Struggling New Jersey residents could see their monthly food benefit nearly double under a proposal designed to avoid what advocates describe as a looming “hunger cliff” after federal emergency funding expires in February. Lawmakers unanimously approved a bill Thursday to establish a $95 minimum monthly allotment to participants in SNAP, the state and federally funded…
Adolescents at high schools throughout the state are learning how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health issues and substance use disorders in their friends and how to seek help from an adult that they trust through a mental health first-aid program for teenagers. The Mental Health Association in New Jersey is introducing the…
The Murphy administration is making progress in lead remediation efforts. It awarded $38 million in grants to some 20 organizations Wednesday for their work to rid the state of hazardous lead exposure, especially for our youngest and most vulnerable residents.
The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, also known as the new 988 hotline, has been operational for only six months, and it has already handled more than two million inquiries across phone calls, chats and text messages. This number far surpasses the inquiries received in the same time period the previous year, when the hotline was 10…
In August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released the updated bivalent COVID-19 booster shots to protect against the most prevalent omicron strains in addition to the initial COVID-19 strain of the virus for people who have had their last COVID-19 shot at least two months prior. However, some medical experts are recommending that…
TRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy, Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, and Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli today announced that New Jersey is opening additional vaccination sites for monkeypox in Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, and Passaic counties for residents without a confirmed exposure who believe they may have been exposed or are at high risk for having been…
The state may be scaling back COVID-19 testing requirements for workers but Rutgers University is not. School officials this week decided to maintain safety requirements for students and employees this fall — including being fully vaccinated and boosted and wearing face coverings in all indoor teaching spaces, libraries and labs. Unvaccinated students and staff must…
Governor’s call to action recognizes adolescents and young adults still struggling with emotional aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic. Last Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy became the chairman of the National Governors Association during the organization’s summer meeting in Portland, Maine. In his new role, Murphy announced his “Strengthening Youth Mental Health” initiative to address the mental health…
After federal health leaders further relaxed COVID-19 quarantine guidelines, New Jersey will no longer require state workers, government contractors or employees of school districts or child-care facilities to be regularly tested for the coronavirus if they are not immunized, essentially making vaccinations optional for these groups. Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order Monday immediately…
EAST ORANGE, N.J. – Angenetta Robinson shut her door, sat at the edge of her queen bed and stuck the thermometer under her tongue. It climbed to 99. Two hours later, it read 101, then 103. She last remembers 105. “I wasn’t checking anymore because I was in La-la Land,’’ Robinson said. Then came visions of getting…