The Bay

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A New Bill Could Help Get Teens Closer to Recovering From Addiction Apr 12, 2023

Show notes

This episode contains descriptions of drug addiction and attempted suicide. The national crisis and suicide hotline is 988.

In 2021, about 1 in 5 deaths among people ages 15-24 were from fentanyl overdoses in California. As this crisis worsens, doctors are seeing more and more demand for life-saving addiction treatment.

One crucial piece of the puzzle is a medication called Suboxone, or buprenorphine. It helps block withdrawal symptoms and can allow people to go to school, work, and maintain relationships while recovering.

But patients under the age of 18 can't access Suboxone without parental consent. Assemblymember Matt Haney thinks that should change, and has filed a bill that would lower the age to 16.

Guest: Lesley McClurg, KQED health correspondent

Episode transcript

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra, who also produced.

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‘I’m Literally Not Going to be Able to Eat:' CalFresh’s Pandemic Benefits Expire This Month Apr 10, 2023

Show notes

From extra unemployment assistance to free COVID testing and eviction moratoriums, pandemic-era assistance is fading away.

The latest to fall are extra payments for recipients of CalFresh, the state’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps.

Over 3 million households around California use CalFresh, ranging from families to seniors and students. Data shows these extra payments lifted 1 million people out of poverty. So why are the extra payments going away? And can anything be done about it?

Guest: Carly Severn, senior editor of audience news for KQED.

Episode transcript

CalFresh Info Line: 1-877-847-3663

LINKS:

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca. Jehlen Herdman is our intern. Ericka Cruz Guevarra is the host.

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Oakland Program Helping Khmer Rouge Survivors Heal Apr 07, 2023

Show notes

Nearly 320,000 Cambodians live in the US, with about a third living in California. Many are survivors or descendants of those who fled the country during the Cambodian genocide. An estimated 2 million people died under the communist Khmer Rouge, leaving survivors with emotional, physical and psychological trauma.

Barriers such as language access or cultural stigma often prevent survivors from accessing mental healthcare to address the trauma. But one program in Alameda County has spent the last 20 years providing culturally sensitive mental health care to the Cambodian community, letting survivors lead the way — and participants say it works.

Guest: Soreath Hok, reporter for KVPR

Episode transcript

Links:

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

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An End of an Era for Oakland's Wood Street Commons Apr 05, 2023

Show notes

The city of Oakland plans to evict the 60 remaining residents of the Wood Street encampment on Monday, April 10. This comes after months of ramping up sweeps in order to move forward with plans to build 171 affordable housing units.

At its height, Wood Street was a self-sustaining community of about 300 people and spanned several city blocks. The remaining residents, some of whom have lived there for more than a decade, are feeling an immense sense of loss and uncertainty about whether they can rebuild their community.

Guest: Erin Baldassari, housing affordability correspondent for KQED

Episode transcript

This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Jehlen Herdman, edited by Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra, who also produced.

Links:

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Tech Boom? What About A Carbon Removal Boom? Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

We’ve delayed action on climate change for so long that scientists say eliminating greenhouse gas emissions isn’t enough anymore — we also need to explore ways of removing carbon from the atmosphere.

One potential method is carbon removal, which is exactly what it sounds like. Forests and wetlands can naturally do this, and engineered approaches are starting to take shape as well. And some of these new climate technology companies have been formed here in the Bay Area.

How to do it fast, and safely, is a big question. But some lawmakers are hopeful that carbon removal can not only help fight climate change, but create an economic boom at the same time.

Guest: Laura Klivans,climate reporter and host of Deep Look

Episode transcript

This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra

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S.F’s Iconic Castro Theatre is in Limbo Mar 31, 2023

Show notes

The iconic Castro Theatre faces an uncertain future. Historically operated as a movie palace, the building’s new managers want to renovate the space for more events — like concerts, performances and weddings.

The plans have not been received well by everyone. Some point to the theater’s historical significance in San Francisco’s gay community as a reason to restore the space rather than renovate it, and this tension has resulted in a fight for the theater’s future.

This episode of Bay Curious first published March 9, 2023.

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As a Therapist, I See the Damage of Anti-Trans Hate Firsthand Mar 29, 2023

Show notes

Anti-trans hate is on the rise. Republicans have introduced more than 400 anti-trans bills in state legislatures around the country. 1 in California would force educators to out trans kids who may not be ready to come out to their parents.

Last year, California became the first sanctuary state in the country for trans youth. But a transgender therapist in the Bay Area says the anti-trans hate is still having a real effect on her trans clients.

Guest: Veronica Esposito, a writer, transgender advocate and associate marriage and family therapist in the Bay Area

This episode was produced by Jehlen Herdman, Maria Esquinca, and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

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Read Veronica’s Piece: As a Therapist, I See the Damage of Anti-Trans Hate Firsthand

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These Proven Schizophrenia Treatments Work. Why Won't Insurance Companies Cover Them? Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

This episode contains mentions of suicide.

Too often, psychosis isn’t treated until it’s too late. But studies from early psychosis clinics show that patients see a greater reduction of symptoms, like voices or delusions, and a greater improvement in functioning at school, at work and in their social lives, compared to people who get treatment as usual.

But too often, private insurers don’t cover these treatments, leaving many families to navigate the byzantine system of insurance on their own.

This episode of The California Report Magazine first aired on March 1, 2023.

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We Don’t Know Whether Most of the Bay’s Levees Are Safe Mar 24, 2023

Show notes

Residents of Pajaro in Monterey County were finally allowed to return home Thursday after destructive flooding from last week’s storms. When the levee broke, causing the town to flood, it wasn’t a huge surprise; problems with that levee have been well-known for decades, but it wasn’t enough to address the problem fast enough.

The Bay Area has hundreds of its own levees. And it turns out, we don’t really know how safe or vulnerable most of them are.

Guest: Ezra David Romero, climate reporter for KQED

Links

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca. Jehlen Herdman is our intern. Ericka Cruz Guevarra is the host.

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

These Affordable Housing Projects Are Affected by Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

Silicon Valley Bank is best known for its relationships with the tech industry. But the bank also had billions out in loans to developers working on affordable housing projects in the Bay Area.

Unlike larger banks, regional banks like SVB are more likely to fund local affordable housing projects.

But now that the bank has collapsed, the future of these projects is precarious, and calls into question how these much-needed affordable housing projects are funded in the first place.

Guest: Sydney Johnson, KQED reporter

Episode transcript

Links:

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca. Jehlen Herdman is our intern. Ericka Cruz Guevarra is the host.

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices