San Diego moves ahead with no-fault eviction moratorium

S1: Tenants in San Diego have new eviction protections.
S2: The moratorium the city is considering is far stronger and it specifically deals with no fault evictions.
S1: I'm Andrew Bowen with Maureen CAVANAUGH. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Haitian asylum seekers see a double standard at the US-Mexico border.
S2: Is taking the case of this family.
S3: I think you can see just how difficult it is. For.
S2: For.
S3: Haitians and for.
S4: Other individuals.
S2: Aside from Ukrainians.
S3: At this point in time to obtain an exemption from Title 42.
S1: New data from the CDC shine a spotlight on mental health among teens. And a conversation with San Diego's newly appointed independent budget analyst. That's ahead on Midday Edition. San Diego's City Council passed an ordinance Monday limiting landlords ability to use no fault evictions. Here's City Councilmember Marni Von WILPERT speaking at yesterday's meeting.
S4: What this is , is really.
S3: Making sure that people are served eviction notices.
S2: For no fault evictions. They get more.
S3: Time to find new housing. And in this period of recovery from the pandemic , when everything is still so unstable.
S2: I do understand.
S3: The need to give tenants more time. If they receive a no fault eviction notice.
S1: After a long session , including comments from tenants and landlords on opposite sides. The council approved the measure by a vote of 5 to 1. But there's more to come as another vote is needed before the bill officially becomes law. Here to tell us more is KPBS , racial justice and social equity reporter Christina Kim. Christina , welcome.
S2: Hey , Andrew.
S1:
S2: So the three major ways that that happens with no fault evictions is , one , the landlord wants to move back in or their family wants to move back in to the landlord , wants to take the unit out of the rental market entirely. Or three , they need to substantially remodel the unit. So those are the three kind of no fault eviction categories , if you will. The reason the city council moved to ban them is because they want to give tenants more time to find housing and protect them during this time of continued pandemic and rising rents. Something that advocates have long said is that the no fault eviction , particularly around substantial remodels , is kind of a loophole in which landlords are , you know , quote unquote , substantially remodeling in order to do a quick fix and then raising the rents.
S1:
S2: This new moratorium essentially says that no matter how long someone has lived in a dwelling , they will get a 90 day notice. If the landlord or their family wants to move back in or a six months notice if the unit is going to be taken off the rental market completely.
S1: There's been a really confusing patchwork of eviction bans all across the state. California lawmakers recently passed an extension of the state's eviction moratorium.
S2: I'm so glad you're asking that. So what the state recently passed was a three month extension on evictions for nonpayment of rent due to COVID 19 reasons. In addition to that , what the state passed is that those protections only apply to renters who applied for rental assistance by March 31st , 2020 to the moratorium. The city is considering as far stronger , and it specifically deals with no fault evictions and has nothing to do with nonpayment of rent.
S1: You were at a rally supporting this eviction moratorium before the city council meeting.
S2: I spoke with Lydia morales. She is a banquet worker at a hotel and lives in San Ysidro. She came and talked and actually shared her story of receiving a no fault eviction almost ten years ago. And yet when I was talking to her , she broke down in tears at the memory of getting that notice , because for her , she says , it was a traumatic experience to have been paying religiously , doing everything right for her and her three children. And then all of a sudden just being evicted for what felt like no reason and no fault of her own. She said she was at the press event in support of the moratorium because she doesn't want any other families to go through what she went through. And what I will say when I was there is just how much the tenant rights movement has really grown in San Diego over the past two years. And I'm always shocked by how much it is multiracial , multilingual and really led by women. So I think amidst all this , it's interesting to see this kind of growing grassroots movement here in San Diego.
S1: City Councilmember Chris Cate was the only one to vote against this measure.
S2: And I think that's what council member Kate was really getting at. There's a lack of clarity and kind of a confusion of how this is going to be enforced. You know. We also heard in the city council meeting a lot of landlords call in as well as professional organizations like the California Apartment Association , just saying that there hasn't been enough time to socialize this moratorium. You know , landlords feel left out of the process. They're afraid that it's just strengthening tenant rights at the cost of landlords who want to move in , who want to , you know , maybe raise rent because they , too , feel like they're mom and pops and they're struggling in this economy. So a lot of the reasons also seem to be because there's just kind of lack of understanding around what this moratorium actually entails , because , again , landlords can still move back into their properties and they can still take their units off the rental market should they choose. They just need to give their tenants ample warning.
