Youth who are homeless often become homeless as adults — and that is the single largest pathway among this population, far outpacing causes such as mental health issues, substance abuse and housing crises. It’s also the longest-lasting and most entrenched homeless experience. Overall, one in 10 young adults ages 18-25, and at least one in 30 adolescents ages 13-17, experience some form of homelessness without a parent or guardian for over a year. Another sobering fact: LGBTQ+ homeless youth have twice the rate of early death than their peers.
Sometimes we judge them based on their appearance but once we hear their side of the story, you will change how you view them.
Ways You Can Work Toward Ending Homelessness
Give money to programs that work. Sounds simple, right? But these aren’t always easy to spot. One place to start is the Youth Homeless Fund, a Houston-based community impact fund that aims to address the problem of homelessness among young people through leadership, advocacy work, education and collaborative grantmaking.
Set bold goals. When organizations and communities set a target to reduce street homelessness, they usually succeed. Don’t just think about housing a few hundred people in a shelter; think about how thousands can get permanent supportive housing within a year.
Don’t get bogged down in politics. Rather than worry about whether government subsidies will be approved or not by a council, make sure that local initiatives on the ground get the support they need and find ways to bring people together in private-public partnerships.
Know your numbers. Support research such as Voices of Youth Count (through Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago), which delivers concrete, reliable data on subgroups, while also delving into the details on which interventions have found success and which haven’t.
Spread the word. As Funders Together explains, “Grantmakers can fund grassroots and other nonprofit advocacy organizations to help create broad community support for housing-based solutions to homelessness.” And, to circle back around to the way we began, make sure to dispel the misconceptions that stifle change. The journey starts here, but it will continue until the homeless problem is eradicated once and for all.
I have seen one of the elder in community have a Cancer and he is at the final stage. Whenever he did chemotherapy, he looked very exhausted and tired because he was unable to eat. Caring for someone that needed our help is the best we can do for others
Why do we need treatments that go beyond chemotherapy?
Conventional cancer therapy often comes with severe side effects. Chemotherapy, for example, kills many cancer cells but also many healthy cells. This is the reason for many side effects that patients suffer from when undergoing chemotherapy.
Therefore, a lot of research goes into new therapies that attack cancer in a targeted and increasingly differentiated manner to generate the best possible effectiveness with tolerable side effects.
The goal of modern treatments is to directly target the abnormal mechanisms and the drivers of the tumor and thus limit damage to the surrounding healthy tissue. As these treatments specifically attack the unique nature of the tumor, patients can potentially experience much fewer side effects.
Where do we stand in the fight against cancer?
Although more people are being diagnosed with cancer and it is still the leading cause of death, the number of people dying from cancer is declining and survival rates are improving continuously. In the US for example, survival rates across all cancers have increased over the last decades from 50% to more than 67% – meaning that 2 of 3 cancer patients are alive after 5 years.
What can cancer patients do themselves to improve the outcome of their therapy?
Educate yourself and stay informed
The understanding of your condition and available treatment options is important for the discussion with your medical oncologist. Besides the information you get from your doctor, there are many cancer organizations and patient organizations which provide information on different cancer types, available treatment options and how to get support.
Keep your doctor’s appointments
Even if you are afraid of the result or just not in the mood – regular visits to the doctor are important for a successful therapy. This is the only way to identify developments in the course of the disease in good time and treat them accordingly.
Prepare yourself for your visit to the doctor
The better you are prepared for your doctor’s appointment, the better you explain your condition and discuss your individual preferences. A list with notes could help you not to forget to address your questions and concerns.
Ask for support
Ask a family member, friend or caregiver to accompany you to your appointment. They may also have questions to add to the discussion.
Want to help a friend or loved one dealing with cancer? It can be hard to know exactly what you can or should do.
Just follow the steps above and donate your time, sympathy, and love to your neighbors!
I always wanted to host a baby shower and I got excited when I visited a friend on their baby Shower Day. It gives me excitement and knowledge on how I want things to be done according to my interest. Next year I will have a chance to plan an event on my own and the way how I plan it to be done. Everything is not going to be as I expected but having a goal and planning it would makes things perfect.
Welcoming a new baby into your life is a precious and exciting time. You want to share the joy and thrill of this life changing experience with those who are dear to you. A Gender Reveal Party with Confetti Cannons is the perfect way to both celebrate with a blast and include those you love in the experience. A party to celebrate the reveal of your baby’s gender is a fun and emotional event for everyone. Not only are you sharing the news of your new family member to be with those you love, you can also take part in the mystery of the big gender reveal by finding out the gender of your baby at the party.
