The crime wave lashing Puerto Rico does not even respect Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla, whose private residence was the target of an attempted robbery over the weekend.
James Rubin, husband of Christiane Amanpour, resigned from his post at the Port Authority of NY & NJ. Residents' blowback over repeated and planned toll hikes have plagued the agency.
Evil men lurk in the shadows of most television worth watching. Pick up the remote, and you’ll soon find a woman being attacked. The choices are limited for those not seeking the very worst of human nature during their leisure time. Most successful dramas, from ABC to AMC to HBO, can’t resist the urge to throw in at least a threat of sexual violence.
As part of the ongoing national conversation to increase understanding and awareness about mental health – especially in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting six months ago – President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden hosted a National Conference on Mental Health at the White House today.
The conference brought together mental health advocates, educators, health care providers, faith leaders, members of Congress, and representatives from local governments, as well as individuals who have struggled with mental illness. The discussion focused on how to reduce the stigma of mental illness, and help the millions of Americans struggling with these issues.
“One in four college students will experience a mental illness disorder in a given year,” says Janelle Montaño, a public speaker who visits schools across the U.S. through ActiveMinds, a nonprofit organization which empowers students to speak openly about mental health. “I educate students on suicide, bipolar disorder, recovery and hope. I was [at the White House] today to represent the young adult population, and to give a voice to those in this country who might be suffering themselves,” Montaño says.
Besides introducing President Obama at the conference today, Montaño also talked about family suicide and depression — two issues extremely close to her heart.
“My brother Joshua was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and he lived with it for six months before he died of suicide — I was 15,” says Montaño, who is now 29. “I really never coped appropriately, and in my early 20’s, my feelings and emotions burst.”
Without having an outlet, Montaño says she experienced clinical depression, and became addicted to drugs and alcohol for about four years.
“I didn’t seek help [originally], because there was so much stigma,” says Montaño, who was raised in a rural town in Ohio. “For me, I didn’t know I needed help. Finally, I realized this is something I can control.”
After seeking help, she wanted to help others realize the importance of talking about mental health and seeking treatment. So a little more than three years ago she became a speaker with ActiveMinds — an organization which has hundreds of chapters in the U.S.
“I have a very balanced life now,” says Montaño, who is also a part-time yoga instructor. “I see a psychiatrist and practice yoga and meditation. That has been a huge part of maintaining balance inmy life.”
She says what she loves about her work with ActiveMinds is that students routinely approach her after her presentations and start sharing their experiences with her.
“My hope is that somebody out in the audience can start talking…and just to know that it’s okay to reach out to people for help,” says Montaño.
It’s important to know that mental health is a spectrum, she says.
“You don’t have to have schizophrenic symptoms or have bipolar symptoms to seek help,” says Montano. “You can have anxiety to take tests, stress from school life…Sometimes you just need to talk to somebody. You should seek help as soon as you need it. Whoever it is, reach out to somebody.”
She goes on to say that she hopes this conference in Washington today results in a national conversation.
“A national conversation…not just at the collegiate level…but in the way we talk about mental health.”
Tagged: ActiveMinds, Janelle Montano, mental health, Newtown, public speaker, sandy hook,shootings, substance abuse, white house
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El virus de papiloma humano, empero, ha sido vinculado a un tipo de cáncer de la garganta.
