| New mental health centres for youth
The Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has announced the establishment of 20 new treatment centres for young people with mental illness. The centres will be located mostly in regional and rural areas and will help young people at risk of mental health, drug and alcohol problems. The Government says as many as one-in-four young people have a mental health problem. The Minister says the need for more youth services is particularly urgent in regional areas where communities continue to struggle with the impact of drought and high unemployment. Young people have welcomed the announcement. 21-year-old Carla Frost of Melbourne was treated in an adult facility several years ago and she says it was a frightening experience. "I sort of thought oh my God that could be me," she said.
Wild Card/Vacation Day 11 of 12
Only two more shopping days until I return to the final days of the City Council campaigns. Then, we'll have fun taking apart the campaigns. Any dirt yet? Any mudslinging. You know, the good stuff. Or is everyone behaving? My wife is now looking over my shoulder -- literally -- so I have to pretend that I'm just checking ball scores. See ya in two days. Here's Wild Card ... .
Save your life, have a health check
READING about preventing catastrophic illness is as unpleasant as reading the fine print on a will, power of attorney or a life insurance policy. Facing our mortality and learning about preventing heart, lung or kidney failure, strokes, amputations, dementia and hip replacements, is not easy, but we should do it as a necessary part of protecting those we love. As medical technologies keep our ageing population alive longer, the over-50s age group will become a heavy burden on the young. The escalating costs of healthcare and private health insurance; the increasing strain on accident and emergency departments, hospitals and nursing homes and the worsening medical and nursing shortage have been identified by the new federal Labor Government as a first-order economic challenge.
New Clinical Trial Results Show How Personalized Medicine Will Alter ...
ScienceDaily (Jan. 2, 2008) One of the nation's pre-eminent genetic researchers, Eric Hoffman, PhD, of Children's Research Institute at Children's National Medical Center, predicts that in relatively short order, medicine's next innovation--individualized molecular therapies--will have the unprecedented ability to treat muscular dystrophies, and other disorders. .
Cracked On the job, he covered the District's crack cocaine epidemic ...
I should've turned and walked away when Carrie didn't answer the door. But I was on a mission, and my judgment at the time was less than sound. Carrie was a lithe, blond Arkansan with a sweet demeanor and prom-queen looks. Instead of her, I was greeted by a large man wearing a dirty white T-shirt and bluejeans. He had a wild, uncombed Afro. "What you want?" His eyes were bloodshot. His expression was suspicious. He was north of 6 feet tall and well over 200 pounds. I checked the number on the door. The building was on Ninth Street NW, in the Shaw neighborhood. Carrie had said she'd be in unit No. 32 -- the same number I was looking at. "Maybe I've got the wrong place," I recall replying. "I'm looking for Carrie." The man's expression softened.
Determined attitude
A yoga instructor teaches that calmness can come when thoughts are recited and gratitude is expressed. By KELLIE DIXON, Times Staff Writer Published January 15, 2008 Say what? Sankalpa. It's a Sanskrit word that means resolution, free will or determination, according to Sankalpa.org.in. Reisen said the practice, which is a way to reprogram oneself from the self-conscious, can empower a person to change his or her life. How it works: The sankalpa is a phrase or collection of phrases that are recited after a person meditates. Reisen said meditation and reciting her sankalpa is the first thing she does in the morning - even before that first cup of coffee. She'll wake up and then lie on her bed, often listening to a CD created by her instructor.
A Neolib New Deal?:
Omigod, not the Web site! Will Saletan argues the fuss over Lieberman's downed Web site shows the Internet has "arrived" as a force in politics: ... [I]n the election's final hours, the Lieberman campaign treated the crash of its Web site as fatal sabotage, and the media and law enforcement took the charge seriously. Losing your Web site on Election Day is now regarded as the equivalent of having your phones jammed or your TV ads rejected by stations. Even for campaigns that don't use it well, the Web has become not just an asset, but a necessity. Hmmm. Here's an alternative theory: Lieberman "treated the crash of its Web site as fatal sabotage" because that was a great anti-Lamont story for him to have in the headlines during the last 24 hours of the campaign! I doubt the Web site was particularly vital to the incumbent senator's old-fashioned campaign.
Ex-addicts are turning lives around: Treatment called key to staying out of jail
A few weekends ago, Shannon Leeson went roller-skating for the first time in decades. "It was fun," she said. "I haven't ever done that go out and have fun without getting high. When you're an addict, you think (getting high) is fun, but it's not." Leeson has been off drugs for two years now, and she attributes the strength to stay clean to skills she learned through DORA classes at the Utah County Division of Substance Abuse. "I'd been a drug addict for 15 years, on and off," Leeson said. "It was time to take a turn for myself and my kids. DORA (has) been so helpful. I've never had (this) kind of treatment." DORA, the Drug Offender Reform Act, passed by the Utah Legislature in 2007, allocates $9 million each year to fund substance-abuse treatment for people immediately after they get out of jail or prison.
Shooting the Rapids
There are two groups of chimps, one a young group in a large paddock, the other a mature group that lives in an area of fenced off native forest. Truly wild chimpanzees can be seen in western Uganda (I have seen them just across the border in the Congo the Democratic Republic of the two), but for a more easily accessible primate experience this comes pretty close. Access to Ngamba is by a large wooden canoe, and the morning of my visit Lake Victoria was deciding to do a passable impression of the Roaring Forties. The boat tossed up and down, launching itself over crests and plunging into troughs. Those of a more sensitive disposition, and more recent breakfasts, slunk, a delicate shade of green, to the marginally more stable rear where a bucket was thoughtfully provided. The chimp experience was slightly underwhelming, but the work being done is admirable.
Jessica Sierra sentenced to 1 year in rehab
TAMPA, Fla. - A judge is sending Jessica Sierra to rehab. The former "American Idol" contestant was sentenced Monday to a yearlong stint at a California rehabilitation clinic and three years' probation. Sierra, 22, was arrested last month for disorderly intoxication and resisting officers. She remained jailed Tuesday in Tampa. .
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