This Gender Reveal Party will be an occasion to not only celebrate the new little one on the way but also to share in the thrill of your best friends who are becoming honorary aunts and uncles and newly anointed grandparents. This memorable event can include everyone in the surprise reveal by letting your guests each hold a Confetti Cannon to shoot the colored confetti into the sky. Your guests will love taking part in the event and revealing the secret of the baby’s sex. The confetti will explode out of the cannon and gentle flutter down around all of you, creating a magical and joyous moment.
First, let us brush up on some basic facts on why water is important:
Our bodies are approximately 60-70% water.
Our blood (which is 50% water) is the transport system for all our essential nutrients to our brains, including amino acids, vitamins, and sugars (energy!).
The brain is about 85% water.
As such an integral part of our overall brain health, it is worth digging further into how H20 can impact our anxiety and our performance.
How water reduces stress
It may surprise people that anxiety and dehydration are connected. But when the brain does not get enough water, the consequences can range from mild headaches and fatigue to severe dehydration and seizures. The more and more water your brain loses, the less energy you have and the more tired you get.
In addition, lack of water in the brain also changes how you respond to STRESS. How does that work? Well, we have this hormone in our bodies called cortisol, which is well known as a stress hormone. Even a little bit of dehydration can cause cortisol levels in the body to increase and lead to STRESS. Stressful, isn’t it?
Just make sure you drink enough water so your brain can balance its chemicals and you can be less stressed!
Six Reasons to Drink Up
Water is a natural appetite suppressant. Research shows that drinking a glass of water before meals curbs appetite, helping you eat less and become more satisfied.
Water speeds up metabolism. Research has shown that an increase in water consumption leads to an increase in the rate in which people burn calories as opposed to storing them as fat.
Water cleanses the body of toxins. Water improves your blood circulation flushing out toxins and impurities. It also increases water in your skin cells which helps to get rid of wrinkles and helps you look younger.
Water boosts your energy. Dehydration leads to fatigue because it impacts the flow of oxygen to the brain and causes your heart to work harder to pump oxygen to all your bodily organs, making you more tired and less alert. By staying hydrated you stay energized.
Water helps build muscle tone. Water acts as a lubricant around your muscle and joints which helps prevent cramping, allowing you to work out harder and longer.
Water reduces stress. Studies have shown that dehydration leads to higher cortisol levels—the stress hormone—making it harder to deal with everyday issues. By staying hydrated you will be better equipped to deal with everyday problems.
So, get yourself a water bottle and keep it filled. Humans need about 2.4 liters of water replenished every day and even more depending on how much we sweat. We need it to feel lively, we need it to be carefree and relaxed (to a certain extent), and we need it so that we can show our body how much we love it. So, whatever you do, remember to get your H2O (water) on to avoid dehydration AND anxiety or stress.
Improve your brain health to learn better
At the end of the day, you could have the best study techniques, flashcard apps, and motivation hacks. But if you are exhausted, hungry, overly stressed, all your arduous work will not be as effective as it could be. That is why it is important to take care of your hydration and your health.
Tips & Tricks for Drinking More Water
Get a water bottle you love. Purchasing a water bottle that you enjoy drinking from makes a difference in both how likely you are to carry it and sip from it.
Add lemon or other fruit to your water for flavor.
I personally think it is based on personal body needs. When people are stressed due to finals, work, and personal life, even if drinking a lot of water could not help in a certain time.
Technology can have a negative impact on the relationship by being a big distraction for either party. Instead of having important conversations, one or both partners are more focused on their phones and checking social media. Lastly, heavy use of technology can actually lead to negative mental health.
It’s easy to become distracted by text messages and social media updates. When conversations between family members are constantly interrupted by technology, it may become difficult to “be in the moment.” This may cause children to share less information with parents as well. Feeling unimportant.
Technology has been increasing at a fast pace since the late 1990’s and 2000’s, making it difficult for parents (and adults in general) to handle the challenges of changing technology in their workplaces and homes.
This increase in technology adds a new dynamic to parenting: challenging meaningful communication and strong relationships with our children. It can challenge our adult and family relationships as well.
Family divides can happen when there is a breakdown in communication and connection among parents and children, or between adults. A breakdown in communication might involve dishonest, disrespectful, and distant (not being present) conversations, or simply having no conversation at all.
It can create innocent misunderstandings, distrust, and a feeling of distance between family members. When a breakdown in communication continues, the problem can snowball, furthering the distance between family members.