S1: This policy was not proposed by the mayor , Todd Gloria. It came from city council president Shaun Rivera. And he's talked a lot about trying to build a strong city council that's able to pursue its own agenda independent of the mayor's office.
S2: Ace was a strong partner in getting this moratorium across , as was the Legal Aid Society of San Diego. For me , when I'm looking at how this came about , it seems like really Shani la Rivera , his office being intentional about the relationships it's building with its communities , with its constituents , and hearing from people , you know , what are the loopholes ? What is the number one housing concern that the Legal Aid Society has been hearing about for the last six months ? It's no fault evictions and then really responding to what the needs and issues were. So , you know , this is a temporary measure , but he got it across by , again , building relationships with community groups.
S1: Cristina , you mentioned this is a temporary measure.
S2:
S1: I've been speaking with KPBS , racial justice and social equity reporter Christina Kim. Christina , thank you.
S2: Thank you , Andrew. A Trump era ban on immigrants seeking asylum due to the COVID pandemic will end in May. But even before the bans end was announced last week , a family of Haitian asylum seekers did something very rare. KPBS border reporter Gustavo Solis says they entered the country through an exemption to Title 42.
S5: It took a team of lawyers , doctors and advocates on both sides of the border to convince officials to let a Haitian family pursue their asylum claim in the U.S.. The family's three year old daughter needs specialized care for a debilitating skin condition rash to cover most of her body , and she scratches them to the point of bleeding. Ginger Klein is a lawyer with Al Otro Lado. She says getting the exemption was a huge challenge.
S4: Three lawyers , we did.
S3: Have letters from three different doctors and several follow ups with with civil rights , civil liberties. And I think it's really tragic because this case should have been approved a lot sooner and this little girl would have been able to get the treatment that she needed.
S5: That Haitian family , along with thousands of other migrants , have been blocked from crossing the border because of Title 42 , a public health order that gives border officials the authority to turn away asylum seekers. But some people have been allowed in. Customs and Border Protection agents recently started granting Title 42 exemptions to Ukrainian nationals who are fleeing the war. Meanwhile , migrants from other countries like Haiti , Honduras and Mexico are still largely prevented from pursuing their own asylum claims. Blaine Booky is a lawyer with the Center for Refugee and Gender Studies. She says the Haitian family's case underscores how arbitrary our country's asylum system is right now.
S2: You know , just taking the case of this.
S3: Family , I think you can see just how difficult it is.
S2: For Haitians.
S3: And for.
S4: Other individuals.
S2: Aside from Ukrainians.
S3: At this point in time to obtain an exemption from Title 42.
S5: It is rare for Haitian nationals to receive Title 42 exemptions. Klein says that only 21% of the nearly 1000 exemption applications have been granted. And border officials don't always tell her why. Some petitions are denied , while others are approved. There's no real public guideline for who gets exempted or why. Klein says that this lack of transparency from Customs and Border Protection makes it really hard for her to help migrants.
S3: Because we don't get any information from CBP about what went into the decision or the criteria that they were considering. We don't really have much insight into how they make those decisions and the reasons why some cases are approved and others are not.
S5: Entering the U.S. is just the first step in a long and complicated legal battle. The Haitian family could be separated or remain in custody throughout the case. They could also be allowed to stay with relatives in Florida who are already willing to take them in. Book He explains what will happen next.
S3: They will have to go through a court process to apply for asylum , which will require. Meeting.
S4: Meeting.
S3: With an attorney if they're lucky enough to find one.
S2: Gathering all of the evidence necessary.
S3: To show that they have a risk of persecution or torture. Testifying in court , showing that.
S4: They meet all the legal. Requirements.
S2: Requirements.
S3: And , you know , it's it's a it's a very long and growing process.
S5: In the end , most asylum cases are denied. Title 42 is scheduled to end May 23rd , but a recent legal challenge could change that. Until then , hundreds of asylum seekers will continue to be turned away from the border on a daily basis.
S2: Joining me is KPBS border reporter Gustavo Solis. Gustavo , welcome.
S5: Hey , thank you , Maureen.
S2: Now , we've spoken a lot about Title 42 on this program. The Trump administration first invoked the order back in March 2020 because of the COVID outbreak.
