significant impact on this problem. We just need to get buy-in and support from the state." Newsom's announcement of a model ordinance credits the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the case Grants Pass, Ore., vs. Johnson for clarifying state and local governments' rights when addressing homeless encampments. Since that decision, more than 150 jurisdictions across more than 30 states have passed ordinances allowing them to punish people for camping on public property. Jesse Rabinowitz, communications and campaign director for the National Homelessness Law Center, told UPI the broad attempt to criminalize homelessness is backed by the Cicero Institute. The Cicero Institute is a conservative think tank that advocates for a complete ban on street camping. It also proposes that people not be allowed to sleep, camp or take long-term shelter on federal lands such as national parks. In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to remove all homeless encampments located in national parks in the District of Columbia. "California certainly has put money toward solutions to solve homelessness, like housing and support. It's not enough," Rabinowitz said. "This criminalization approach is going to dampen the effects of all the good work that service providers and activists on the ground have done in California." "If we want to solve homelessness in California, we need to focus exclusively on what works, which is housing services, and not waste resources and time by punishing people, by displacing people and by arresting people for sleeping outside when they have nowhere to go," he added.
UPI
16-05-2025
- Politics
- UPI
California wrestles with approach to homeless encampments
1 of 2 | A homeless man stays warm next to a fire during a rain break in the Skid Row section of Los Angeles on Feb. 25, 2023. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo May 16 (UPI) -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his model ordinance to address homeless encampments with dignity this week but advocates say the approach ignores real solutions. Newsom's ordinance "Addressing Encampments with Urgency and Dignity" calls on local jurisdictions to immediately begin removing homeless encampments, giving 48 hours notice when possible. Jay Wierenga, deputy secretary of communications for the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, told UPI the issue of addressing encampments is ultimately a local issue. "The governor's model ordinance is a template for them to address encampments with care, humanity and urgency," Wierenga said. "They can, and should, begin this work immediately. The governor's actions are reversing a crisis that is decades old, as the numbers show." Newsom and the state government have blunted the growth of the population of unhoused people who are completely without shelter, according to Jennifer Hanson, assistant deputy director of external affairs for Housing and Community Development. Unsheltered homelessness grew by 7% in the United States but only 0.45% in California. In the five years prior to Newsom being elected governor, unsheltered homelessness grew twice as fast, on average, than it has during Newsom's term, Hanson added. "This administration is the first to have made addressing homelessness a top priority and has provided local governments with unprecedented assistance to address it," Hanson told UPI in an email. "California is now reversing decades of inaction." The ordinance is backed, in part, by $3.3 billion in voter-approved Prop 1 funds. In the fall, the governor's office said the state invested $40 billion to create more housing and $27 billion to "help prevent and end homelessness." The California State Association of Counties pushed back on the claim that $27 billion has gone to address homelessness, Jeff Griffiths, president and Inyo County supervisor, told UPI. "Nearly half of that is for housing," Griffiths said. "It hasn't actually translated into units built on the ground that are sufficient enough to meet the scale of the problem." Griffiths agrees that county leaders would like to see encampments cleared but Newsom's ordinance lacks any assurance that there will be shelter or transitional or permanent housing for people. "The problem is clearing an encampment doesn't do anything if there's no place for those people to go," he said. "What we need are clearly delineated responsibilities of which level of government is responsible for which part of solving the homeless issue and then we need sustained funding." California currently allocates $1 billion annually toward counties to address homelessness. This sum is spread across the 58 counties in the state. Griffiths noted that this amount of funding is inadequate, and the short-term nature of providing funding annually makes it difficult for county governments to plan long-term solutions. CSAS has designed its own framework for addressing homelessness in California, the At Home plan. It calls for a clearer breakdown of the roles of different levels of government in addressing the issue, increasing and maintaining affordable housing units to meet a variety of needs and increased outreach programs and workforce to support those programs. The plan also calls for more social safety nets to prevent people from becoming homeless and the creation of programs and employment opportunities for people who are unhoused. "We will continue to work in good faith on all of the initiatives for having a comprehensive solution to homelessness," Griffiths said. "We believe the framework is there to make a significant impact on this problem. We just need to get buy-in and support from the state." Newsom's announcement of a model ordinance credits the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the case Grants Pass, Ore., vs. Johnson for clarifying state and local governments' rights when addressing homeless encampments. Since that decision, more than 150 jurisdictions across more than 30 states have passed ordinances allowing them to punish people for camping on public property. Jesse Rabinowitz, communications and campaign director for the National Homelessness Law Center, told UPI the broad attempt to criminalize homelessness is backed by the Cicero Institute. The Cicero Institute is a conservative think tank that advocates for a complete ban on street camping. It also proposes that people not be allowed to sleep, camp or take long-term shelter on federal lands such as national parks. In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to remove all homeless encampments located in national parks in the District of Columbia. "California certainly has put money toward solutions to solve homelessness, like housing and support. It's not enough," Rabinowitz said. "This criminalization approach is going to dampen the effects of all the good work that service providers and activists on the ground have done in California." "If we want to solve homelessness in California, we need to focus exclusively on what works, which is housing services, and not waste resources and time by punishing people, by displacing people and by arresting people for sleeping outside when they have nowhere to go," he added.
