WSSN Stories

The publication features diverse patient stories and 300+ resources for care and survivorship

NATIONWIDE — Jasmine Dionne Souers, President and CEO of The Missing Pink Breast Cancer Alliance and a breast cancer survivor herself, is proud to announce the launch of More Life Magazine. The publication features a collection of stories, resources, and innovative ideas that relate to the experiences of people of color affected by breast cancer.

The website and magazine feature personal stories to address cultural access barriers, connect people to more than 300 existing resources and support services, and promote policies and practices demonstrating success in eliminating barriers and disparities.

With the support of Genentech and Built to Rock Events, The Missing Pink partnered with 12 dynamic breast cancer organizations to showcase the impact of their respective services in the lives of people of color, reflecting back the possibility of hope, help, and healing for patients and amplifying insights behind barrier-breaking efforts.

“The disparities facing minorities affected by breast cancer are so great, they’re not something one organization is going to solve alone,” said Jasmine. “More Life Magazine brings together hundreds of resources in one place, it exists in various formats, and makes it easier for patients and the people who care for them like caregivers, social workers, providers, etc. to find help that may or may not exist in their backyard.”

The inaugural issue of More Life Magazine predominantly features experiences that relate to Black and Latino people affected by breast cancer and unlike many minority breast cancer efforts, it includes the experiences of and resources for men and people who identify as LGBTQ+.

“I remember how isolating it was to navigate breast cancer as a 26-year-old Black woman in 2016,” said Jasmine. “In our first issue, I wanted to make sure we held space for as many

unique perspectives from our diverse communities as possible because where there is light, there is hope. Everyone deserves to see a reflection of themselves in the face of people who are surviving and thriving after breast cancer and know what help is available to them.”

More Life Magazine tackles various subjects, including experiences with clinical trials, parenting with cancer, fertility preservation, the impact of delayed diagnoses on families and more. As the cover story, Jasmine’s personal journey as a young survivor, advocate and co-survivor to her grandmother living with metastatic breast cancer lays the foundation for the vulnerable, authentic, and informational storytelling found throughout the publication.

“Speaking from experience, I know the challenges people are facing to overcome this disease are very real and I don’t think we should shy away from that, but the work happening to help people overcome many of these challenges is just as real,” said Jasmine. “I want to make help and hope more tangible for people who feel like it’s out of reach for them or the community they serve.”

More Life Magazine is available online, in print, and in PDF. Additional stories and resources will be added to the site. Promo items for offices and outreach events are also available online.

To learn more, visit TheMoreLifeMag.com

About
The Missing Pink Breast Cancer Alliance works collaboratively to create community resources that improve the lives of people of color affected by breast cancer. We harness the power of innovation through collaboration and education to eliminate barriers to quality healthcare and improve quality of life. To learn more, visit themissingpink.org.

A Turkish company whose floating power ships switched off the electricity supply to two of Africa’s poorest cities in recent months says it is in talks with six more countries to expand across the continent. But critics argue it only provides a short term solution to chronic underinvestment.

Karpowership, which operates floating power plants, supplies electricity to eight African countries including Ghana, Senegal, Mozambique, and Côte d’Ivoire. The company has in recent months cut off electricity in Freetown and Bissau, the capitals of Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau, after authorities failed to pay bills reportedly totalling $40 million and $15 million respectively.

The company’s chief commercial officer, Zeynep Harezi, told Semafor Africa the company is in talks with a number of African countries as part of its expansion plans. “We are in constant communication with Tanzania, Kenya, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, [and] Liberia,” Harezi said. She added that the company expects to begin operating in South Africa in the second half of next year after winning a tender to generate 1,200 megawatts — about 2% of the country’s energy supply. Only “‘ticking the box’ activities” remain before completing the process to operate in South Africa, said Harezi.

Drs. Kevin and Kyle Phanord continue to serve the South Florida community

The spotlight is on dentistry excellence! The dynamic dentist duo, Drs. Kevin and Kyle Phanord, were honored with the prestigious 2023 Top 20 Under 40 YoPros Award from the Haitian American Chamber of Commerce of Florida (HACCOF). Nadia Alcide, Executive Director of HACCOF, presented the twins with the award plaque on behalf of the Chamber at their Dental Practice in North Miami.

This recognition is a testament to the Phanord twins’ exceptional dental services and unwavering commitment to patient well-being. The YoPros Award highlights outstanding young and talented Haitian-American professionals throughout Florida.

