Could Providing Mental Health Services To Unhoused Angelenos On The Street Lead To Long-Term Treatment?
Countless Angelenos struggle every day with finding — and affording — the right mental health help.
Getting and maintaining that help can prove even more difficult if you live on the streets with a severe mental illness. The latest homeless count from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) found that 25% of unhoused people in L.A. County self-reported experiencing severe mental illness. That’s up from 24% from last year's count. Some mental health providers have taken their services to the street in an attempt to help people who are unhoused get the care they need. But is street medicine really a long-term solution? Today on AirTalk, we talk about the state of street medicine and whether more resources for the efforts could help improve the situation. Joining is Robert Garrova, LAist reporter covering mental health.
Read Robert Garrova’s full piece on LAist here
The Latest Latino College Completion Study Shows A Widening Gap Between White And Latino Students' Graduation And Degree Completion Rates
According to the most recent Latino College Completion study, the gap between Latino students and their white counterparts completing degrees at both two-year and four-year institutions has widened, with only 28 percent of Latino adults earning an associate degree or higher compared to 48 percent of White adults. The report, analyzed by Excelencia in Education, a nonprofit that advocates and conducts research on Latino student success in higher education, looked at data of enrollment and degree completion for the 2020-2021 school year from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). On a national scale, Hispanics students' graduation rate at two year institutions was five points lower than White students who graduated at a rate of 38 percent. The disparity between the two groups jumped to a 13 percent difference when looking at graduation rates at four-year institutions with Hispanic students graduating at a rate of 52 percent and White students graduating at a rate of 65 percent. Despite California having one of the largest Latino populations in the United States, only 22 percent of Latino adults living in California have an associate degree or higher. So, what are some of the reasons for this growing disparity? And what can colleges and institutions do to help close the gap?
Joining us on AirTalk to talk about the report is Deborah A. Santiago, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Excelencia in Education and Guadalupe Corona, Director of Student Equity Programs and Services, Southwestern College and founding board member & Vice President of Colegas.
Science Fiction Or Science Reality? ‘Out There’ Explores Sci-Fi’s Leap From Media To Real Life
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…artificial intelligence was something saved for the movies. Now, it’s everywhere – and we can’t imagine a world without it. From space travel to cloning, media’s portrayal of scientific developments often precedes their infiltration in society. Looking back at old movies also provides a snapshot of human understanding (and its limitations) at the time of production. Ariel Waldman’s “Out There: The Science Behind Sci-Fi Film and TV” investigates the transition from scientific folklore to everyday life, featuring interviews with journalists, educators, and just-plain science lovers. Joining us today is Ariel Waldman, author-filmmaker and former NASA advisor.
Olympic Auditorium’s Storied History Venue On Display At New La Plaza De Cultura Y Artes Exhibit
When the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Downtown Los Angeles opened in 1925, it was designed to be the crown jewel of fight palaces, a cutting-edge competitor to New York’s Madison Square Garden set to entertain the citizens in the exploding new metropolis where it was built. But within a year of opening, the venue had essentially gone bust, and aside from a stint in the spotlight as a venue in the 1932 Olympics, it had not lived up to its grandiose expectations. But all that changed in the early 1940s, when the L.A. Athletic Club, which owned the Olympic, sent Aileen Eaton to find out why it was failing. Eaton not only turned the venue into one of the most iconic boxing venues in the country, but also made herself the most powerful boxing promoter in the country in the process. For several decades, the Olympic was the epicenter of the boxing world, with nationally-televised matches every week, and also became a popular venue for wrestling and roller derby. It was also a training ground and coming-out venue for many Mexican and Mexican American fighters to make their name and be featured in headline events. Documentary filmmaker Steve DeBro’s 2021 film “18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story'' explores the venue’s history and the people who helped make it, and his film inspired a brand new exhibit at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown Los Angeles, which runs through May 2024. Joining us today are Karen Crews Hendon, senior curator and director of exhibitions at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, Steve DeBro, writer, director and co-curator of “18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story,” and Gene Aguilera, Latino boxing historian and co-curator of “18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium” at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes. Listeners also share their favorite memories of the Olympic.
In “Chasing Shadows,” A Marine Biologist Reflects On a Life Spent Tracking Great White Sharks
Great white sharks are one of the most mysterious creatures on Earth. Scientists struggle to answer questions like, where they feed, mate and give birth. In his new memoir, “Chasing Shadows: My Life Tracking the Great White Shark,” marine biologist and white shark expert Greg Skomal takes readers into the lives of great white sharks and reflects on his career tracking them over three decades. Skomal writes about his lifelong fascination with sharks and his affinity for Jacques Cousteau, Matt Hooper from Jaws and Herman Melville. Skomal also provides a history of shark research and explains the resurgence of white sharks, with an increased number of white sharks in the New England area in recent years. The little we do know about sharks has been learned just recently. Skomal writes that new technology, such as tags that carry cameras, will allow scientists to solve some of the mysteries of the great white shark. Today on Airtalk, Greg Skomal joins us to discuss his new book.
