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Health Inequalities

Frontline Readiness: The Unique Role of School-Based Health Centers as Critical Infrastructure During Emergencies

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By Rikhil Ranjit, Youth Advisory Council member. The following reflects Rikhil’s lived experiences, thoughts, and opinions. Severe weather, school shootings, pandemics. During times of crisis in a community, it’s students that sit at the epicenter of its impact: health risks, emotional blows, splintered routines. I remember during the COVID-19 pandemic, the accumulating ambiguities and questions … Read more

More Than a Meal: What Being A “Free Lunch Kid” Taught Me About Equity and Collective Care

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By Muntaha Rahman, Youth Advisory Council member. The following reflects Muntaha’s lived experiences, thoughts, and opinions. As a child, I remember how comforting it felt to know that, regardless of whether I was able to pack a lunch from home, I always had one waiting for me at school. I didn’t realize it at the … Read more

How Schools Can Address The Medical Misinformation Pandemic

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By Sahana Srikanth, Youth Advisory Council member. The following reflects Sahana’s lived experiences, thoughts, and opinions. On May 22, 2025, the White House released its sweeping MAHA Report, led by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The Report intended to focus on drivers behind the rise in childhood chronic disease … Read more

Teaching Students to Be Healthy

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By Joey Kaji, SBHA Board Member and Youth Advisory Council member The following reflects Joey’s lived experiences, thoughts, and opinions. Growing up, there is always an emphasis on maintaining our own health. In elementary school, it starts with our parents making sure we eat our fruits and vegetables. In middle school, it continued forward to … Read more

“Short on community health workers, a county trains teens as youth ambassadors”

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The following is an article featured on NPR’s Health News. “Of all the things she could have done on her summer vacation, Bithaniya Fieseha, a senior at West Springfield High School in Fairfax County, Va., decided to study chronic disease, mental health and contact tracing. Some of her friends didn’t understand the appeal.  ‘I feel … Read more

Teens & Vaccines: My Experience

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During the months of October and November, members of the Teens & Vaccines Podcast group worked hard on a workshop presentation for the California School-Based Health Alliance 2021 School Health Conference: Building Bridges to Healthy & Resilient Communities. They met weekly to outline content, create their presentation, and design interactive components for their workshop, “Teens & Vaccines … Read more

The All In My Head Podcast

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Living through COVID-19 can make anyone feel disconnected and isolated from their community. With teens across America experiencing a lack of social interaction, The All In My Head Podcast was created. While in the heart of Covid-19, a group of teens got together in Portland, Oregon to do something meaningful with their time. We started … Read more

Climate Change is the New Social Determinant of Health

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By Emma Bittar, Youth Advisory Council Member Emma Bittar is a college freshman at Tufts University from Bradenton, Florida. She believes that youth have the fundamental right to live their happiest and healthiest lives through equal access to education and healthcare services. Growing up in Florida has allowed me to appreciate the stunning environment around me … Read more

Addressing Health Inequity Through Meaningful Youth – Adult Partnerships

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The presentation taught companies and organizations about the importance of incorporating youth work and how to do so. Some important key concepts included acknowledging that youth are experts and that all activities or work should be youth-led with adult support, not adult-led. Paying youth for the work that they do or offering alternative incentives is … Read more

A Conversation on Racial Inequalities and the Youth Perspective

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A Conversation on Racial Inequalities and the Youth Perspective from ProjectECHO on Vimeo. Description: Join us for a discussion from the youth perspective addressing the legacy of racial injustices and health inequities and discussing what we can do to stand in solidarity for change and form solutions for moving forward. The Weitzman Institute and the School-Based Health Alliance are partnering … Read more