“We are truly humbled and honored to receive the HACCOF’s “Top 20 Under 40” recognition award,” said Dr. Kevin. “This recognition further motivates us to continue our mission of providing exceptional and compassionate dental to the South Florida Community and beyond,” added Dr. Kyle.

Dr. Kevin and Dr. Kyle Phanord, known on TikTok as the “Dentist Duo,” completed infant oral health evaluation and care at the University of Florida (UF) Pediatric Dental Residency Program, where they did a Pediatric Dentistry Rotation handling everything from participating in pediatric seminars, providing dental treatment to kids and observing pediatric dental care under general anesthesia in operating rooms, to participating in procedural sedation using oral and nasal agents, and providing dental treatment of specific healthcare for adults. The brothers went on to do an oral surgery rotation where they completed one-week long rotations per semester in the student oral surgery clinic at UF College of Dentistry and completed multiple simple, as well as surgical extractions and alveoloplasties.

After obtaining their Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree from UF, the Phanord twins joined their father, Dr. Roger Phanord, in the family-operated dental practice, Phanord & Associates, P.A., and since then, they have been committed to taking the dental practice to the next level.

To connect with Drs. Kevin and Kyle Phanord, be sure to follow them on their TikTok @DentistDuo. In addition, to stay connected with news and information about their dental practice, follow Phanord & Associates, P.A. on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – @Phanorddental.

Phanord & Associates, P.A. has been serving the community since the late 80s and provides a wide range of general dentistry services, including general & cosmetic dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery and more. With multilingual staff fluent in Spanish, Creole, and French, they strive to meet and exceed all dental needs.

Phanord & Associates P.A. is located at 1245 NW 119th Street in North Miami, Florida. Opening hours are Monday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

For more information, visit www.phanord.com or call 305-685-7863. At Phanord & Associates, we are changing lives, one smile at a time!

Amid what experts call a global mental health crisis, a new article series has been released highlighting the Bible’s role in promoting mental wellness.

“Mental Health — Help From the Bible,” available free of charge both in print and on Jehovah’s Witnesses’ official website, jw.org, encourages readers to seek assistance with mental health concerns and outlines how guidance found in Scripture can help in practical ways. The lead article in the series, “A Worldwide Mental Health Crisis,” not only documents contributing factors but also defines what a mental disorder is and what it is not.

“The Bible is not a medical guidebook, but its enduring principles are as powerful today as they ever were,” said Robert Hendriks, U.S. spokesperson for the organization. “This special series provides comfort and strategies based on those principles. We are thrilled to provide such a powerful resource to the world” Houstonian Chelsea Hart, 29, recalls giving little thought to her mental health during the pandemic. It wasn’t until COVID-19 restrictions had lifted in her area that she began to realize something was wrong.

“Everything around me was getting back to normal, but I wasn’t,” said Hart. “I had always been a really outgoing person, but I didn’t want to go anywhere or see anyone. I hardly recognized myself — I felt so numb.”

Hart’s experience is echoed by millions worldwide. The World Health Organization’s 2022 report on global mental health — the largest report of its kind since the turn of the century — found that during the first year of the pandemic alone, anxiety and depression rates rose 25%. The same report called the global response to mental health needs “insufficient and inadequate,” noting that many people who have a mental disorder have no access to care – numbering into the hundreds of millions worldwide

Since her diagnosis with depression last year, Hart has sought medical treatment, but she says tips from “Mental Health — Help From the Bible” are making a difference, too.

“When I experience intrusive thoughts and feelings of worthlessness, I fight negative thoughts with positive ones,” she said. “I remind myself that God loves and values me.”

Hart’s husband, Jonah, 30, found the article’s “How to Help Those With Mental Health Challenges” section especially useful.

“When Chelsea first began having issues with her mental health, I didn’t know how to help her,” he said. “I was impatient at times, and I even blamed myself for not being able to do more. The article has helped me be the patient, supportive partner she needs.”

“Mental Health — Help From the Bible” is available free of charge and without a subscription on jw.org.

SACRAMENTO, CA – This month, Assemblymember Chris Holden’s legislation, Assembly Bill 289, Youth Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), which will include youth or youth mental health organizations in the list of stakeholder counties must confer with when developing their three year expenditure plans under the Mental Health Services Act, was signed into law by Governor Newsom.

“When we are making decisions for the future generation of Californians, it is critical that their voice and perspectives are heard,” said Assemblymember Chris Holden. “Listening and providing quality care that is youth informed helps the adults of tomorrow, today.”