S5: Most asylum seekers trying to enter through the southern border have been turned away. And to be clear , this is the only legal way that asylum seekers have to enter the country and that has essentially been blocked. We know from data that since the implementation of Title 42 in March 2020 , it's been used more than 1.7 million times to turn people away.
S2:
S5: Humanitarian groups have reported thousands of cases of migrants who are turned away at the border and later became victims of violent crime in Mexico. I mean , just since President Joe Biden took office alone , more than 900 migrants have been beaten , kidnapped or sexually assaulted after being turned away by Title 42. Violence is just one issue. Housing is another major issue. Most migrants don't have money for for housing. I mean , they're leaving poverty and crime and really horrible situations. Here in Tijuana , like 1200 migrants set up a makeshift camp right next to the Seine , said reporter. At one point , that camp was cleared out by Mexican cops and soldiers. Some of those migrants were displaced , left homeless or are now being exploited by landlords who are. Charging way more than than properties are worth.
S2:
S5: Even before the beginning. We know now through reporting that doctors at the CDC were pushing back against it , but the Trump administration then kind of went over their head to push this this along. And even throughout its lifespan , there's been multiple medical associations that have repeatedly said there's no medical basis for it. If anything , it just perpetuates racist stereotypes that certain migrants are just dirty and carry disease.
S2: So then most immigration advocates expected the Biden administration to lift the Title 42 public health order much earlier than this.
S5: I mean , he and Vice President Kamala Harris ran on this campaign promise to make the country's immigration system more humane. And clearly , that hasn't happened. And I don't know why it's taken so long. I think that's more of a Washington , DC political insider question , because it seems to be at this point , more of a political decision than one that is based on what's going on with the pandemic right now.
S2:
S5: The the heart of the controversy is really the discretionary aspect of Title 42. Right. Title 42 gives border officials the authority to turn away asylum seekers at the border without due process , without seeing a judge. But it also gives them the power to have full discretion to grant exemptions on a case by case basis. And individual officers are making those decisions with some guidance from their their bosses at the Department of Homeland Security. But there really is no public guideline that says who gets exemptions or why. So from the outside , the process does seem really arbitrary. And that's where the controversy comes from. Right. Our federal government right now , really for the last two years has systematically blocked asylum for mostly black and brown migrants from the Western Hemisphere. But in the last month or so , they've exempted white European War refugees from Ukraine. To be clear , Mexican , Central American and Haitian migrants are all eligible for the same title 42 exemptions that Ukrainian nationals are getting. But for reasons that really haven't been explained , they aren't giving them. And it's impossible to really ignore this double standard happening at the border right now , which is what the story goes into. Right. The story goes into how difficult it was for this one Haitian family to get the same exemptions that are routinely granted to Ukrainian nationals. This family had to get help from three different doctors in the U.S. , a small team of lawyers and multiple nonprofits lobbying for them. Ukrainian nationals simply have to show their passport. Border Patrol agents.
S2: You mean they don't have to be okay. On an individual basis , the way other nationalities do.
S5: What I'm saying is that the scrutiny for Ukrainian nationals is much lower. Like their the vetting for Ukrainian nationals is border officials seeing their passport and that's about it compared to a Haitian national who has to get written documents , photos , videos from lawyers and doctors outlining why their case needs this exemption. The reason Ukrainian nationals have such a low scrutiny is because the head of DHS issued a memo essentially directing border officials to let them in because of the war.
S2:
S5: Title 42 created a bottleneck at the border , right ? Because for two years , asylum seekers have largely been not allowed to cross. So , of course , there's going to be pent up demand and a lot of people just waiting for their chance. Critics of the six week timeline have pointed out that the Biden administration has had more than a year to prepare for the eventual termination of Title 42. And just a quick note. A few states have already sued the Biden administration for ending Title 42. They're trying to block the termination of it. So we don't really know how that lawsuit will impact the May 23rd date right now.
S2:
S5: Just a few months ago , the Biden administration rolled out new policies aimed at streamlining the asylum process. In theory , it should make that court process a lot faster. But advocates are concerned that migrants won't have enough time to find legal representation or build a strong case. And since this is a totally new procedure , no one really knows how it will play out until it starts. Laying out. There's also the big question of remain in Mexico , which is another Trump era policy that forces asylum seekers to live in Mexico while their asylum cases are adjudicated in the U.S.. Like Title 42 , migrants who have been sent back under remain in Mexico have eventually become victims of violent crime. It's likely that if Title 42 is lifted , I think more asylum seekers will just be allowed into the country but then sent back to Mexico under this program.
