On October 10, the Trump administration announced its plan to broaden the "public charge" test that has been a part of U.S. immigration law for decades. The new rule could force immigrant families to choose between obtaining permanent legal status and utilization of important resources like healthy food, safe housing, and health care. ( See the rule change page here.) The proposed changes to the rule could block immigrant families from utilizing non-emergency Medicaid, Section 8 housing vouchers and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). 

Health advocates are already hearing stories of families not enrolling for these important supports that are known help them to live safe and healthy lives. There is ample evidence that SNAP participation is a strong contributor to healthy diets for low-income families. This rule change would surely add to the burden of diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and other nutrition-related diseases in our country and put children in particular at much greater risk.

 

Before Trump's "public charge" rule can be finalized, the administration is required by law to review and respond to every unique public comment they receive about the proposed regulation. This means only individualized opinions, in your own words, will be reviewed. We urge all members of our CLOCC community to learn more at protectingimmigrantfamilies.org and submit a comment voicing your personal opinion about the rule. Comments are being accepted through December 2nd.

The Institute for Population Health and Medicine (IPHAM) Population Health Forum will take place on December 4, 2018. The event will include a keynote speech by Sandro Galea, MD, MPH, DrPH, Dean and Robert A. Knox Professor at Boston University School of Public Health. Dr. Galea's scholarship lives at the intersection of social and psychiatric epidemiology, with a focus on the behavioral health consequences of trauma, including those caused by firearms. He was named one of Time magazine's epidemiology innovators and has been listed as one of the "World's Most Influential Scientific Minds."

In addition to the keynote, the IPHAM Population Health Forum will include a research poster session and breakout sessions. This event will be held at the Lurie Medical Research Building, 303 E. Superior St. in Chicago. Click below for details or to RSVP. 

The City of Chicago has conducted a pilot program to learn more about newly-emerging dockless bikesharing technology in the Far South Side. The pilot began May 1, 2018 and will end November 1, 2018. Four independent dockless bikesharing vendors have participated (Jump, Lime, ofo, and Zagster/Pace).

 

To learn more about the program from the user perspective, the City has created a survey to gather feedback from residents and visitors who used dockless bikeshare during the pilot. Please share this survey with your networks and through social media to circulate widely. All responses should submitted by November 21st.

The survey can be found at this link: 
http://bit.do/chidocklessbikesurvey