May 28, 2017. 9AM. Mental Health No longer a Taboo.

NO LONGER A TABOO II

Immigrant Community Services

in partnership with

Help Africa and Montgomery County’s African Affairs Advisory Group

Presents

A Community DiAlOgue on mental Health

Saturday, May 27^th 2017

9:00am – 12:00pm

Silver Spring Civic Center

1 Veterans Pl,

Silver Spring, MD 20910

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Fenton Room

Breakfast                                                                                                                                                             9:00 am - 9:30 am

Welcome and Opening Remarks:                                                                                                             9:30 am - 9:35 am

Mrs. Harriet Shangarai, Chairwoman AAAG                                                            

Mr. Daniel Koroma, Montgomery County Government

Introduction of Panelists: Ms. Josephine Garnem                                                                          9:35 am - 9:40 am

Moderator, Head of Health Committee, AAAG, Founder ICS

         

Session I (Fenton Room)

Panel Discussion                                                                                                                                           9:40 am - 10:30 am

Dr. Akua Asare, MD, DC Commission on African Affairs

Scientific breakdown of mental disorders—genetic, social, biological (10mins)

Carol Bangura, M.S.Ed., DrPH(c) & Mrs. Sombo Pujeh, MPH, Doctoral Candidate in Public Health

Findings - Mental Health Service Seeking Attitudes among Immigrants (10mins)

Dr. Odelya Gertel Kraybill, Ph.D., LCPC – Expressive Trauma Integration

Immigration, Stress & Therapy – Coping Mechanisms (10mins)

Dr. Rachel Singer, PhD, Center for Anxiety and Behavioral Change

The Importance of Early Intervention & Cultural Competent Intervention (10mins)

              

Q & A Session

Break                                                                                                                                10:30 am - 10:40am

Session II

Breakout Activities

Youth-Centric (facilitated by Dr. Odelya, Mrs. Sombo Pujeh & Nadia)                           10:40 am - 11:30 am

Spectrogram – You’re Not Alone (Collesville Room)                          

What Every Parent Needs to Know (Dr. Rachel Singer, Dr. Akua Asare)               10:40 am - 11:30 am

Let’s Talk About It (Fenton Room)                                                                                          

Everyone Regroups (Fenton Room)

Pastoring & The Faith-based Perspective (Rev. Kennedy Odzafi, & Imam)                                11:35 am - 11: 45 am

 (5mins each)

Special Guest Speaker                                                                                                                           11:40 am - 11:50 am

                                   

Vote of Thanks & Closing Remarks                                                                                            11:50 am – 12:00 pm

Ms. Harriet Shangarai

Special thanks to community members who came and participated, and to our panelists and speakers:

Silver Spring Civic Center Management & Staff, CUPF Program,

 African Diaspora communities, Center for Anxiety and Behavioral Change, SOAR, Expressive Trauma Integration, Montgomery County Office of Community Partnerships, DC Mayor’s Commission on African Affairs, The Owiredu Foundation for The Arts

                             

Center for Anxiety & Behavioral Change

414 Hungerford Drive, Suite 252 •

Rockville, MD 20850 •

Ph: 301-610-7850

Water Security. Event. Monday, June 5, 2017. Sharing Water. Water World Forum

Dear Global Water Challenge Colleagues: This note is to encourage your participation in Sharing Water — an event convening influential voices from government, civil society and business to explore issues and solutions to the world’s water challenges. The event, scheduled for June 5, 2017 starting at 8:30 am, is co-hosted by World Wildlife Fund and The Coca-Cola Company and will also serve as part of the regional planning process of the 8th World Water Forum. The event will host a strong list of speakers, including a Q&A session and reflections from Dayne Walling, former Mayor of Flint. More details on the sessions and speakers can be found below and attached. Please RSVP as soon as possible to secure your spot as space is limited at the venue. The event is free to attend.

Click here to download agenda

EPA requires BNSF Railway Company to begin work at abandoned uranium mines

For Immediate Release:  May 22, 2017

 EPA requires BNSF Railway Company to begin work at abandoned uranium mines

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an agreement with BNSF Railway Company to begin cleanup at the Haystack Mines Site, a group of three abandoned uranium mines near Prewitt, New Mexico and the Baca/Prewitt chapter, on Navajo Nation. 
The mines site operated from 1952 to 1981 and produced 400,000 tons of uranium ore.  Today, the 174-acre area is being used for livestock grazing and includes one residence with some additional homes nearby. The work is expected to begin in July and last for four months.
Under the agreement, BNSF Railway Company will conduct the following actions:

• Through biological and cultural assessments of the property, ensure cultural resources and sensitive species are not impacted
• Fence the property and post warning signs
• Outreach to the local community
• Provide temporary alternative housing to impacted residents if necessary
• Construct access roads
• Excavate contaminated soil

