Students of color, particularly Black, Latino, and Native American students, face challenges in K–12 schools, including underfunded resources, less experienced teachers, and limited support services, resulting in lower academic outcomes.

This report outlines three key strategies to advance racial equity: addressing systemic racism with data-driven policies, replacing exclusionary discipline with restorative justice, and expanding school-based health services with a focus on racial equity. And, practical strategies for implementation, informed by research and district leaders, guide these efforts.

Public health practitioners across the country possess the qualifications to be powerful advocates, yet often lack the training to translate research and evidence into law, policy, and funding.

This course equips participants with practical strategies for creating change, drawing from real-life public health examples. Expert speakers include advocates for the Flint, Michigan water crisis, AIDS activists and lawyers, advocates for NYC’s hybrid bus fleet, civil rights leaders from the Mississippi Freedom Summer, health lobbyists, and public health graduates who are also elected officials.

Despair in the US are rising due to chronic trauma, economic downturn, social dislocation, and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 and other crises. Saving lives from deaths of despair requires adaptive changes and new solutions to transform systems.

This guide serves as a resource for healthcare systems to improve mental health and well-being in their communities, with a focus on preventing deaths of despair. Using a population-based, equity-centered approach, the guide provides a comprehensive framework for multiple stakeholders to identify their roles and contributions in addressing this issue.