S2: I've been speaking with KPBS border reporter Gustavo Solis. And Gustavo , thank you.
S5: Well , thanks for having me , Maureen. Really appreciate it.
S2: This is KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Maureen CAVANAUGH with Andrew Bowen in for Jade Hyneman. One of the lingering effects of the COVID pandemic has nothing to do with the virus itself. U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy paid a visit to San Diego Monday at the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA to discuss how the mental health of teenagers has suffered during the pandemic.
S1: We have to do better by our kids , and we've got to do that by investing in more treatment and making treatment accessible to them.
S2: Data released by the CDC finds over one third of high school students reported poor mental health , with almost half reporting persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness in the past year. In San Diego , Rady Children's Hospital reports record numbers of young people seeking mental health treatment. Joining me is Dr. Willow Jenkins , medical director of inpatient psychiatry at Rady Children's Hospital. Dr. Jenkins , welcome to the program.
S3: Thank you for having me.
S2:
S3: So those are the primary concerns that we see in the inpatient setting in our emergency room and the outpatient setting. We're seeing significant rates in all areas of mental health , anxiety , trauma , eating disorders. Everything really has seen quite an uprise since the pandemic started.
S2:
S3: It just presents a bit differently. So in younger children , we see more behavioral disturbances , more struggles in the classroom setting than the traditional idea of being tearful or sad. So absolutely , we do see it in younger children as well , which is quite unfortunate.
S2:
S3: They have opportunities to relate to peers and other adults outside of their family. So I absolutely agree with you that the lack of support from the school system during the pandemic was a significant factor in children's deteriorating mental health. And obviously this led to a kind of downstream effect of other factors , like not spending more time online , for example , more time with technology , less time connecting with friends and doing other extracurricular activities.
S2: Was it being fearful about the pandemic itself.
S3: For some children ? Absolutely. Especially at the start of the pandemic , when so much was unknown and we had a big uptick in parents and caregivers becoming ill with COVID. And for some children , of course , at this point , they've lost parents and caregivers to the pandemic. So to COVID 19 , I mean , so that significant grief and loss and fear about the virus at this point , I think with so much more that is known about the virus and how we can keep ourselves safe. A lot of children feel more confident in their ability to navigate the world at this point , which is a nice place to be. And two years later.
S2: Now , part of the recent CDC data shows that half of the teenagers surveyed reported emotional abuse from a parent.
S3: So that statistic really just reflected the considerable stress that families and parents have been under during this pandemic.
S2: Now , mental health issues among teenagers were increasing in the U.S. even before the pandemic. So is this an even bigger issue that we need to address ? Absolutely.
S3: For all of us working in the field , we'd been seeing the rise in youth mental health rates even prior to the pandemic. And then the pandemic just really escalated things that , you know , it became hard to ignore and everything was declared as a crisis. So absolutely , this has been a longstanding problem. And I hope with all of the increased recognition , especially during the pandemic , it will lead to more resources , more awareness and more programs to help support our children and our youth who are struggling.
S2: What do you say to people who might say , you know , especially teenagers always have a hard time of it ? I mean , there's a lot of depression and a lot of anxiety just surrounding the idea of being a teenager.
S3: I think you're absolutely correct. Being a teenager is difficult , but normal teenage angst. The normal struggles. They don't get to the point where you're able to diagnose the child with depression or anxiety. These are clinical diagnoses that are made with very strict criteria. And so in this situation , with the data we have , we know that children are actually meeting these criteria for diagnoses of mental health concerns and mental illness. So absolutely , it is an uptick from prior generations and there's a lot of different factors , pandemic being a major one recently that have contributed to that rise.
S2:
S3: In terms of sports , there's significant pressures to obtain employment and a lot of pressures on children to grow up faster per say in some aspects of their life. And with the increased kind of prevalence of children on social media , there's also this aspect where their lives are being put out there and comparison culture is very evident. So some of the pressures that our children and youth are under are much different than in generations in the past. And I think this has amplified some of the problems that we're seeing. And it's certainly a topic that comes up a lot when I'm working with children and youth myself.
S2: Now , there's a stigma that remains in reaching out for mental health treatment for adults.
