Physicians for Social Responsibility

This fiscal year, the United States spent $74.746 billion dollars on our nuclear weapons program, with $9.7 billion of that coming from Californians, and $2.3 billion coming from Los Angeles County alone! This tax day, you can calculate your community's nuclear spending using a formula created by Bob Dodge, president of PSR-LA board of directors here: https://www.psr-la.org/calculate-your-communitys-nuclear-s/

There are still no mandated OSHA COVID protections for workers. We know a rise in workplace reports of unsafe conditions also means a rise in deaths in the surrounding community. To control COVID, we need safe workplaces! #ProtectWorkersNow Read our new report on the spread of COVID-19 at fast-food restaurants linked to unsafe working conditions: https://www.psr-la.org/new-study-rapid-covid-19-spread-in-/ California Governor Gavin Newsom Worksafe California Labor Federation

PSR-LA is growing and we are hiring two new positions to support our efforts: Development Associate and Administrative & Finance Assistant. Come join our fun and dedicated team!

NEW PSR-LA STUDY: Rapid COVID-19 Spread in CA Linked to Unsafe Working Conditions at Fast-food Restaurants. Our study found evidence for rapid spread of COVID-19 through fast-food restaurants and suggests widespread lack of compliance with basic public health guidelines at fast-food establishments. Read Press Release here http://bit.ly/COVIDstudyPR and study here http://bit.ly/CAC19Hazards

Join the discussion with City Leaders about the importance of equitable and inclusive partnerships to catalyze and address health disparities linked to our climate crisis while addressing a just economic recovery. The Climate Crisis is a Humanitarian and Civil rights Crisis, not just a technical problem to be solved. Register: https://us02web.zoom.us//register/WN_3hTyjMcjQJu_3hRsjqGwvA

"As physicians, decision-makers, community members, it is time to treat the health of Black, Brown & low-income residents not just w/ breathable air, water & setbacks that protect children from pollution but with a plan. - Dr. Saba Malik #YESonSB467

PSR-LA strongly supports the Movement for Black Lives and is fully committed to dismantling the systemic racism that perpetuates health and economic disparity in black communities. Read our full statement: bit.ly/PSRLA4BLM #BlackLivesMatter #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd

Renown physician and PSR co-founder Dr. Bernard Lown and others in the New England Journal of Medicine, calling on physicians to support of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the Back from the Brink campaign: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2033335

BREAKING: Mayor Eric Garcetti today launched Los Angeles’ first-ever Climate Emergency Mobilization Office (CEMO) which will be responsible for coordinating the actions of the Mayor’s Office, City Council, and community leaders to meet the commitments of L.A.’s Green New Deal. Marta Segura, a longtime environmental justice advocate and nonprofit advisor, has been named to lead the division. "We look forward to working with the Climate Emergency Mobilization Director and off...ice to uplift community voices and build long-standing solutions rooted in Just Recovery, said the Leap LA Coalition, a group comprised of The Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, Communities for Better Environment, Esperanza Community Housing Corporation, Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE), and Pacoima Beautiful. https://www.lamayor.org/mayor-garcetti-launches-climate-eme

"The COVID-19 crisis is disproportionately impacting communities of color. As these communities already face multiple environmental burdens, divestment, the impacts of pandemic are felt more acutely. Locally, one of these communities is South Los Angeles. In response, USC Environmental Health Centers partnered with Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles (PSR-LA) and community health promoters (promotoras) from Esperanza Community Housing, and Strategic Concepts in... Organizing & Policy Education (SCOPE), to develop a popular-education and community-centered approach to build health literacy around COVID-19." To date, we have trained over 50 community health promotores to understand health inequities in communities of color, learn about toxics in disinfectants and cleaning products, build a Just Recovery framework, and learned about mental health during COVID-19. https://envhealthcenters.usc.edu/.../engaging-frontline...

Los Angeles can put an end to fossil fuels, but only through "working with impacted communities to develop & implement concrete policies that close the oil wells harming the health of low-income communities of color." - Martha Dina Argüello, Executive Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles https://www.latimes.com//communities-harmed-by-big-oil-wan

RIP to one of PSR's cherished founders, Dr. Jack Geiger, a visionary and early proponent of social medicine and nuclear disarmament. https://www.nytimes.com//12/28/hea/h-jack-geiger-dead.html

Health Focus Friday: We wish you a healthy and happy winter holiday season! The holiday season may feel isolating and may bring up feelings of anxiety and depression for many people, especially this year. We're in the midst of a global pandemic where keeping ourselves and those around us safe and healthy is our top priority and this includes your mental health. Please share and use these resources to prioritize your mental health just as much as your physical health. #HealthFocusFriday