Health

Teens, Loss and Grief

Published

11 years ago

June 16, 2015

By Shantella Y. Sherman
Special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspaper

For thousands of youth living in the D.C. metropolitan area the threat of violence creates constant fear. From random assaults and homicides positioned in the news media as commonplace, to the often-used refrain that victims were “in the wrong place at the wrong time,” a growing sense of fear and grief have come to characterize adolescent development. Think tanks like the Rand Corporation have found that inner-city communities often incur rates of post-traumatic stress (PTSD) symptoms among young people comparable to those seen in veterans of the Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq wars. Recognizing the symptoms of associated grief, depression, and chronic stress, however, is often clouded by stereotypes, leaving sufferers to go untreated.

Chronic stress and prolonged grieving cycles have a profound impact on the physical and mental well-being of young people. Sleeplessness, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, behavioral problems, and complaints of headaches or stomachaches are common. Among middle and junior high school students in urban school systems, 41 percent reported witnessing a stabbing or shooting in the past year; and 83 percent reported experiencing one or more traumatic events themselves. The epidemic of trauma-related stress and grief, however, becomes most evident in hospital visits and school disciplinary hearings.

Chaz Kohlreiser, a certified counselor at the Wendt Center in D.C., works with young people, aged 6-21, suffering complex trauma as the result of losing friends to violence. He said treatment requires re-establishing their sense of community beyond the sidewalk memorials and candlelight vigils.

“Our young people are dealing with the loss of friends and classmates from back-to-back murders, with them sometimes witnessing those homicides and other times hearing graphic details about them. Their sense of trust, safety, and control are taken away,” Kohlreiser said. “Many have grown sick of going to the vigils and may be experiencing a sort of numbness that desensitizes their reactions.”

Kohlreiser said that clinical researchers are beginning to recognize that not feeling safe in their own communities keeps these young people from expressing the grief of loss, particularly if they come from rocky households where domestic violence or absenteeism already exist.

Such was the case with LaShawna Duncan, who attended more than 20 friends’ funerals in one year and is currently being treated for PTSD-symptoms. “

I used to be afraid to step outside my door because so much was happening in my neighborhood, so I stayed in the house; then stray bullets started hitting the sides of the apartment building,” said LaShawna, who lives near Stanton Road in Southeast. “Where do you go when everywhere you stand could be where you die?”

LaShawna, who lived with extended family members, said no one paid attention to her grief or fears until it turned into anger and she was suspended for fighting at school. “I was tired of being afraid and felt like I needed to get the world before it got me,” she said.

Robert T. Phillips, an Annapolis-based psychiatrist, said that as unresolved grief morphs into a more intensified complicated grief, adolescent behavioral issues may manifest in acting out or fighting, similar to LaShawna’s.

“Creating a safe space that is grounded in confidentiality and void of judgment, shame, and criticism invites adolescents to express their feelings regarding their own mortality and consequently presents opportunities for growth and healing,” Phillips said. “Schools, parents, and community members should seek professional help for grieving teens if dysfunctional and non-developmentally appropriate behaviors become consistently present in their lives.”

Phillips said that assuming the passage of time will necessarily heal deep wounds is a false hope that blocks healthy individual development. “Intentionally connecting grieving adolescents with professional help can potentially break the cycle of violence in the African-American community and the community at-large,” Phillips said.

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COMMENTARY: The Biases We Don’t See — Preventing AI-Driven Inequality in Health Care

For decades, medicine promoted false assumptions about Black bodies. Black patients were told they had lower lung capacity, and medical devices adjusted their results accordingly. That practice was not broadly reversed until 2021. Up until 2022, a common medical formula used to measure how well a person’s kidneys were working automatically gave Black patients a higher score simply because they were Black. On paper, this made their kidneys appear healthier than they truly were. As a result, kidney disease was sometimes detected later in Black patients, delaying critical treatment and referrals.

Published

6 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, M.D (D-San Diego). File photo.

By Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, M.D., Special to California Black Media Partners

Technology is sold to us as neutral, objective, and free of human flaws. We are told that computers remove emotion, bias, and error from decision-making. But for many Black families, lived experience tells a different story. When technology is trained on biased systems, it reflects those same biases and silently carries them forward.

We have seen this happen across multiple industries. Facial recognition software has misidentified Black faces at far higher rates than White faces, leading to wrongful police encounters and arrests. Automated hiring systems have filtered out applicants with traditionally Black names because past hiring data reflected discriminatory patterns. Financial algorithms have denied loans or offered worse terms to Black borrowers based on zip codes and historical inequities, rather than individual creditworthiness. These systems did not become biased on their own. They were trained on biased data.

Healthcare is not immune.

These biases were not limited to software or medical devices. Dangerous myths persisted that Black people feel less pain, contributing to undertreatment and delayed care. These beliefs were embedded in modern training and practice, not distant history. Those assumptions shaped the data that now feeds medical technology. When biased clinical practices form the basis of algorithms, the risk is not hypothetical. The bias can be learned, automated, and scaled.

For us in the Black community, this creates understandable fear and mistrust. Many families already carry generational memories of medical discrimination, from higher maternal mortality to lower life expectancy to being dismissed or unheard in clinical settings. Adding AI biases could make our community even more apprehensive about the healthcare system.

