This week on Valley Edition we step into the doors of a Merced health clinic that serves the homeless. The City of Merced was hit hard by the economic crash and foreclosure crisis in the past decade. In an already poor and medically under-served region, the recession created a new group of homeless people who have very limited access to medical care. But one determined doctor, aided by Golden Valley Health Centers staff and student volunteers from UC Merced, is striving to ensure these people don’t fall through the cracks.
Also on Valley Edition, we take a look at legislation that would require anyone with evidence of animal abuse in slaughterhouses and farms to report within in five days of finding out. For the past few decades journalists and activists have gone undercover in order to document cases of animal abuse at slaughterhouses and dairies across the nation. That’s led the livestock industry to push for legislation in several states that would make producing those videos a crime. In California, one Valley lawmaker is pushing for a different approach, but not without controversy.
In the second portion of Valley Edition, we talk about how child abuse can be prevented in schools. Esther Franco, the executive director of the Fresno Council of Child Abuse Prevention, joins host Juanita Stevenson in a discussion about early reporting, child abuse prevention in schools and educating community members about the issue. The segment is in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month.
We end the show with a conversation about a scavenger hunt that will take place in downtown Fresno on May 11. The Great Historic Fresno Scavenger Hunt is part of the National Historic Preservation Week celebrations in Fresno. The hunt starts at Warnor's Center for the Arts, Downtown Fresno. Teams/Individuals may register at http://historicfresnoscavenger.eventbrite.com/:
This Week’s Guests
- Child Abuse Prevention Month
Esther Franco, Executive Director of the Fresno Council of Child Abuse Prevention.
- Historic Fresno Scavenger Hunt
Don R. Simmons, Ph.D., Distinguished Lecturer, Humanics, College of Social Sciences California State University, Fresno
Barbara Beauchamp, Assistant Director at Palm Village at Home
