Injustice

So there's been a LOT of crap going down here at the County Health Department lately... I'll give you a brief summary, so you can be as outraged as I am.

1.) A few weeks ago, there was a big "scandal" because of some pamphlets people in different programs were distributing. The pamphlets provided legal advice/info for immigrants. Since the brochure was in Spanish, I'm assuming it was geared towards Mexican immigrants, which is a large demographic in Arizona. Anyway, the pamphlets stated something to the effect of waiting to have a lawyer before talking to ANYTHING pertaining to legal status/law. (This would mean one's residency status was in question.) Apparently, this was HUGE, and several people almost lost their jobs for providing this information.

2.) 2 weeks ago, we hosted a successful event in the area called "Teen Maze." It was awesome. Here are a few pictures from the tobacco booth (which I was in charge of), as well as an overhead view of the entire set-up:







Anyway, at this event, one of the "stations" was about STDs and safe sex. The gal we had doing it is PHENOMENAL at it, and she got rave reviews from the kids, the teachers, and from us (of course). There is NO question that the kids here (and everywhere, really) need this information!! There are far too many STDs and teen pregnancies going around, and these issues absolutely need to be addressed to the population at large.

Unfortunately, not everyone feels the way we (the health department) do about this. :( Several irate parents called us, as well as a few nervous school administrators, after the event to complain.

LONG story short, because of a handful of complaints (6, I think, was the total number), the girl lost her job. Done. She officially resigned yesterday. (She was given the option to resign or be fired.) We were all PISSED!!! A health educator lost her job over DOING her job!! What the hell!? Things here are very somber today, as we mourn the loss of one of our finest employees.

3.) We just found out yesterday that the State is cutting our tobacco budget significantly. Other counties have seen cuts of 40% and 60% (!!!) of their tobacco budgets, and we'll find out our fate on Monday. We know for certain, though, that ALL tobacco cessation efforts will be cut with the exception of a 1-800 number people can call. That means that ALL the work I've been doing with adults and teenagers will be cut. Gone. Kaput. Also, they're definitely cutting our efforts with high-schoolers. No more tobacco education past grade 8. NOT cool. So we're also super pissed about that. Finally, because of the cut, I may be out of a job as of July 1st. (That's when our grant would be cut.) Sucky!! Just when I was really getting the hang of this whole thing... I would be the first to go, since I haven't been here as long as everyone else. Sigh.


So, faithful readers, this is a sad day (and week, really) in our little corner of the world. I'm considering alternate plans for my future, and here are some of my best options:

1.) Go back to teaching.
2.) Go back to school (I'm still seriously considering ASU's program, but I'd have to do it sooner than anticipated).
3.) Teach abroad!! (We have a coworker and her husband leaving next month to teach English in South Korea for a year, and it's sounding pretty darn tempting to do something similar.)
4.) Go into an entirely different field of employment.

We'll see. So as of this moment, I don't know what I'll be doing in July. Happy weekend, everyone.