Voices for Virginia’s Children’s 2nd annual Racial Truth and Reconciliation Week (RTRW) is taking place August 22 through August 28. On Tuesday, August 24 at 9:00am, the presentation ‘Exposing Disparities during COVID-19 & the Impact on Virginia’s Children, Youth, & Families’ will be taking place. This presentation centers around COVID-19 causing inequities and exposing long-standing racial disparities among children, youth, and families across Virginia. This event features COVID-19 data, equity, and policy presentations from Latoya Hill, Senior Policy Analyst at Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and Lauren Snellings, Research Director at Voices for Virginia’s Children. It also includes an interview-style conversation between Kelsey McMahon, Data and Research Intern for Voices, and special guest Michael Royster, the Vice President of the Institute for Public Health Innovation.

The event focuses on the impact of the pandemic on families, the social determinants of health, and racial/ethnic disparities in health and health care prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data for cases and vaccines as well as feedback from parents during the pandemic point to a greater number in cases, lower vaccine rates, and substantial financial, emotional, and housing struggles for Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Asian populations. This event provides valuable insight into the current state of the public health sphere and allows for a space to discuss future steps to address and close gaps in health inequities.

To learn more about the social determinants of health and equity, check out last year’s event, ‘An Overview of Child Wellbeing & Equitable Research Practices’, here.

Click here for more information.

Register for this virtual event here.

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