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PR economy now in red... - CB - 1:07 PM 6/3/2013 Report Reveals South Korea's E... by Puerto Rico News - Archive Links
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Report Reveals South Korea's Elite Stash Billions in Tax Havens by Lee Yoo Eun
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Cannes Lion Award-Winning "Three Little Pigs advert" Cannes Lion Award-Winning... by Puerto Rico News and Journals
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Watch the Brick-by-Brick Champions League final here http://vid.io/xkB Cannes Lion Award-Winning "Three Little Pigs advert" Subscribe to the …
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Watch the Brick-by-Brick Champions League final here http://vid.io/xkB Cannes Lion Award-Winning "Three Little Pigs advert" Subscribe to the …
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US Supreme Court says police can take DNA samples upon arrest
GMA News WASHINGTON - In a major victory for law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that police can take a DNA sample from someone who has been arrested and charged but not convicted of a crime. By a 5-4 vote the court reversed a ... |
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Legislative Gazette State to promote LI tourism as communities recover from Sandy · Assembly GOP ... The bill (A.6716-a/S.3105-a) sponsored by Assemblyman Karim Camara, D-Brooklyn, chair of the Black,Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, was delivered to ... and more » |
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Court's DNA decision serves public safety and justice
Baltimore Sun Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative, wrote the dissent, which was joined by justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, all liberals. It also overrode the traditional political differences between the states, as 49 of them, plus ... Police allowed to take DNA sample upon arrest, US Supreme Court rulesBangor Daily News all 110 news articles » |
6 Most LGBT-Friendly Countries In Latin America
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Attempted robbery at private residence of Puerto Rico governor
La prensa The crime wave lashing Puerto Rico does not even respect Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla, whose private residence was the target of an attempted robbery over the weekend. Police reported Monday that one or several individuals tried to break into the ... and more » |
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Puerto Rican Governor's Private Residence Robbery Target
Hispanically Speaking News The last murder was perpetrated Sunday night with the death of a 28-year-old man in the northernPuerto Rican municipality of Toa Baja, who was found shot to death inside his vehicle. Discuss This Article in Our Forums. Print Page. Prev Entry:Ohio ... Attempted robbery at private residence of Puerto Rico governorLa prensa all 3 news articles » |
HORA CERO: Una pesadilla cuadrar el presupuesto de Puerto Rico
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Recortes adicionales podrÃan dejar al Gobierno inoperante
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Sin final a la vista los 8 años de recesión criolla - El Nuevo Día
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La contracción de la economÃa de PUerto Rico está en niveles antes impensables
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A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak a the Commonwealth Compact’s diversity breakfast at UMASS Boston. One of the questions I addressed was about a Boston Globe op-ed piece I wrote saying that Massachusetts Republican candidate for Senate Gabriel Gómez was being ignored by the national GOP even though he was an appealing Latino candidate. At the breakfast, I made the point that Gómez’s win as the first Latino to every triumph in a statewide primary was historic for Massachusetts politics. Given the ugly racial history Boston has had, people who believe in diversity needed to put aside their political difference aside for just a moment and celebrate the fact that Gómez’s primary win was a step forward in rebranding Massachusetts when it comes to presenting a state that values diversity and opportunity for all.
Personally, I don’t think I will support Gómez just because he is Latino, but I do believe that what he accomplished this year mattered, and that is was a positive sign for my adopted home state.
I guess Jerry Villacrés of Boston’s El Planeta newspaper still wants to live in the past. Today, Villacrés wrote an op-ed in Spanish calling Gómez a Latino in Name Only, a LINO. It was a silly column, one that does nothing to portray Latinos in a positive light, and Villacrés should be ashamed for questioning Gómez’s background and his identity.
Villacrés has every right to claim that Gómez is an outsider to the Latino community and question his politics, but he went too far in the “Latino enough” characterization that belittles the Republican candidate. Would Villacrés have the courage to say the same thing to Gómez’s face or to Gómez’s parents, Colombian immigrants who saw their son become a Navy Seal and a successful businessman? Or what of the fact that Gómez does not have to fit a Latino checklist that others get to determine? No one, and I mean no one, has the right to say that one person is “more Latino” than another. And you wonder why U.S. Latinos will never become a true force in this country: it’s because writers like Villacrés are still stuck in a past era.
What Villacrés writes only divides the community instead of unites us. Yes, Latinos can have different political beliefs, but let’s not forget that there are many things bind us culturally, and Gabriel Gómez is just another diverse voice. He is someone who has broken stereotypes, too. We can still be respectful of someone’s background and still be critical of one’s politics. For example, I don’t think Ted Cruz’s politics are on the mark one bit, but I would never question his faily background and his self-identity. The same would go for Marco Rubio or Julián Castro.
I can’t fault Gómez for trying to go after the Latino vote in Massachusetts and if his Colombian roots make him appealing to some, then people should just deal with it instead of cutting him down. Does Villacrés ask the same question of Ed Markey, Gómez’s opponent? Why even create an atmosphere where one Latino goes after another’s Latinidad? Only Gómez can determine his identity, having a writer stoop to such a low level is sad and closed-minded.
Criticize a candidate for his politics, but leave unfounded generalizations about his identity for the amateurs. Villacrés has fallen into a trap that only he can try to defend, because his piece just failed. We can do better as a community. We can still respect people, even if we don’t agree with their politics.
If Villacrés is not careful, I might just vote for Gómez. Does that make me less Latino as well?
***
Julio (Julito) Ricardo Varela (@julito77on Twitter) foundedLatinoRebels.com(part of Latino Rebels, LLC) in May, 2011 and proceeded to open it up to about 20 like-minded Rebeldes. His personal blog,juliorvarela.com, has been active since 2008 and is widely read in Puerto Rico and beyond. He pens columns on LR regularly. This past year, Julito represented the Rebeldes onCBS’ Face the Nation,NPR,Univision,Forbes,andThe New York Times.
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Soldiers from the Puerto Rico National Guard respond to heavy rains causing mudslides in Lares, Puerto Rico. Story by SPC Eliezer Melendez.
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