Latino Children Overcoming Climate Challenges
BOSTON, Mass. (Ivanhoe Newswire) - Hurricanes, heatwaves, droughts, and natural disasters — Not only are they a common occurrence, but a warming planet is making them more intense.
This past decade has seen a staggering rise in billion-dollar weather disasters across the U.S., with a record-breaking 28 weather and climate disasters last year.
Americans have dealt with everything from blizzards and tornadoes to wildfires and flooding. As we all witness the devastating consequences of these extreme events, Latino families, especially the children, are particularly vulnerable to climate-related events.
Four-year-old Sebastian knows how destructive the weather can be, and his great aunt Sandra Victorino, a mental health therapist, understands firsthand how climate change can impact a family.
“Being someone that was a migrant worker living all over the United States, I was exposed to earthquakes and tornadoes and floods and all of these things that I then felt like I had a lot of anxiety around,” she said.
Loss of a home, loss of a job, loss of a community impacts the entire family. Children can have long-lasting psychological effects including anxiety, depression and p-t-s-d. So, what can you do to build resiliency?
Victorino explained, “We are very deliberate in having the conversation of what is he learning?”
Also, make sure they feel safe.
“So, a tornado, well, where’s safety? It's a basement,” Victorino told Ivanhoe.
Create a plan that everyone in the household understands and can communicate effectively. Make sure you have a severe storm kit ready. You can find out how to make one at https://www.ready.gov/kit. And don’t let your own fears get in the way.
“It's also understanding my own anxiety when I'm around a child as well in order to be able to maintain that calm,” explained Victorino.
And remember, it takes a village.
“Like who are our people, even if it isn't necessarily like blood related,” stated Victorino.
She says it’s important to make sure everyone, even the little ones in the house, feel safe during unsafe times.
A new study reveals that most parents have experienced some type of extreme weather. Heatwaves, topping the list, followed by flooding, hurricanes, and wildfires. Additionally, the Pew Research Center finds that Latinos are increasingly worried about the threat climate change poses to their livelihoods and their health. Eighty-one percent say it's a top personal concern.
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Executive Producer; Matt Goldschmidt, Videographer; and Bob Walko, Editor.
Produced by Child Trends News Service in partnership with Ivanhoe Broadcast News and funded by a grant from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
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