Under the MHSA, it falls to our counties to develop their three-year expenditure plans with local stakeholders, including adults and seniors with severe mental illnesses, their families, service providers, and law enforcement among many others. This partnership between counties, constituents, and stakeholders ensures that the expenditure plan is a well-rounded, all-inclusive response to their community’s behavioral health needs.

This bill would require stakeholders to include sufficient participation of individuals representing diverse viewpoints, including youth representatives from historically marginalized communities, representatives from organizations specializing in working with underserved racially and ethnically diverse communities, and representatives from LGBTQ+ communities. By requiring counties to consult with additional stakeholders, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

“How we respond to the mental health crisis today, will shape who our society becomes in the future. Our kids need us to drive solutions and this week, with the Governor’s signing, we are well on our way,” said Holden.

By Lou K Coleman
Because choosing not to heed God’s warnings is rebelliousness and idolatry. Think long and hard about the decision you are making, because if you keep on ignoring the Lord and His warnings, you will soon find out the consequences of such and it ain’t gonna be nice.

Listen, [Jeremiah 30:4-10] warns that just ahead is the time of Jacob’s Trouble, a time so disastrous that no other period in mankind’s history can equal it. [Parallels to Matthew 24:15-31; Luke 21 and Mark 13]. We ain’t seen nothing yet. Wars will be fought on a scale never seen before, and weapons of mass destruction. You best take God’s warnings seriously. Because right now, is the day of salvation. Right now, is God’s grace being offered to you again. Remember, God issued a Final Invitation before the flood. “Come into the Ark”. Grace offered prior to judgment. [Matthew 11:28-30]. Don’t wait until its too late! Think Long and Hard
About the Decision You Are Making.

They despised the longsuffering of God. They said, “Here has Noah been telling us for one hundred and twenty years that a flood is coming, where is it?”

They mocked him, believing it was impossible that God would bring down floods to destroy the world. They refused to believe, and so not one of them accepted God’s warning.

At that time, the door of the ark was sealed shut, and apart from the eight people of Noah’s family who survived, everyone else, all those who had defied God were swept away by the floods— all life outside the ark perished. They had missed their chance to be saved by God.

Don’t you do it! Think long and hard about the decision you are making because as [Proverbs 14:12; 16:25] reminds us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

By Tanu Henry, Antonio Ray Harvey and Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media
Four years ago this month, Senate Bill (SB) 464, also known as the California’s Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act, was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The law, authored by LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, when she served in the State Senate, mandated that health care facilities implement training to address unconscious racial bias toward expectant mothers to address California’s high maternal death rate among Black women.

However, a report released by the California Department of Justice on Oct. 27, four years after the law was enacted, found that most hospitals and clinics either failed to implement the training or instituted it late.

“The disparity in maternal death rates in California reflects the deep and shameful racial inequities in our healthcare system,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta in a statement the DOJ released Friday.

“In California, people of color, particularly Black women, continue to die at three to four times the rate of White women,” Bonta continued. “This is unacceptable. With today’s report, the California Department of Justice has taken an important step forward in addressing this issue by successfully building upon the California Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act.”

According to Bonta, the United States has the highest maternal death rate in the developed world. He disclosed that one year into the program, less than 17% of health facilities in the state had initiated the mandated staff training, as reported to the DOJ. It was only after Bonta wrote a letter in 2021 threatening state intervention for non-compliance, that the percentage began to rise.

“As a Black woman, a mother, a legislator, and as a board-certified OBYGN, this topic of implicit bias and black maternal mortality is both personally and professionally important to me,” said Assemblymember Akilah Weber (D-La Mesa), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), in a statement.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr | California Black Media

October 7, 2023, will be known as Israel’s 9/11. Hamas terrorists crossed the Israel-Gaza border and indiscriminately slaughtered Israeli civilians in their homes and apartments. They killed nearly 300 young people at a music festival and took at least 200 hostages including 30 children. The atrocities they committed included massacres of entire families, the abduction of the elderly and young children, burning babies and rapes of women.

The horrific surprise attack by Hamas deserves universal and unequivocal condemnation. President Joe Biden called what Hamas did an act of sheer evil and pledged to defend the lives of Israelis and Jewish Americans. He said, “Let there be no doubt. The United States has Israel’s back. We’ll make sure the Jewish and democratic state of Israel can defend itself today, tomorrow as we always have.”

Hamas killed approximately1400 people including 32 Americans. Citizens from 40 different countries including the United Kingdom, France, Mexico, and Thailand were killed or reported missing.