The difficulties in communication between working parents and their children
Working parents often have an obligation to work long hours away from home, resulting in “latchkey kids” that come home each day and spend time without parents present. During that time, it’s easy for children to spend their time playing video games, visiting social media sites, and checking in with their cell phones to connect with friends.
Technology such as cell phones and online gaming allows for children to be constantly connected to friends, making peers one of their largest influencers. In these cases, some children turn to friends for advice instead of their parents.
The difficulties for parents in mastering technology
Technology is changing at a rapid pace and in order to master the latest technology, parents must continuously spend time learning new devices, apps, social media sites. For some parents, this becomes a real challenge. It can be difficult to balance family, work, household activities, and social calendars, let alone learning the latest technology. Therefore, mastering technology often falls by the wayside.
In addition, many parents (and adults in general) today were raised in a culture where technology was not as large a part of everyday life as it is today. There were no Smart Boards in classrooms, cell phones were novelties, and online gaming had not yet been invented. Some homes didn’t even have a computer.
The learning curve for parents and adults to learn and master technology has been steeper than it has been for children that grew up with computers, tablets, smart TVs, and cell phones at their fingertips.
Now parents can’t monitor their children’s communication
In the beginning, social media sites could easily be monitored by parents. It was common for parents to “friend” their children and monitor their online communication. Today, children are using social media platforms such as Snap Chat where messages disappear within seconds so that parents can’t see the messages stored on their child’s phone.
Some children create separate profiles that their parents aren’t aware of: one where they connect to family and friends, and one where they only connect with friends. Other common methods children use to avoid parent monitoring are deleting text messages or apps from their phones daily.
How to Reduce Technology
Block Out Tech-Free Time Together
Make it a rule that devices are not allowed at the table during meals. Go for a walk and leave your devices behind. Plan a date night and leave your devices at home or in the car. Designate a time of day or day of the week to be tech-free.
Example from my family, during fall, spring, and summer season we tend to create activity for my family members to engage and spend time together. Due to time, jobs, and many conflict, but we choose to go for a walk around the neighbors or to the park to have a picnic. The kids really enjoy it and we they them every evening to distract them from using technology. We spend time about 3 hours a day and by the time they get home, we ate dinner, clean up our selves, doing homework, and by that time it already time for bed.
These two link provide pro and cons of using technology and how it affect our relationship toward one another. Meanwhile it also gives information of how people should educe the use of technology and set-up rules in their house.
This special group of youth can attend school safely, only in an internally displaced-persons camp. The IDP camp is like a refugee camp, but it is for persons who have had to flee their homes within their own country; for several reasons they cannot cross safely into a neighboring country and become refugees. Some of these youth live in the camp; some traveled far from village or jungle to become students here. Education is the bridge to freedom and a new life. At St Francis Boarding House, not only do the students have an education, but they are growing up with the strength and dignity of disciples! They pray together in the morning and evening, learn songs of faith, and learn the Church’s prayers. Mass is rare because visits by priests are rare, but they are practicing the Catholic faith daily as much as possible, and with joy. Our local Karen community supports them and visited Fr Seraphim in 2020 just before COVID. This year the priest and other 5 people visit the camp for education purpose and for this mission they encourage the believes to come as one and unity.
The Franciscan Brother of Peace community had been serving many people such as to feed the hungry we have a weekly food shelf that offers food, hygiene, and intercessory prayer. To shelter the homeless, they house international victims of torture and sponsor a boarding school in Myanmar. To visit the sick and care for the dying we once operated an AIDS hospice; today we visit scores of veterans at the VA (Veterans Affairs) Hospital three days a week. To clothe the naked, they operate a busy baby diaper closet and a winter clothing drive. And lastly, to instruct the unlearned they teach Religion classes at St Jerome Catholic School and Catechism Classes for the Myanmar refugee community.
People who are interested in making donations can donate online or write a check.
Donate Online:
Please click here to donate easily online. You will be redirected to a secure site
called GiveMN / Give to the Max.
Donate Food, Hygiene:
Please bring small donations (2-3 bags) of food/hygiene donations to our door
Volunteer:
Volunteers are essential for our food shelf…
+ Sort food as a Family + Great Father/Son or Mother/Daughter project! + Serve with Scouts + Organize a food drive through your parish, school, or neighborhood
Those under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or youth minister. 9am-4pm Mon-Fri.
Having this opportunity, as a youth, young adult, and people who want to make the differences in other lives, they can volunteer or donate because every penny makes the difference.
MDST 485 Class Blog 