The prostate gland is often the cause of very big problems for men, especially black men. Prostate Cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed forms of cancer in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, when compared with Caucasian males, African American males are diagnosed much later and the mortality rate is 2.4 times higher.  According to many reports, a big part of the problem is a lack of knowledge in the African American community.  At a time when there is a wealth of information available to large segments of the African American community– why is this so?  Why are African American men less likely to show up for a community education program or access available information on Prostate Health?

Culturally sensitive research has found that the differences in time of diagnosis and the mortality rate between Caucasian and African American males are caused mainly by African American males avoiding prostate screening exams as well as a lack of access to quality medical care.  The five most common barriers to prostate cancer screenings among African American males are all prefaced by the word “lack”:

• 1)       Lack of knowledge about the need for screenings,
• 2)       Lack of insurance, 3) Lack of finances, 4)  Lack of physicians to contact, and
• 5)       Lack of culturally sensitive information about the availability of free screenings. 

 There is another “lack” that is not often evidenced in the research – that is a lack of confidence in our medical system.  In interviews with many African Americans there is an innate lack of confidence (particularly among some older people) in segments of our medical system. They doubt that it will provide the best care (or information) possible, and that the lives and well-being of black people are as valued.  While many readers will recoil at this, it nevertheless is a reality for those who hold this belief.  They can often site circumstances that justify this perception.  While some of those circumstances might not be recent they have placed a mental wedge in the minds of those who hold this belief.  It is one that is not easy to overcome; it takes time, effort and a commitment on the part of all involved to undo the damage of past experiences, and awareness of such occurrences; it could even have been as long as two generations ago!

Is it possible that this “lack” is mostly due to perception than reality?  Could it be more about what has been in the past versus what it is now? How many African American men seek out information?  How many pay attention when information is being offered? How many respond to invitations to participate in free education programs and free screenings?  These are matter-of-fact questions that need to be addressed honestly. We need to create a new reality.

We cannot underestimate the psychological impact of the suffering of many African American patients in the hands of culturally insensitive caregivers.  We also need to closely examine medical services offered to black people at inaccessible facilities; this leads to poor attendance rates.  It is often uncomfortable for black men to discuss their medical concerns and questions in unfamiliar situations with culturally insensitive facilitators.  However, there is an urgent need for black people in general, and black men in particular, to take more responsibility in seeking out and accessing medical information.  While it might be true that the “system” is not working as well for black people, it is not the system that is suffering the dire consequences due to late diagnoses, poor health outcomes, draining economics and early death (plus all of the associated concomitant issues).  The best thing we can do for ourselves as black people is to be proactive about health, education and overall well-being.  It is in our own best interest and that of our families to do so.  

Please visit OneWorld Progressive Institute’s education web site to see some of our health information videos at: http://www.oneworldpi.org/health/health_videos.html  

Let us strive to make each Black History Month more healthy, prosperous and productive than the ones before.  Let us strive for total emancipation by the year 2019.

RWJF has supported CeaseFire and its replication since its start in Chicago in 2000, helping to test and refine intervention and prevention strategies. This is the first rigorous evaluation study of a replication site of the CeaseFire model.

• Read more about the Safe Streets Baltimore study.
• In 2009 New Haven had 12 homicides (all victims were black)
• In 2010 New Haven had 24 homicides (23 were black)
• In 2011 New Haven had 34 homicides (33 were black & Latino)
• In 2012 we at OneWorld Progressive Institute, Inc hope that the program implemented in trajectory in New Haven, CT, Baltimore can serve as a model for changing the trajectory in New Haven. 
• As we celebrate another Black History Month starting today, Feb. 1, 2012, let us work hard at loving ourselves and at teaching our children to loe and respect themselves.  Let us teach them that resolving conflicts with guns has dire consequences for all of us.

Every young Black and Hispanic male should read this article.  Parents, please teach your sons and daughters how to try and stay safe in this our “Post-Racial” America.  Racial profiling  seems to be thriving in our post-racial America; so are gangs, bullies, drug predators and a host of other maladies– all targeting  young Black males.  The need for parental guidance, structure and support, and the need for productive after-school programs, college-level, skill-building programs and civic lessons are stronger than ever.   We also need intense multicultural education programs for the police depts everywhere.  At OneWorld we believe: “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”

OPINION   | December 18, 2011
Opinion:  Why Is the N.Y.P.D. After Me?   Please read the complete article by clicking the link
By NICHOLAS K. PEART 

As a black man in my 20s, I’ve incorporated into my daily life the sense that I might be pushed against a wall or thrown to the ground by a police officer at any time.