S3: Children themselves are remarkably understanding of difficulties. And I think there is a shift within the generation. A lot more people of influence are coming out and talking about their own struggles. Dr. Murthy yesterday spoke about his own struggles as a teen. So although , of course , stigma for mental health still does exist , I think for the younger generation it's actually improving. And children are more willing to talk about some of the struggles than they had been in the past.
S2: And are there good mental health treatments for young people ? Absolutely.
S3: That is one of the most important messages to get out there , that our treatments are effective for mental health and that children who have mental health illness , that receive treatment , that have intervention do very well , lead very full and meaningful lives. And it's obviously one of the reasons I'm very passionate about the work I do , because we really do see huge differences when we're able to intervene and help.
S2:
S3: And realistically , the rates of mental health concerns and what we're seeing here at Rady Children's Hospital , we're still seeing those higher rates. So although one can hope with the additional supports in school , with more awareness , I do think that we need to be realistic and be prepared for increasing presentations of children in mental health crisis , and we are preparing for that here already. Children's Hospital , with some expansion projects increasing our beds with anticipation that this will continue to be a trend.
S2: I've been speaking with Dr. Willow Jenkins , medical director of inpatient psychiatry at Rady Children's Hospital. And Dr. Jenkins , thank you so much. Thank you. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide , you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at one 800 273 talk. For support , information and resources.
S1: The city council on Monday appointed Charles Modica to fill the position which was created during San Diego's 2004 financial crisis. The IPA plays a key role in ensuring the city is on strong financial footing and that the council is able to pursue its own agenda independent of the mayor's office. Monica's predecessor in the job , Andrea Teflon , who retired in the fall , had this to say.
S3: Those of us who have worked with Charles Ogletree or have high respect for him , not solely for his excellence in solid and Spartan work , but his steady manner and positive demeanor. He's just a really smart , great guy.
S1: And Charles , Monica joins us now. Charles , welcome to the program.
S3: Thank you , Andrew. Good morning.
S1: You've worked at the city of San Diego for close to nine years , most of that with the Office of the Independent budget analyst for folks who are unfamiliar.
S3: The EIB's office is essential in ensuring that the City Council has the information that it needs and can recognize the institutional authority that it has to make both policy in the city and to adopt budgets in the cities. The Independent Budget Analyst's Office works only for the City Council. We do not report to the mayor like most of the other departments in the city do , and we really provide institutional knowledge and technical advice both on policy matters and fiscal and budgeting matters for the Council , so that when they're making their decisions , they're making them smartly and that they have the background and the information that they need to make their decisions. In addition to that , we also play a public facing role in that we believe it's very , very important that the public in San Diego has the ability to know how their city is running. So our office is really instrumental in making sure that we can translate that into really easy to understand language that takes out the jargon so that folks from the public can know what's before the city council , what decisions are being made , and that folks in the public can also be informed on how they can be involved in the process and make sure that their voices are heard as well.
S1:
S3: I started out working for the city of Los Angeles , kind of on a lark in an office similar to the IBM office. Took the job up there to to stay close to my wife , who was at that time going to college at UCLA. And it was a municipal job. I always figured I'd be working somewhere else , doing something else. I was doing all right. And I was given an assignment about six months into it where I was going to be covering the city of Los Angeles , a sewer system. And I made a joke to one of my colleagues. I said , Well , this is kind of a crappy assignment because the sewer system tells us to sit crap , right ? And she she laughed. But then she kind of sat me down. She said , Hey , look , that's a joke , and it's fine. But at the end of the day , our sewer system , our sanitation folks , they're the reasons that when you flush the toilet , it goes away. And that is really meaningful to folks in a way that they don't really think about. But it is a core civic function that the city provides. Kind of opened my eyes. One , not to take that stuff flippantly , but to to recognize that city government has a real role in how folks live every day. So the streets , they drive on , the parks they go to the schools to go to everything that the city does that we don't necessarily think about on a day to day basis. It's really important and it impacts how folks live , and I'm excited to be able to contribute to that in any kind of way and to make sure that folks who are really being impacted by these decisions that they might not always think about have a seat at the table , frankly.
