Willard Jimerson, Jr. grew up in Seattle’s historically African American Central District neighborhood. Raised by a loving grandmother and grandfather, young Will could never have predicted that just six weeks after his 13th birthday he’d become a ward of the state and spend the rest of his childhood in America’s adult prison system.
One fatal and catastrophic moment on a late night in 1994 changed everything. The kid who once fancied himself a charming and mischievous prankster, who loved playing arcade games and pick-up football, was gone.
Public Health – Seattle & King County has added behavioral health information to its data tools examining the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on social, economic, and overall health in King County. This new data dashboard examines behavioral health indicators that measure requests for suicide-related crisis services (including calls to crisis centers or 9-1-1) throughout the pandemic.
Racism is a public health emergency that affects us all. As we experience, educate, and encounter it on a systemic and institutional level, we must commit to taking care of ourselves and our communities as well. Below are several resources and ideas to consider.
Face coverings help protect our community from COVID-19. Unfortunately many members of the Black community are concerned that wearing face coverings may lead to dangerous and harmful encounters with law enforcement or other community members. Racism influences perceptions of face coverings and those wearing or not wearing them.
When staff and leadership at Public Health—Seattle & King County learned about the horrific shipment of body bags to our partners at Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB), we were shocked and dismayed. The news generated a private apology and inquiry from Public Health to the CEO of SIHB. And it generated a rapid search of […]
Update 2-3-20: The federal Department of Homeland Security says it will begin applying the new rule starting 2-24-20 A new immigration rule that Public Health–Seattle & King County (PHSKC) Director Patty Hayes calls “inhumane” will be going into effect soon, because of a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. The rule would penalize some immigrants […]
