Resources and links to crisis lines, campus organizations and off-campus organizations for those who need help.
Category: Health & Welfare
Posted inEducation, Health & Welfare
UW-Milwaukee strives to improve mental health care
Five years ago, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee had the worst mental health care of any four-year UW institution, by some measures. But the university has worked to improve it.
Posted inEducation, Health & Welfare
At UW-Stout, ‘obsessive’ data crunching to save — and improve — lives
The University of Wisconsin-Stout had a problem, counseling director John Achter told the student association last year. Twenty-two percent more students were seeking counseling services than ever before, forcing patients to wait up to 26 days to be seen.
Presented with those numbers, the association designated enough money for Achter to hire a new counselor. But some UW counseling centers don’t track even basic information on patients.
Posted inHealth & Welfare, Justice & Safety
In Haiti, U.S. deportees face illegal detentions and grave health risks
The United States this year has deported more than 250 Haitians, half of whom were jailed without charges in facilities so filthy they pose life-threatening health risks. Some Haitians faced lengthy confinement in U.S. immigration facilities before the deportations. An investigation by the nonprofit Florida Center for Investigative Reporting found evidence that the Obama administration has not followed its own policy of seeking alternatives to deportation when there are serious medical and humanitarian concerns.
Posted inEnvironment, Government, Health & Welfare
Under legal pressure, Wisconsin coal-fired power plants curb emissions
Dairyland and other Wisconsin coal-fired plants have begun lowering emissions, but not necessarily in response to demands by pollution regulators. Many of the changes have resulted from pressure and lawsuits brought by the nonprofit Sierra Club, which has campaigned for a decade to cut emissions from coal combustion. But enforcement is inconsistent, and some residents living in the shadow of coal plants are concerned their health may be affected.
Posted inEconomy, Health & Welfare
Wisconsin milk board removes weight loss claims from website
The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board has retreated from claims that consuming dairy products could aid weight loss after some experts branded the statements “deceptive” and “discredited.”
Posted inEconomy, Health & Welfare
Wisconsin milk board claims dairy aids weight loss
A major Wisconsin dairy group continues to promote dairy products for weight loss, four years after two national groups, under pressure from the Federal Trade Commission, agreed to stop.
Posted inEconomy, Health & Welfare
Wisconsin milk board overstates dairy’s benefits to children, some experts say
The milk board, which spends nearly a million dollars a year promoting dairy’s health benefits to children, defended its conduct and said claims were based in science.
Posted inHealth & Welfare, Justice & Safety
Backpage.com accused of facilitating sex trafficking
More than 50 cases of trafficking or attempted trafficking of minors on Backpage.com have been filed in 22 states in the past three years, says a letter from 45 attorneys general. Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen declined to sign the letter, saying he has “a policy of not publicly announcing the details of ongoing investigations or publicly negotiating private sector cooperation.”
Posted inEconomy, Government, Health & Welfare
State refusal to pursue WIC grant under fire
Advocates for Wisconsin’s Women, Infants and Children nutrition program want the state to reconsider its decision not to seek nearly $9 million in federal grants to make the benefits more convenient and less open to fraud.
Posted inHealth & Welfare, Justice & Safety
Human trafficking: Learn more, get help
If you suspect you are a victim of human trafficking or have come across a case, don’t hesitate to contact help. Here are lists of resources — and tips on how to identify cases of human trafficking.
Posted inHealth & Welfare, Justice & Safety
Human trafficking in the heartland
Experts and advocates say that since enacting a state law against human trafficking in 2008, Wisconsin has done little to expose situations in which which hundreds of state residents, including children, live as virtual slaves. In this story, two trafficking victims tell their stories.