WHEN I was 14, my mother told me not to panic if a police officer stopped me. And she cautioned me to carry ID and never run away from the police or I could be shot. In the nine years since my mother gave me this advice, I have had numerous occasions to consider her wisdom. 

Here are a few other facts: last year, the N.Y.P.D. recorded more than 600,000 stops; 84 percent of those stopped were Blacks or Latinos. Police are far more likely to use force when stopping blacks or Latinos than whites. In half the stops police cite the vague “furtive movements” as the reason for the stop. Maybe black and brown people just look more furtive, whatever that means. These stops are part of a larger, more widespread problem — a racially discriminatory system of stop-and-frisk in the N.Y.P.D. The police use the excuse that they’re fighting crime to continue the practice, but no one has ever actually proved that it reduces crime or makes the city safer. Those of us who live in the neighborhoods where stop-and-frisks are a basic fact of daily life don’t feel safer as a result.

1)       Ques: I would also like to know if the Charter Schools get the same amount of money per child as the regular public schools in New Haven. 

Answer: We spoke to the director of the Charter Schools Program at the State Dept. of Education (SDE); he says – all charter schools, elementary, middle and high schools receive $9,400 per student annually.  This amount is based on the student count as of Oct. 1, 2011.  The student count is taken on Oct. 1 every year; the amount they receive might change annually. Charter schools in NH include Amistad, Achievement First and Common Ground.

2.   Public School Funding is calculated differently from Charter Schools and seems to be a little more complicated. 

• a)       According to the SDE, the New Haven Public School District gets $3,000 per child for NH resident students.
• b)      The district also gets additional per pupil funding/money through Educational Cost Sharing Grants (ECG) from the state. 
• c)       This grant comes in a lump sum and is divided by the district based upon its internal determination of the need that exists in each school.
• d)      According to NHPS fiscal administrators, the cost per student for children in the public schools is calculated at $7,792.  If someone wanted a child (from outside NH) to attend a NHPS, this is what it would cost in tuition for that child.
• e)       Inter-district Magnet Schools:  NHPS gets $6,730 (from the SDE) per student for every child who comes from outside of the district and attends a NH Inter-district Magnet School.
• f)     Intra-district magnets and Lighthouse schools are for New Haven resident students only.  Inter-district magnet schools are for all who are eligible to attend school in New Haven.

3.      Ques: If the Charter Schools get the same amount of money for each student why are they allowed to pick and choose which students they educate? 

Answer: According to the SDE, the Charter Schools are not supposed to pick and choose who they educate; they are supposed to educate the students who apply and are accepted.  If parents have concerns about how their applications are handled they should bring those concerns to the attention of the school administrators. If parents are not satisfied with the response they get, they should contact the Charter Schools Section at the SDE, 860-713-6574; the director is Robert Kelly.

4.   Lighthouse Schools –OneWorld has received several questions about what are Lighthouse Schools in the NHPS system.   

Answer: According to people in charge of these areas in the NHPS, Lighthouse Schools are a part of the No Child Left Behind Federal Program (NCLB); they are high performing schools within the District.  There are three Lighthouse Schools in the NHPS system; they are: Nathan Hale: Pre-K-8, Worthington Hooker: K-8, and Troupe School K-8.  NCLB allows children to be transferred from low-performing schools to high-performing Lighthouse Schools. There is no Lottery application required.  Parents can file a transfer application in the summer (by August) to have their children transferred out of a present low-performing school and into one of the three schools listed above.  Worthington Hooker and Nathan Hale are Tier 1 schools. Troup is presently a Tier 3 school with additional resources for after-school enrichment programs, and a new principal in 2011/2012; Troup is expected to become a high performing school.  We hope this information is helpful to all who inquired.   

 For more detailed information about New Haven schools, we suggest calling NHPS, or visit the web site at: http://www.nhps.net  Browse the site for a wealth of information.  If you do not find the information you seek, please call the specific dept within the NHPS District.  First start at: Home › Parents + Students - then go to Information Parents Can Use

To learn more from the State Dept. of Education (SDE), please visit: http://www.sde.ct.gov/ Browse under Latest News and Quick Links to find an abundance of information.  You may also call the SDE located at: 165 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106 / Phone:  860-713-6543

We encourage to you visit and browse our web site at: http://www.oneworldpi.org to learn more about what OneWorld does for the greater New Haven as well as the broader CT community.

Visit our specific video sections linked below to watch video clips and full length programs:             www.newhavenindependent.org/…/different_strokes_for_different_folks/ (Community health forum)         http://www.oneworldpi.org/health/health_videos.html             http://www.oneworldpi.org/education/education_videos.html              http://www.oneworldpi.org/civic_engagement/civic_engagement_videos.html   

See a list of articles about OneWorld television programs here: Articles

OneWorld thanks: Robert Kelly and William Magnotta (SDE),  Quanita Mazik-Uzuka, Demaris Rau and Vallerie Hudson-Brown, NHPS Central Office for their help in bringing you this information.

