Rethinking Violence: Is it a Disease?
The consortium is actually an outgrowth of the Omega Boys Club. Co-founder and President Dr. Joseph Marshall spent years in the public school system, watching students leave his sphere of influence to become trapped in a cycle of violence and incarceration. Marshall says he originally envisioned the Omega Boys Club as a place for at-risk teens to escape their every day lives. But, as more kids (boys and girls) began showing up, Marshall says he and his staff began to realize they had to do more than just offer a safe haven; they had to try to combat the culture of violence these kids existed in. They’ve since identified violence as a public health issue and are trying to find ways of treating what they consider the “disease of violence”. They’ve even named it the Addiction to Incarceration and Death Syndrome.
Marshall says an important part of the “prescription” for fighting violence is to talk about it. He says, far too often, the realities of life in many of the nation’s inner cities is overlooked. That the lives of those living there don’t hold the same “value” as lives in other parts of the country. He also says kids growing up in violence have to be taught that each individual life is important, also that change and respect must come from within before they come from without.
The disease of violence, and how to treat it, is the subject of the Street Soliders National Consortium’s conference. Marshall says the conference will kick off the “Alive and Free Movement”, which he considers to be an outgrowth of the Civil Rights Movement. The conference runs the 9th and 10th.
| 
Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring a Community Engagement Producer
The Gulf States Newsroom is seeking a curious, creative and collaborative professional to work with our regional team to build up engaged journalism efforts.
Gambling bills face uncertain future in the Alabama legislature
This year looked to be different for lottery and gambling legislation, which has fallen short for years in the Alabama legislature. But this week, with only a handful of meeting days left, competing House and Senate proposals were sent to a conference committee to work out differences.