As a physician, I know how much trust patients place in the healthcare system during their most vulnerable moments. As a Black woman, I understand how bias can shape experiences in ways that are often invisible to those who do not live them. As a mother of two Black children, I think constantly about the systems that will shape their health and well-being. As a legislator, I believe it is our responsibility to confront emerging risks before they become widespread harm.

That is why I am the author of Senate Bill (SB) 503. This bill aims to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare by requiring developers and users of AI systems to identify, mitigate, and monitor biased impacts in their outputs to reduce racial and other disparities in clinical decision-making and patient care.

Currently under consideration in the State Assembly, SB 503 was not written to slow innovation. In fact, I encourage it. But it is our duty must ensure that every tool we in the healthcare field helps patients rather than harms them.

The health of our families depends on it.

About the Author

Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D–San Diego) is a physician and public health advocate representing California’s 39th Senate District.

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As California Hits Aging Milestone, State Releases Its Fifth Master Plan for Aging

“California’s Master Plan for Aging started a powerful movement that is shaping the future of aging in our state for generations to come,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement, calling the initiative a “future-forward” model delivering real results for older adults, people with disabilities, and their families.

Published

7 days ago

February 9, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

On Jan. 27, California released its Fifth Master Plan for Aging Annual Report,titled “Focusing on What Matters Most,” outlining the state’s progress and priorities as its population rapidly grows older.

The report, issued by the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS), provides updates on the Master Plan for Aging’s “Five Bold Goals”: housing, health, inclusion and equity, caregiving, and affordability.

The report comes as Californians aged 60 and older now outnumber those under 18 for the first time, a demographic shift expected to accelerate over the next decade.

Launched in 2021, the Master Plan for Aging takes a “whole-of- government” and “whole-of-society” approach, coordinating state agencies, local governments, community organizations, and private partners. The annual report highlights significant milestones, including more than 100 California communities joining AARP’s Age-Friendly Network and $4 million in state funding awarded to local organizations to develop aging and disability action plans in 30 communities statewide.

The report also underscores California’s leadership at the national level, noting that dozens of states have followed its example and that federal legislation inspired by the plan was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate in December 2025.

CalHHS Secretary Kim Johnson emphasized the plan’s focus on equity and resilience amid ongoing challenges.

“The Master Plan for Aging continues to provide a vision, a focus, and a platform for collaboration,” Johnson said. “Equity is at the center of all that we do.”

Looking ahead, the report notes that by 2030, one in four Californians will be age 60 or older, positioning the Master Plan for Aging as a central framework for meeting the state’s long-term social, economic, and health needs.

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Candidates Vying for Governor’s Seat Debate at Ruth Williams–Bayview Opera House in San Francisco

The gubernatorial debate participants included Antonio Villaraigosa, former Los Angeles mayor; Matt Mahan, San Jose mayor; Betty Yee, former California state controller; Xavier Becerra, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and attorney general of California; Steve Hilton, political commentator and political adviser; Tom Steyer, entrepreneur, and Tony Thurmond, California’s superintendent of public instruction.

Published

7 days ago

February 9, 2026

Oakland Post

The gubernatorial debate was hosted by KTVU’s Greg Lee, KTTV’s Marla Tellez and KTVU’s Andre Senior. The candidates are (l.-r.): Xavier Becerra, Steve Hilton, Matt Mahan, Tom Steyer, Tony Thurmond, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Betty Yee.

By Carla Thomas

On Tuesday, Feb. 3, seven candidates took the stage at the historic Ruth Williams–Bayview Opera House in San Francisco for the gubernatorial debate, hosted by the Black Action Alliance (BAA) in partnership with KTVU and sister station KTTV Fox 11 in Los Angeles.

For many voters, it marked a first opportunity to hear directly from several candidates seeking to lead the nation’s most populous state.

Crucial topics and issues addressed throughout the debate included housing, crime, immigration, climate change, health care and homelessness.

The debate was moderated by KTVU political reporter Greg Lee alongside KTVU’s Andre Senior and KTTV Fox 11’s Marla Tellez.

Candidates also addressed inflation and the rising costs across the state, impacting everything from groceries to childcare and health care.

Thurmond vowed to generate 2.3 million units of housing by placing 12 units on each parcel of available land in the 58 counties of California. Steyer agreed that billionaires should pay their fair share of taxes.

Hilton wanted to cut taxes, help working-class families, and end the Democrats “climate crusade and insane regulations.”

Yee offered a more transparent governmental approach with accountability, given the state’s debt.

Gonzalez said, “This debate was a great way to see who has great ideas and who has substance.”

“It’s important to have the debate within a community that requires the most,” said business leader Linda Fadekye.

Attendees included State Controller Malia Cohen, representatives of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the National Coalition of 100 Black Men, the San Francisco African American Chamber of Commerce, and Black Women Organized for Political Action, among others.

Event host, the Black Action Alliance (BAA) was established to amplify the voices of the Bay Area’s Black community, whose perspectives have too often been overlooked in politics and public policy.

Loren Taylor, CEO of BAA, said it was important to bring the event to the Bayview in San Francisco and shared his organization’s mission.

“The Black Action Alliance (BAA) stands for practical, community-driven solutions that strengthen public safety, address homelessness, support small businesses, expand affordable housing, and ensure access to quality education—issues at the heart of the Black experience in the Bay Area,” said Taylor.

California’s primary election will take place on June 2 and the general election will take place on Nov. 3.