“Healthy relationships are the best protector against abusive relationships,” says Chaka-Khan Gordon of Helpmate, an Asheville nonprofit providing services and support for survivors of domestic violence.
Author: Jessica Wakeman
Showing 1-21 of 53 results
News briefs: UNCA renames buildings after notable NC women
UNC Asheville renamed four buildings on campus to honor notable women of North Carolina. The UNCA Building Renaming Task Force was charged with making recommendations for the individuals to be honored during the 2020-21 school year, which were presented to the college’s board of trustees and dedicated at a Nov. 3 ceremony. The former Vance […]
County holds webinar on COVID-19 vaccines for children 5-11
Some attendees posed questions such as “How can we see a full list of the ingredients used in this vaccine?” Others offered comments such as “This is child genocide!” and “Time to get a red pill about what’s really going on before too many dead kids are on your karma.”
Q&A with Vicki Meath, executive director of Just Economics of WNC
Many issues are close to Vicki Meath’s heart. She has spent her life in community organizing, working on environmental justice with Western Colorado Congress and striving to raise Ohio’s minimum wage with Cleveland Jobs With Justice. In 2010, she joined Just Economics of Western North Carolina, a nonprofit that advocates for a living wage, as […]
Local nonprofit workers discuss pandemic burnout
As the executive director of True Ridge, a Hendersonville-based nonprofit serving Western North Carolina’s Hispanic population, Lori Garcia-McCammon has never had an easy job. Her organization helps survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and refers clients to bilingual mental health counselors. Recent years have been straining, as many of the Central American immigrants her […]
40 Afghan refugees being resettled in Asheville
On Aug. 15, shock rippled around the world as Taliban forces took control of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Over the ensuing weeks, people watched on their TVs and phones as people crowded Kabul International Airport attempting to flee. Among those trying to leave were Afghans who had worked with the United States military, nongovernmental […]
Cancer survivors thrive in yoga therapy
Prior to Dr. Robyn Tiger’s class, “Yoga for Cancer Recovery,” Asheville Community Yoga hadn’t offered yoga tailored to the unique needs of cancer survivors. While Asheville is brimming with yoga instructors, fewer practice yoga therapy, which requires extensive specialized training.
Buncombe County’s Teen Court tailors justice to first-time offenders
When Jamie Lee Willocks was a teenager, she brought a cellphone with her to band class, which was not allowed. She received a text message from her mother, and the band director heard it. Willocks fessed up and paid the price with an in-school suspension. “I got in so much trouble and I did nothing […]
MAHEC program supports expectant mothers struggling with addiction
When Elizabeth learned that she was pregnant, she cried tears of joy. “I heard his heartbeat, and that was it,” she says. (Xpress is using her middle name to protect her privacy.) It was then that she decided to get clean. Elizabeth learned of her pregnancy while incarcerated for crimes she committed to support her […]
Business in brief: Asheville mom starts kids cycling club
Teaching children to ride a bike can be nerve-racking for parents and kids alike. And Asheville mom Emi Kubota, a longtime cyclist, realized that while a lot of classes existed to teach kids how to ski, there was nothing for cycling. Kubota, a cycling instructor with the League of American Bicyclists, taught her daughter to […]
Wellness in brief: HCA hosting opioid takeback events on Oct. 23
Members of the public can anonymously dispose of unused or expired opioid medications at HCA Healthcare’s Crush the Crisis events at various locations. Local law enforcement agencies are partnering with HCA Healthcare for the takeback event on Saturday, Oct. 23. The drop-off locations are Mission Hospital in Asheville, 1 Hospital Drive, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Mission […]
Physical therapists branch out on their own for pelvic health
Most people take their nether regions for granted as long as everything is working OK. But when there is pain or leakage or (shudder) painful leakage, it’s time to find help. Enter: physical therapists who specialize in pelvic health. Pelvic health is not as common a topic as other areas of the body. It may […]
Arden couple shares journey after infant loss
Abigail Mary Elizabeth Crawford’s life started sometime in the weeks before Oct. 4, 2020. That was the date her mother, Jenna Crawford, giddily leapt on top of her sleeping father, Garry Wynn, holding a positive pregnancy test at 5:30 a.m. Wynn remembers Oct. 4 as “an unbelievably magic day.” The couple sailed ahead through milestones […]
Avian lovers committed to making Asheville bird-friendly
On an upper floor of Zeis Hall on the UNC Asheville campus is a small room containing many birds. None of these birds are alive. Each one is dead, preserved through taxidermy and stacked side by side in individual Tupperware containers. The room, smelling faintly of formaldehyde, is a biological specimen laboratory. The collection is […]
Cherokee fight to save language from extinction
In classrooms throughout North Carolina and Oklahoma, students are learning about the periodic table of elements or the origins of the Civil War. However, in some classrooms, the lessons are a bit more personal — Cherokee students are learning the history and language of their people. Cherokee speakers have made great efforts to keep their […]
Asheville’s mental health support for area veterans
The 20 years that Kevin Mahoney served in the U.S. Air Force might sound like a dream deployment for some. Mahoney, who lives in Asheville, joined at 24 and trained as a cryptolinguist in Arabic and Farsi. The Air Force deployed him to the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. He was able to travel […]
News in brief: Disaster relief available for Fred victims
The N.C. Division of Employment Security announced the approval of Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits on Sept. 10. The move follows a federal major disaster declaration Sept. 8 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and White House at the request of Gov. Roy Cooper.
Wellness in brief: Pardee expands monoclonal antibody infusion clinic
From February through early August, the Emergency Department at Pardee administered 400 infusions of the Regeneron antibody therapy, says chief nursing officer Carol Stefaniak. But following the infusion clinic’s relocation to an outpatient facility in Hendersonville Aug. 11, another 350 infusions were administered, reflecting high demand for the drug.
Mental health falters during pandemic
Briefly, it seemed like the coronavirus pandemic had turned a corner. “People were starting to feel a little bit optimistic this summer,” says Ariel Shumaker, an Asheville therapist in private practice, about COVID-19. “And now, it’s not feeling optimistic.” Fatigue, sadness, anxiety, rage, fear, exhaustion — these are the emotions area behavioral health professionals report […]
Grieving doesn’t have to happen alone in WNC
Losing a loved one is one of the few truly universal life experiences. Despite its universality, however, grieving can feel totally unpredictable — and totally isolating. Some bereaved people might already have mental health care providers or be able to rely on community resources like a school counseling office. But for many others, finding help […]
COVID relief, free tuition help defray college costs
It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing belts to tighten. But even at the best of times, the cost of a higher education can be out of reach for many. While college costs in Western North Carolina are generally lower than the nationwide average of $35,720 per year, according to EducationData.org, sticker shock […]