Impact Week

When we talk about access to healthcare as a local and global issue, we're talking about the limited access to affordable healthcare options and limited access to healthcare providers due to location (think rural communities have less doctors and having to drive 2+ hours to get to a hospital), as well as a lack of knowledge or exposure to available healthcare resources.  

Healthcare access is a major issue around the world, particularly in rural communities. There have been a lot of technological advances to help overcome these challenges, such as the increased number of community health programs and tele-health options. The lack of knowledge or exposure for healthcare resources is also a challenge though, and this is seen in both rural and urban communities, and especially on university campuses.  

The University of Kentucky has a wide range of outreach programs in order to provide increased access to the Commonwealth, and it also has a number of resources available to students and community members in Lexington.  

To learn more about this issue, check out the articles, websites, podcasts, and YouTube videos below. We've also provided links to campus groups for you to join and community resources for you to access. 

Read More About this Issue: 

• "Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages," UN Sustainable Development Goals  
• "Healthcare Access in Rural Communities," Rural Health Information Hub 
• "10 Staggering Stats Show How Mental Health Care Fails People of Color," Huffington Post 

Watch and Listen to more about this issue:  

• "The Most Ambitious Thing Humans Have Ever Attempted," Freakonomics Radio 
• "No one should die because they live too far from a doctor," Raj Panjabi, TED2017 
• "Shedding light on Student Depression," Jack Park, TEDxPenn 
• "College Anxiety and Depression," Dr. Cullen Hardy 
• "Telehealth expanding access to care," Irina Gelman, TEDxFMCC 

• "Telehealth in Knott County Schools," The Holler 

Get involved and access resources related to this issue 

• Well Kentucky, University of Kentucky
• Shoulder to Shoulder Global, University of Kentucky 

• Center for Excellence in Rural Health, University of Kentucky 
• Crisis Text Line, Nationwide
• UK Counseling Center, University of Kentucky

To be "food insecure" means that you don't have the means or resources to always have reliable access to a nutritious meal. It can look like a lot of different things, and it is very common around the world, in the United States, in Kentucky, and in Lexington. If you have not experienced food insecurity yourself, chances are your friend or classmate has.  36 percent of college students have experienced food insecurity. With rising cost of higher education and rising costs of food, as well as cut backs and stricter restrictions on food assistance programs, there is concern that this number will only continue to grow.  

Below you will find some article and YouTube videos that discuss this issue in the context of college campuses but also as wider world issue. We have also included links to different campus and Lexington organization for you to explore what's being done in your community, how you can help, and how you can gain access to food assistance if you are experiencing food insecurity.  

Read more about this issue:  

• "Food, Housing Insecurity May Be Keeping College Students From Graduating," by Selena Simmons-Duffin and Laural Dalrymple from NPR
• "The hidden crisis on college campuses: Many students don't have enough to eat," by Caitlin Dewey from the Washington Post 
• "Hunger in Kentucky," from Feeding America.org 
• "How close are we to #ZeroHunger?," from the Food & Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
• "Goal 2: End Hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture," UN Sustainable Development Goals

• "Food Waste," Sustainable Table 

Watch and listen to more about this issue:  

• "What is food insecurity? An explanation," from Thomson Reuters Foundation
• "The Shocking Truth About Food Insecurity," by Clancy Cash Harrison at TEDxWilmingtonWomen
• "Food insecurity Amongst College Students," by Claudia Estrada-Howell at TEDxSDMesaCollege
• "Feed the World: How the U.S. Became the World's Biggest Food Aid Donor—And Why That Might Not be Such a Great Thing," by Nicola Twilley and Cynthia Graber on Gastropod 
• "To Eat or Not to Eat Meat," by Nicola Twilley and Cynthia Graber on Gastropod

Get involved and access resources related to this issue 

• Big Blue Pantry, University of Kentucky 
• Sustainable Solutions to Overcome Poverty (SSTOP), University of Kentucky
• Food Chain, Lexington, KY
• State of Kentucky Benefits, Lexington, KY
• Glean Kentucky, Lexington, KY

• Campus Kitchen, University of Kentucky

The sustainable management of renewable and non-renewable resources is a major challenge facing the world. With a growing global population, more and more people are consuming and using resources. This has led to many environmental issues such as overfishing of oceans, deforestation, and increased waste production.  

However, there are also lots of innovative practices and organizations who are working to overcome these challenges. They are spearheading recycling and no-waste initiatives, finding alternative energy options, and better integrating green spaces into urban environments.  

To learn more about the challenges and the efforts to overcome them, check out the resources and student organizations below.      

Read more on this issue 

• "Sustainable Development Goals," from UN Sustainable Development Goals (Check out goals 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14 & 15); URL:  https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs 

• "Sustainable Energy Solutions," from Kentuckians for the Commonwealth; URL: http://kftc.org/issues/sustainable-energy-solutions 
• "Last Straw for Plastic Straws? Cities, Restaurants Move to Toss these Sippers," by Sara Kiley Watson at NPR; URL:  https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/05/31/615580695/last-straw-for-plastic-straws-cities-restaurants-move-to-toss-these-sippers 

Watch and listen to more on this issue 

• "The Underswell: News, stories, and insights to help you navigate the complexities of sustainability in our modern lifestyles," Website & Podcast; URL:  https://www.theunderswell.com/ 
• "Sustainable World Radio," Website & Podcast by Jill Cloutier; URL: http://sustainableworldradio.com/ 
• "What really happens to the plastic you throw away," by Emma Bryce; URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6xlNyWPpB8 
• "Why I live a zero waste life," by Lauren Singer at TEDxTEEN; URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF72px2R3Hg 
• "How to grow a forest in your backyard," by Shubhendu Sharma at TED@BCG Paris; URL: https://www.ted.com/talks/shubhendu_sharma_how_to_grow_a_forest_in_your_backyard 

• "To eliminate waste, we need to rediscover thrift," by Andrew Dent at TEDNYC; URL: https://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_dent_to_eliminate_waste_we_need_to_rediscover_thrift 
• "The thrilling potential for off-grid solar energy," by Amar Inamdar at TED Global; URL: https://www.ted.com/talks/amar_inamdar_the_thrilling_potential_for_off_grid_solar_energy 

Get involved and access resources related to this issue 

• Live Green Lexington, Lexington, KY 

• Lexington Environmental Youth Outreach, University of Kentucky
• Student Sustainability Council, University of Kentucky
• UK Greenthumb, University of Kentucky 
• For A Strawless Ocean, International
• Commuter Club, University of Kentucky

• Wildcat Wheels Bicycle Library, University of Kentucky