S1:
S3: I always say that municipal finance and municipal budgeting can be very simple. Basically , the city should not spend more than it can , and it should spend what it has on the right things , not spending more than it can. That's pretty easy determining what those right things are. That is a very difficult conversation and there are a lot of different views on that. What I would say is that the city has limited resources. We would like to do a lot of things. There are a lot of community priorities , a lot of council priorities , a lot of infrastructure that we need to support. And we just don't have the resources right now to do all of it. So evaluating what really takes the limited resources that we have is a difficult but necessary conversation , and it's a difficult but necessary thing that we have to do. I would also say the one thing that folks might not be aware of is that when something doesn't get funding , that's important to them. It's not because people don't think it's important , but it really is because we're working under an environment where we have constrained resources. We just don't have enough to do everything we would like to.
S1:
S3: There are obviously a lot of issues facing the city. Our homeless crisis is awful. It's something that needs to be addressed. We have a great deal of aging infrastructure in the city that was largely built between 50 and 70 years ago. Coming. Time to really start replacing that. Obviously , we need to make sure that the city is being responsive to the needs of its residents and that the programs that the folks are ultimately paying for all this , which are our taxpayers , need to make sure that their dollars are being put to good use.
S1: Mayor Todd , Gloria will be unveiling his second budget proposal in just a couple of weeks.
S3: Don't spend more than you have making sure the budget is balanced. In addition to that , we take a look through the budget , see what's there , and look at what the changes are. What were we doing last year that is no longer proposed to be done and calling out what those things are and making sure that those are clear ? The other things that we look for , our priorities that we've heard , our city council recommend each year a propose and passed a budget priorities resolution which shows the items that they would like to see in the upcoming proposed budget. And we look at priorities in federal communities to see if they've been reflected in the budget as well. So we will call those out. If they're included , we will call them out if they're not included , and make sure that we have a responsible and balanced budget.
S1: In our introduction , we heard some very kind words from your predecessor , Andrea Taplin , who was the first person to ever hold this role in city government.
S3: She established the office from. From nothing. It was brand new when she came , and she hired everyone from the first employee to the last. And she created this office in an environment where it wasn't necessarily welcome. But for a lot of folks who were in the city and actually didn't want another another department coming in , looking over their shoulder to see what they're doing. She was dogged in making sure that we had an office and we were going to exist and we were going to do the work that was necessary for the council to be a strong council and for the public to be a strong and informed public. Her commitment , her perseverance for her endeavors to that is something that I value very highly. And the general way that she dealt with people and also making sure that everyone realized that her office really is a resource and that we're here and committed to good government. That's going to stay with me for a long time. I said yesterday , and I really think that I am personally at great debt to Andrea for everything she did here and I think everyone in the city does to the success of this office has been her success.
S1: I've been speaking with Charles Modica , San Diego's newly appointed independent budget analyst. Charles , thanks for joining us.
S3: Thank you. I appreciate it.
S2: This is KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Maureen CAVANAUGH with Andrew Bowen in for Jade Hyneman. Hashtag We Borrow the earth from our children. That's the poignant title of a new exhibit showcasing artwork about climate change at the Studio Door Gallery in Hillcrest. Students aged 3 to 18 created the work on display and consider themselves artists. Here's 17 year old artist Maya Sartor. BERG Art actually does have a.
S4: Very great transformative power because it allows people to critically.
S2: Engage with the ideas that are being presented. KPBS arts reporter Beth ACCOMANDO speaks with Dr. C photo , ANU and V Nguyen about how they see climate change as a pediatric public health crisis and why they wanted to organize a youth art show about the environment.
S4: See , we are here at the studio door where there's an exhibit coming of we borrow the earth from our children. So explain what this show is all about. Right.
S6: Right. So it's a show that came out from an open call that was organized in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics to kids between ages three and 18 to submit artwork in regards to climate and environment and anything nature. We thought that it's a good idea to involve the children into creating art and creating some positive experience about how to think about nature and environment and become a better , better citizens in this world.
S4: So I'm a pediatrician and the climate change and health advocate. And so the most important thing to me is to let the world know that climate change is a pediatric public health crisis. And so pretty much I wake up every day and think to myself , I can help stop this , and how can I bend the arc toward a sustainable future ? And so it seemed crazy. But one of the simple things that a child can do is actually draw a picture. And the reason this art show is here is because I'm trying to convince adults that they need to do something and how more powerful than the drawing of a child.