N’Zinga Shani, Producer

This report listed above is from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation Newsletter.  The content of this report  should not be a surprise to anyone.  We applaud RWJF for commissioning it, but the facts provided have long been known.  It has always been evident to anyone who wished to see it that those who are disenfranchised tend to have poorer health status than those who are affluent, educated and have access to health care.  As a society we have chosen not to see the severe impact that social barriers play in the lives of those less fortunate.   In fact, there are those in America who are vested in a permanent underclass.  This is why every caring American — and particularly those who have been entrusted with political leadership — should be ashamed and be aggrieved that in this land of plenty, this place that so many of us are proud of, there are so many homeless, so many uneducated, so many abused and discarded (particularly children and the elderly) and so many without access to health care.   Those without health care are often referred to as irresponsible.

Many people in third world countries would be stunned, shocked, if they were to come to America and see our discarded people.  The fact that the Tea Partiers and the Republican Party have fought so hard against health care for everyone, and the fact that President Obama felt he had to give up on a public option so as to get a watered down health care bill pass the Congress is indeed a sad commentary on America as a nation.  Now there are those who are fighting to discard even that watered down version of health care that we got.  That Bill has already saved thousands of lives.  It has made it possible for some of us to be able to go to the doctor.   It has been a relief to hundreds of thousands of Americans.  Yet there are those who are opposing it under the malicious guise  that it in interferring in people’s lives.  This was the same uproar we heard when Medicare was before the Congress in 1965.   In fact, Ronald Reagan, as governor of California campaigned against Medicare. Today, in 2011, Medicare  is one of the BEST programs America offers to its seniors.

People who are educated, hardworking and dedicated citizens who have worked for decades in America can end up losing their homes and most of what they own due to medical bills.  It is frightening.  Large and smaller corporations (utility  companies, manufacturers, health conglomerates, small health corporations and private practitioners) function essentially as bullies, to oppress and intimidate the average citizen; as a result many people lose services and end up in dire straights.  This happens daily across America and there seems to be no respite for such people unless they can come together with others in similar circumstances and find good hearted, humane  attorneys, or a legal advocacy group to help them to form coalitions and become strong advocates for themselves.  OneWorld strongly advocates for such coalitions and for poor people not to give up.  If America is to truly function as a democracy poor people will have to learn to FIGHT for themselves.  We need to engage; we need to become informed and use information to empower ourselves.  It is daunting yes, but it can be done especially when we join hands with others.

“Primary care physicians say pervasive and stubborn social barriers such as a lack of access to adequate housing, transportation, and nutritious, affordable food may impact patient health as much as access to direct medical care, a survey shows.”

“The online survey of 1,000 primary care physicians, including 310 pediatricians, was conducted in September and October on behalf of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  We have to think about how do we help physicians connect their patients to other providers or to services that are going to have as much impact on their health outcomes as the physician visit will have?” 

Can you believe that in 2011 this is news?   Yet, it is better late than never.  We hope they find an answer; the fact that they are asking this question in 2011, while the problem has been evident for at least 50 years is another statement about the American social, political and economic systems.  Here are some of the key findings from the physicians’ survey:

• 85% of physicians say unmet social needs are directly leading to worse health for all Americans.
•  85% of physicians say patients’ social needs are as important to address as their medical conditions. This is especially true for physicians (or 95%) serving patients in low-income, urban communities. 
•  76% of physicians want the healthcare system to cover the costs associated with connecting patients to services that meet their social needs if a physician deems it important for overall health.
•  Only 20% of physicians feel confident or very confident in their ability to address their patients’ unmet social needs. 
•  Physicians said that if they had the power to write prescriptions to address social needs, these would represent 1 out of every 7 prescriptions they write— or an average of 26 additional prescriptions per week.

Although we have known for over 50 years that unmet social needs are directly leading to worse health for poor Americans, it is news in 2011 because it is now applied to all Americans.  This means not just Blacks and Hispanics; it is now also affecting “regular whites” and therefore it is a reason for alarm.  Something now needs to be done.  Blacks, Hispanics and the poor have been dying of deprivation and neglect for decades. We hope that now that the same malady is affecting those considered to be “regular, normal people” and not just those of us who bring these things upon ourselves, not just those of us who are lazy and careless — something WILL BE DONE! 

 Visit our http://www.oneworldpi.org/health/health_videos.html to see some of our health literacy programs; they are all available on DVDs for a very nominal cost.  We wish our visitors good health and full engagement in democracy.