Get on the Early Childhood Bus

Erikson’s Policy and Leadership staff, Atena Danner and Penny Smith, continue unpacking a conversation with Chef Greg Christian of Beyond Green Partners, an organization making fresh food for preschool students in Chicago and its suburbs. Families often do not have access to healthy, fresh foods in their communities, leaving them fewer choices for their dinner table. Examining the flaws of food distribution systems and the policies of food supplement programs is needed to increase access.
Show Notes:
Erikson’s Food Security Call to Action contains opportunities to advocate for policies on food security issues as well as funding opportunities to introduce health foods to children: Food Security Call to Action.pdf.
Learn more about Chef Greg's organization, Beyond Green Partners.

Who suffers the consequences as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade? Erikson Institute’s Atena Danner and Verónica Cortez break down the racial inequities, the policy implications, and other domino effects of how babies and their families are impacted.
For more information on how Roe v Wade affects laws in your state, visit https://reproductiverights.org/maps/abortion-laws-by-state/.
To view data on maternal morbidity rates in Illinois, visit https://riskandreach.erikson.edu/.

Discussion on the intersection of Health, Racial Equity and Early Childhood with Dr. Diana Derige, vice president of Health Equity Strategy at American Medical Association and Dr. Tina Sacks, associate professor at UC Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare and author of the book “Invisible Visits: Black Middle Class Women in the American Healthcare System.”

Illinois State Representative Sonya Harper and early childhood advocate and specialist at Chicago Public Schools, Jennifer Alexander talk about an incident where it appears Englewood, a Black community in Chicago, was the intended target for a mass shooting. The two alum from Erikson’s Early Childhood Leadership Academy talk about addressing trauma and gun violence in communities.

For more details on the incident, please visit these news story links on the Chicago Sun-Times and Fox 32 Chicago websites.

We continue our journey by looking at a system where we rarely consider our children, the criminal legal system. When parents enter this system and are waiting in jail, how do we support their children and the unexpected caregiver now responsible for taking care of them? In this episode we gain the worldview of Debra Vines, Founder and CEO of The Answer Inc. who helps us explore this issue as she shares her story on how coming in contact with the criminal justice system impacted her family.
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