During the Cold War, 30 million tons of uranium ore were mined on or adjacent to the Navajo Nation, leaving more than 500 abandoned mines.  EPA has entered into settlement agreements valued at $1.7 billion to reduce the highest risks to the Navajo people.  Since 2008, EPA has conducted preliminary investigations at all the mines, remediated 48 contaminated structures, provided safe drinking water to 3,013 families in partnership with the Indian Health Service, and performed cleanup or stabilization work at nine mines.  In total, funds are available to begin the cleanup process at over 200 abandoned uranium mines, representing 40% of the abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation. This work is a closely coordinated effort between federal agencies and the Navajo Nation to address the legacy of uranium contamination. 
For more information about EPA activities in the Southwest, please visit: www.epa.gov/region9 or www.epa.gov/region6

Media Contact:   Margot Perez-Sullivan, perezsullivan.margot@epa.gov

May 2017. U.S. Virgin Islands. Least talked about Afro-Caribbean community and Part of the Diaspora.

To our new community members on the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

Thank you for your membership in BEMA International, and invitation to your community.  Now on our radar, and full assistance available to your community.

CDS CEO BEMA International

Situational Awareness:

            Disaster\Emergency Management Agency\Office:

Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency  (VITEMA)

www.vitema.gov

VITEMA Headquarters
8221 Estate Nisky
St. Thomas, VI 00803
phone: (340) 774-2244
fax: (304) 715-6847

St. Croix Office
102 Hermon Hill
St. Croix, VI 00820
phone: (340) 773-2244
fax: (304) 778-8980

St. John Office
6 Susannaberg
St. John, VI 00830
phone: (340) 776-6444
fax: (304) 714-4470

                                       

Population:  (2015)  103,574    (comparison:  District of Columbia Pop: 672,228)

                        Breakdown:       74   % Black (African Descent)

                                                                                15.6% White

                                                                                2.1 %  Mixed

1.4 %  Asian

4.9 %  Other (Hispanic, etc.)

            Capital City:   Charlotte Amalia

The USVI consist of 4 larger islands: St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John and Water Island, and some 50 smaller islets and cays. The total area of the USVI is 133 square miles.

Who owns St Croix Island?

St. Croix was home to HOVENSA, one of the world's largest oil refineries. HOVENSA is a limited liability company owned and operated by Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corp. (HOVIC), a division of U.S.-based Hess Corporation, and Petroleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA), the national oil company of Venezuela.

What islands are part of the United States?

The United States currently administers 16 territories as insular areas:

·        American Samoa.

·        Guam.

·        Northern Mariana Islands.

·        Puerto Rico.

·        U.S. Virgin Islands.

Additional information to follow on CERT, community organization involvement, and other disaster risk management issues planning before, and after a disaster.

Black Emergency Managers Association            International
1231  Good Hope Road  S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20020
Office:   202-618-9097
bEMA International

     

“Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.” ¯ David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

Cooperation, Collaboration, Communication, Coordination, Community engagement, and  Partnering (C5&P)             A 501 (c) 3 organization.

May 2017. Situational Awareness. International ReliefWeb Crisis App. Smartphone

I use to keep abreast of Situation Awareness issues internationally.

Charles D. Sharp
CEO
BEMA International

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Four Reasons Why You Should Use the ReliefWeb Crises App

Read the article on ReliefWeb:
http://reliefweb.int/blogpost/four-reasons-why-you-should-use-reliefweb-crises-app

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We have released a new version of the RW Crises app, which has seen more than 3,500 downloads since its launch in October 2016. The Crises app features key figures, access to latest updates, real-time funding status, as well as an overview for each humanitarian crisis.
The powered-up version is faster and offers four significant improvements from the previous version:
Features:

1. Comprehensive coverage
   The new version has been enhanced with features, including links to third party datasets and in-country contacts and country overviews. Crisis key figures, such as the number of people affected by health emergencies within a crisis situation, have been scaled up in their coverage. These numbers are hand-curated by the ReliefWeb editorial team from the most trusted sources in the respective sector/cluster. The app currently covers over 20 countries and new countries will be added when major emergencies strike.
   
2. Offline access
   Going to the field with limited internet access and still want your data? You can now save Crises content for offline use in areas with limited connectivity - an invaluable feature for aid workers in the field. You can access all key figures as well as five reports in each category (Headlines, Sitreps, Visuals, etc.) while offline.
   
3. Smooth and easy navigation
   Seamlessly switch between countries and choose the type of content you want to see. Interested in situation reports only? Simply go to the Sitreps tab and swipe through the latest reports.
   
4. Speed and Size
   RW Crises has been optimized for both Android and iOS devices. Switch countries and access the latest reports in seconds. You no longer need to worry about storage space as the app is 20 times lighter than before!

Download the new Crises app by clicking on the links below: