{"id":5061118,"date":"2022-11-11T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-11T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rilatinonews.com\/?p=5061118"},"modified":"2022-11-11T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-11T05:00:00","slug":"riln-opinion-stephanie-geller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/riln\/2022\/11\/11\/riln-opinion-stephanie-geller\/","title":{"rendered":"RILN Opinion+: Stephanie Geller"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Welcome to another episode of Rhode Island Latino News Opinion+, where we talk about major issues the Latinx and other underrepresented communities face in the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This week we spoke with Deputy Director Stephanie Geller of Rhode Island KIDS COUNT about youth homelessness, children\u2019s mental health, and educational support for multilingual learners within Rhode Island.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"RILN Opinion+: Stephanie Geller\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XlbHwAVnaL0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rikidscount.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RI Kids Count<\/a> is a nonprofit organization based in Providence that has served children, youth, and their families across the Ocean State since 1994.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Deputy Director Geller first discussed RI Kids Count\u2019s research and efforts to support children and youth experiencing poverty &amp; homelessness across the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">RI Kids Count published a report this fall that shared data on poverty, income, and health insurance coverage throughout the state.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last April, Rhode Island was declared to be in a state of emergency in child and adolescent mental health care. Geller spoke on RI Kids Counts\u2019 recommended steps\u2014published in this report\u2014to address the issue, which included addressing the workforce crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re seeing long waiting lists for a lot of different social services including mental health because we don\u2019t have enough of mental health providers because we\u2019re not adequately paying them,\u201d Geller explained. \u201cSo, we really need to look at those fees and make sure we provide adequate payment so that we can have access to more providers in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same report by RI Kids Count found that youth of color were more likely to have their mental health impacted by the pandemic and they were much less likely to receive mental health treatment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne barrier is that there\u2019s a lack of culturally competent and linguistically competent providers so we need to provide access points for more diverse mental health providers to enter the field and for us to provide mental health providers [who] speak all languages that children and families need access to,\u201d Geller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rhode Island\u2019s Hispanic child population grew by 31% between 2000 and 2010, according to a 2021 report by RI Kids Count: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Children\u2019s Economic Well-Being in Rhode Island.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe really need to look at diversity as an asset but we also need to be aware of the disparities we see in children\u2019s economic well-being, educational outcomes, etc. by race and ethnicity and really be honest about the reasons for those disparities and then try to topple them,\u201d Geller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geller also discussed the importance of looking at access to college and generally supporting multilingual students as the state has seen lower rates of high school graduation for multilingual learners than primarily-English speakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOnly 23% of Latino students in the class of 2021 went directly to college, compared to 46% of white students,\u201d Geller shared. \u201cSo, we really need to think about giving people the financial opportunities, and the guidance cousel[ing] they need, and providing them the support if they\u2019re learning English\u2026so they can succeed because we know education is the primary way out of poverty for many families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Resources mentioned in this video<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>RI Kids Count Website<\/strong>: Check out upcoming events, recent reports, and more at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rikidscount.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.rikidscount.org<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>RI Kids Count Reports<\/strong> Mentioned in this Episode:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cChildren\u2019s Mental Health in Rhode Island&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cHousing Instability and Homelessness Among Rhode Island Children\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cNew Census Data Shows Rhode Island Ranked 24th in Child Poverty; 4th for Children\u2019s Health Insurance Coverage\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cRacial and Ethnic Disparities in Children\u2019s Economic Well-Being in Rhode Island\u201d&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check out <a href=\"https:\/\/lpirwu.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Latino Policy Institute<\/a>\u2019s panel discussion on <em>Mental Health in RI<\/em>, which will be live-streamed Nov. 15th on Facebook: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/703054200663544\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/703054200663544<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you are in need of shelter, call <strong>Rhode Island\u2019s Coordinated System help line<\/strong> at 401-277-4316 or chat with an agent <a href=\"https:\/\/app.five9.com\/clients\/consoles\/ChatConsole\/index.html?title=chat&amp;tenant=Rhode%20Island%20Coalition%20for%20the%20Homeless&amp;profiles=Chat&amp;showProfiles=true&amp;autostart=true&amp;theme=default-theme.css&amp;surveyOptions=%7B%22showComment%22%3Atrue%2C%22requireComment%22%3Afalse%7D&amp;fields=%7B%22name%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3A%22%22%2C%22show%22%3Atrue%2C%22label%22%3A%22Name%22%7D%2C%22email%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3A%22%22%2C%22show%22%3Atrue%2C%22label%22%3A%22Email%22%7D%7D&amp;playSoundOnMessage=true&amp;allowCustomerToControlSoundPlay=false&amp;showEmailButton=true&amp;hideDuringAfterHours=false&amp;useBusinessHours=false&amp;showPrintButton=false&amp;allowUsabilityMenu=false&amp;enableCallback=false&amp;allowRequestLiveAgent=false&amp;namespace=www-cesri-info.filesusr.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Agents speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, &amp; Haitian Creole.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hours of Operation:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Monday \u2013 Friday: 9AM \u2013 7PM&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Weekends &amp; Holidays: 2PM \u2013 7PM&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Behavioral Health Triage Service and Referral Network for Children and Youth&nbsp;<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Kids\u2019 Link RI\u2122<\/strong> is a behavioral health triage service and referral network. A program offered in collaboration with Gateway Healthcare, Lifespan, Hasbro Children&#8217;s Hospital and Bradley Hospital, Kids\u2019 Link RI is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help triage children and youth in need of mental health services and refer them to treatment providers.\u200b\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Contact Kids&#8217; Link RI at 1-855-543-5465 \u2014 The free, confidential phone line connects parents and caregivers to an experienced clinician that can help them access children\u2019s services in Rhode Island, and determine the best place to go for treatment and counseling.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Social Media<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RhodeIslandKIDSCOUNT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> &#8211; @RhodeIslandKIDSCOUNT&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RIKidsCount\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> &#8211; @RIKidsCount<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/rhode-island-kids-count\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a> &#8211; Rhode Island KIDS COUNT<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Instagram &#8211; @rikidscount<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to another episode of Rhode Island Latino News Opinion+, where we talk about major issues the Latinx and other [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5061119,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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