Offering homeless vets social support first — before housing
For years, homeless camps have dotted the banks of the Salt River, which curves through the desert, along the northwest border of Mesa, Arizona. The riverbed is dry for most of the year, and the landscape — sloping ravines, dotted with trees — offers privacy from the road. Around the fall of 2015, word began to spread about a READ MORE
Dangerous neglect found at nursing homes with political ties
The Citadel at Kingsbridge sits on a quiet block in the Bronx between the river and a string of charming old houses. Its lobby is bright and clean, with a glittering new chandelier, courtesy of recent renovations. But according to former employees and patient families, that façade masks a pattern of neglect that has resulted in misery, hospitalizations and at READ MORE
In a room of their own, women find path to recovery
When Tanya Barie, 33, relapsed after almost a year of sobriety, she says it was a wake-up call. “I’m tired of living a crazy life,” she says. “I’m trying to do things differently with this relapse, because I’m just tired of being tired.” It wasn’t Barie’s first slip since she quit Percocet in 2013, but it was the first since READ MORE
Why heat is central to health in traditional Chinese medicine
For Chinese herbalist and acupuncturist Cara Frank, treating patients boils down to one thing: patterns. “We have a saying in Chinese medicine and it’s really important,” she says. “One disease can have many causes, and one pattern can cause many diseases.” Right now, the pattern she’s trying to unravel has to do with the tortured gut of a new patient READ MORE
Social media fills vacuum left by China’s ‘hollowed out’ press
IN VIDEOS SHOT EARLIER THIS MONTH, Chinese human rights lawyer Xie Yang stands before the court, looking thinner than before his two-year detainment, but otherwise healthy. It’s the last leg of his trial, and now, along with his guilty plea, Xie must make several statements, starting with a denial of foreign news reports—decried as “fake news” by China’s state media—that READ MORE
On red Staten Island, progressive groups draw liberals out of the closet
By 6:30 p.m. on a recent Thursday, the Central Family Life Center, a community center in Staten Island’s North Shore, was almost full. Energy crackled throughout the crowd of roughly 100 who’d gathered to discuss the local implications if Congress follows through on President Trump’s promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act. One person, however, was conspicuously absent: Republican representative READ MORE
How a former addict found redemption among forgotten veterans
Camp Alpha Reborn is easy to miss. Set back off a freeway, near the Salt River, the grounds are hemmed by a chainlink fence. Beyond it stands an imposing sign: ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION STATE PROPERTY NO TRESPASSING, NO DUMPING VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED According to Michael Lewis Arthur Meyer, who founded this camp for homeless veterans, it’s a READ MORE