Health
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Over the Rainbow? How ‘Eating the Rainbow’ Might Not be as Beneficial as Eating Sustainably Grown, Local Produce
In honor of the recently celebrated National Rainbow Day, we’re digging deeper into the colorful trope of the popular health tip “Eating the Rainbow,” and its emphasis on eating a variety of colorful produce to benefit your health. However, shifts in modern-day agricultural practice often exploit the farms’ soil…
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FarmRx Provides Free Produce for Low-Income Families in Athens
One in six Athens residents are considered “food insecure,” according to Feeding America. Thirty-five percent of that group do not qualify for assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. FarmRx, also known as the Food as Medicine Prescription Program, is working to provide free fruits and vegetables to low-income families…
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Biker Group Travels Highways of Georgia Delivering Narcan to Law Enforcement
Opioid-related deaths have doubled from 2019 to 2021, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Health. This means the demand for Narcan has also gone up — but it’s not so easy to come by. “It should be widely available; it isn’t necessarily so,” said Orion Mowbray, associate dean…
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How Getting Communities To Fall In Love With Nature Will Be The Key to Saving It
Love is in the air. Or is it just smog? Efforts to combat climate change often educate people on steps they can take toward sustainability, but even with the knowledge, getting people to actually change their daily habits and personal routines can be harder to instill. Understanding the need for…
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Nuçi’s Space Works to Destigmatize Mental Illness
On the corner of Williams and Oconee streets, people walking by often catch the sound of music filtering from the recognizable blue brick building. Nuçi’s Space looks like a recording studio and concert venue at first glance, but behind its long-standing walls, the nonprofit is working to destigmatize mental illness. …
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Jefferson Community Hosts 5K to Raise Money for Teacher with Breast Cancer
Heather Backer has spent 24 years of her life teaching in Jackson County schools, and as she fights a second battle with cancer, the schools are giving back to her. Backer, a physical education teacher at Gum Springs Elementary School, was diagnosed with two types of breast cancer in 2015.…
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Local Residents With Disabilities Struggle To Get Jobs Amid Long Medicaid Lines
Sitting on a wooden booth inside Taziki’s Mediterranian Cafe in downtown Athens, Lesha Bizzle can barely contain her joy. It escapes through a giggly smile while large tubs of greek dressing and red salsa sit on the table in front of her. The woman is joyful solely because she is…
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The Opioid Crisis: America’s Last Concern, But Happening in Athens
Meet Americans’ top three concerns for 2022: strengthening the economy, reducing healthcare costs and dealing with COVID-19. At the bottom of this 18-item long list of concerns lies drug addiction, according to the Pew Research Center. A Continuous Public Health Emergency This means in urban areas 29 out of 100,000…
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Volunteering Is Not Just Helpful for Your Community; It Could Also Improve Your Mental Health
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, health officials and leaders warned of an urgent problem within our culture. There was and still remains a mental health crisis in the United States, especially among younger people. The forced isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-and 2021 may be easing now,…
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Vehicular-Pedestrian Deaths Are Growing Concern in Athens
Catherine Shinholser, a teacher at Chase Street Elementary School and regular runner in Athens said drivers have been less careful in recent months. “I’ve had a lot of near-hits recently,” said Shinholser. Seth Jones, a senior police officer for Athens-Clarke County Police Department, said law enforcement has noticed more dangerous…