The current health, social justice, violence, and environmental crises call for greater attention to strengthening our communities to care for their members and to take collective action to address the root causes of disadvantage, marginalization, and stress.
Decisions in the transportation field have often harmed Black [...]
Community Science, in addition to our consultation, capacity building, and evaluation services, also works on local issues of national importance. There is an affordable housing crisis in Baltimore City, as in all American cities. Over half (53%) of city renters and 40 percent of homeowners pay more than one-third of their income in housing, putting them at risk for housing instability and even homelessness.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (or ACEs)1 — commonly defined as 10 types of child abuse, neglect, and family exposure to toxic stress — comprise a complex, population-wide health problem with significant detrimental outcomes. Past research has shown that exposure to ACEs is related to a range of poor adult outcomes, including increased risk of alcohol and drug use, mental health problems, poor physical health, and risky behaviors. Furthermore, research has shown that toxic stress, associated with exposure to ACEs, disrupts neurodevelopment and leads to impaired decision making, impulse control, and resistance to disease; increase in adoption of risky behaviors; and an early onset of disease, disability, and death. Unfortunately, exposure to ACEs is common in the general U.S. population, with about one in four adults reporting three or more ACEs.