S6: I think we all connected. We are living in nature. We are living in environment , and we all can see that it's becoming dirtier , more polluted. This plastics everywhere , children see this. We maybe don't see it as much because we get numb. We just go to our daily jobs and we pass by trash and we just kind of. But it's been there for a long time. What's new ? But for kids coming with new eyes , they're not used to seeing this trash and this dirt and they're more affected. It seems like they are more aware of it in a way. Pediatrician have access to these minds and connecting pediatrician with artists and young kids. I think it's a beautiful idea to see how they grow up in an environment.
S4: I come to the climate work with a sense of desperation. Like , I think you really have to realize that it's an existential crisis. There's no time left. We have to act now. You know , kids get it. And I often talk about this in my talks , but children understand fundamentally what we adults make way too complicated. So what I want people to get away from this is I want the elected officials who are coming. I want the adults who are here , the doctors who have all invited to look at these images and realize that your children are seeing something. The plastic pollution , fossil fuels. You know , we need to rewild mission Bay. And I want adults to take away the message that this is an emergency and that these children have taken time to draw images to put this show together. They're they're doing it right. We're not. So I really want adults to wake up. And this really is not about one person. It's about the whole community. And for us , really loving our home , which is the Earth and particularly San Diego.
S6:
S4: And so these problems that we see in pediatrics , obesity , plummeting , child mental health , it's all connected to the climate. And so when you realize the intersection of climate and health and children in the Earth , I think it just opens the doors and makes us be more creative to kind of deal with these medical problems that kids have. Because one could argue that obesity is a climate problem , because literally the micronutrients of our food is less because of climate change , and that the solutions to the climate problem are often solutions to pediatric problems. So plant based eating , you know , less processed food.
S6: So it's all connected. The reason I become a pediatrician is to change things from the start. So don't let that kid become obese or have diabetes in a way that can only be healthy if everything around them is healthy. So I think they're both related. And I think pediatricians have a lot to say because we see this firsthand. We see kids getting sick with asthma or getting eczema or having all these problems. And it's probably because of everything else that's happening in the world and the pollution , the plastics and all the chemicals that's everywhere.
S4: And in putting together the show.
S6: I think they're un prime eyes. They see the world in such a beautiful , colorful way and they see the beauty even sometimes in the trash. Which is interesting that there's something surprising because they make that and then they play around and you see trash that like you have tires , old tires , they have like plastic bags. But for them , that's what they play around. So they can adopt that. And sometimes it's sad because it is pure souls , beautiful kids who play in trash or on trash and seeing through their eyes how they see their environment , in a way , brings an awareness for adults. Hey , look , they see this. We should see that as well. Maybe change and make it better for them.
S4: You know it this has been such a beautiful process and journey. When we kind of put this kind of idea together , I was thinking it would be drawings like the ones I get in clinic , you know , the kids who see me for their three year , four year , five year checkup and send pictures , which we did get some of those. But the response from older children and children who are so committed to the climate work was just astounding. And I shared this in different talks , TED talks , and through different HMOs and in health care groups. And it's I really think the children , the ones who are here today and the ones who submitted their pictures because they have convinced adults more than I can ever have , just by showing the picture and the artwork by the children is also going to be paired with artwork by professionals here.
S6: That's correct. And that's actually will be a beautiful show to see that compare because we have artists who obviously are thinking about as well and they've been thinking for a long time and they're creating art , maybe change the world. And then to pair that with kids who are in a way trying to change the world as well can be very refreshing and important , I think as well.
S4:
S6: I think a creative mind , if it's encourage , it's only I think it's only positive and creative. I mean , science is creativity in a way. Ideas , they come from creativity. You can just make things if you make things up , you have to have a creative mind. And eventually , unfortunately , we see a lot of kids spending a lot of time on iPhones or like phones and tablets and screens. And by encouraging art and taking away that screen , I think we encouraged that imagination and courage , that hunger for knowledge and , you know , overall , a better person , a better citizen of the world.
S4: All right. Well , thank you very much for talking about the show.
S6: Well , thank you.
S4: Thank you so much for having me on. Thank you for for showing up for the earth.
S2: That was Beth ACCOMANDO speaking with doctors Seif Odierno and V Nguyen. The show , hash tag We Bar the Earth from our Children opens Thursday night at the studio door. It's presented in collaboration with Cornell Henry , Art , American Academy of Pediatrics , San Diego and San Diego. Pediatricians for Clean Air.