Hamas fighters breached Israel’s border defenses on the final day of Sukkot while soldiers were away due to the holiday and launched attacks on 22 towns outside the Gaza Strip. This security lapse has been described as a catastrophic failure of Israel’s intelligence agencies, including Aman, Mossad, and Shin Bet.

Hamas is an extremist Islamist militant organization that has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007. It is recognized as an Iranian backed terrorist group by the US and European Union and has a long history of violence against Jews and Palestinians, the latter of whom they often use as human shields.

By Lou K Coleman

Hear what the Lord says. Because they have failed to listen, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. [Jeremiah 11:11]. I will pursue them with sword, famine, and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations. I will do this because they have not listened to My words, which I sent to them again and again through My servants. [Jeremiah 29:19].

Therefore, disaster and devastation shall be their portion. For the days will come upon them, when their enemies will set up a barricade around them and surround them and hem them in on every side and tear them down to the ground, them, and their children. And they will not leave one stone upon another in them. [Luke 19:41-46] because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, I have called to them, and they have not answered” [Jeremiah 35:17]. Damnation and devastation will be their portion.

So, do not pray for these people or lift up a cry on their behalf, for I will not listen. [Jeremiah 11:14] because they refused to listen when I called, and no one paid attention when I stretch out My hand. So, since they disregarded all My advice and did not accept My rebel, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes them; I will mock when calamity overtakes them like a storm, when disaster sweeps over them like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm them. Then they will call Me, but I will not answer; they will look for Me but will not find Me, since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. [Proverbs 1:24-32].

I the Lord has spoken, and My Words shall not return void! [Isaiah 55:11].

The Lord rebukes his people for their disbelief. [Isaiah 48:1-11].

By Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media

From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. last Saturday, the 18th annual Taste of Soul family festival took place on Crenshaw Boulevard, known as the Mecca of Black culture and business in Los Angeles. This event is recognized as the largest one day ‘free’ street festival on the West Coast.

Founded in 2005 by civil rights activist and CEO/Executive Publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel, Danny Bakewell Sr., the Taste of Soul festival has grown from attracting 15,000 attendees to drawing crowds of nearly 350,000 visitors annually, including families, politicians, and celebrities.

U.S. Senate candidate, Congressmember Barbara Lee (D-CA-12) was among the local and state politicians at the Taste of Soul either campaigning or attending to constituents.

Reflecting on the festival’s evolution, Bakewell said, “This has far outreached my wildest dreams. I wanted a place in our community where Black people could come out and share all the things our culture represents.”

Bakewell emphasizes that while the event is rooted in the Black community, everyone is welcome.

The Taste of Soul festival has grown to be a significant economic catalyst for the local community, contributing to the revitalization of South Los Angeles by showcasing the very best the community has to offer.

This year’s Taste of Soul celebrity chair was the stand-up comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish. Joining her as event chairs were Mayor Karen Bass, LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, LA City Councilmembers Marqueece Harris Dawson (8th District), and Heather Hutt (10th  District). Festival Co-Chairs were Councilmember Curren Price (9th District), Assemblymembers Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), Issac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights), and Mike Gipson (D-Carson), LAUSD Board Member George McKenna, CBS/KCAL 9 Anchor Pat Harvey, and the Law firm of Ivie, McNeil, Wyatt, Purcell, and Diggs.

At the festival, Bass said, “This is the best block party in town. It was a wonderful gathering and celebration of the community. It is peaceful. Everybody has a good time. We’re supporting local businesses, especially restaurants. So, it’s a boon to the economy.”

Food is a major attraction of the festival. Out of the 300 local, ethnic, and international vendors that took part in the festival, over 100 were food vendors. These included some of the finest chefs in the world, with soul food being the main attraction among the dishes being offered.

The event offered live performances on four stages dedicated to Gospel, R&B, Jazz, Dance, and local artists. Among featured musical acts were the Whispers, the Delfonics Experience, and Switch. A new addition to the festival was Tiffany Haddish’s ‘She Ready’ Comedy Lounge & Beer Garden. The proceeds from ticket sales go to Haddish’s ‘She Ready’ foundation for youth impacted by foster care and to sponsor Mother’s in Action to support their initiatives.

Additionally, the festival provided a platform for social & healthcare resources, fun pavilions promoting social awareness, exhibits showcasing local and international visual artists, and curated events for children.

The Taste of Soul festival stands as a vibrant celebration of Black culture in Los Angeles that brings people together from all walks of life.