Last week, across our newsrooms reporting, there was a through line, how environmental and socioeconomic factors impact people's health and access to services.
This week on the Disabilities Beat, we feature a few of those stories, but you can read each of them here:
Niagara Falls family renews push for relocation after more contaminants found on property
25 Years Later: Western New Yorkers who went to Ground Zero - and the health toll they still carry
'Trust is how we save lives': Roswell Park increases community outreach & engagement space
Roswell unveils new mobile screening unit to improve access, reach in community
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript created by a contractor and may be updated over time to be more accurate.
Emyle Watkins:
Hi, I'm Emyle Watkins, and this is the Disabilities Beat. Last week, across our newsrooms reporting, there was a through line, how environmental and socioeconomic factors impact people's health and access to services. This week on the Disabilities Beat, we feature a few of those stories, but you can read all of them on btpm.org.
Jocelyn McKiernan:
I can only hope that they stop allowing history to repeat itself and stop allowing us to continually be exposed by unknown and known substances.
Emyle Watkins:
Managing Editor Michael Mroziak reported last week on how a Niagara Falls family, who lives less than 300 feet from Love Canal, have been demanding New York State relocate them after finding toxic chemicals in their yard throughout the summer.
Homeowners Daniel and Jocelyn McKiernan told BTPM the most recent private testing also revealed a silver-running liquid with a foul chemical odor under their soil. However, the state has still not relocated them. The contamination has a ripple effect. The couple has three children, ages six, four, and one. Their oldest son, who has disabilities, has been unable to receive home services.
Jocelyn McKiernan:
Our oldest son still cannot receive his in-home services, so massage therapy, nursing, and his service coordinator is not allowed here because their organizations have looked at our accepted test results and said we will not subject our employees to exposure.
Emyle Watkins:
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation claims the family has not signed off on a plan for the agency to investigate and remediate the property. The agency says the family hiring a private contractor was not consistent with their recommendations. On Friday, with the 25th anniversary of the 09/11 terrorist attacks, reporter I'Jaz Ja'ciel shared a thoughtful examination of the health toll workers who responded to the emergency still carry.
Reverend Thomas Sember:
Because we had come from the Buffalo Fire Department, we did not have our SCBAs, our self-contained breathing apparatus. Many of us just wore masks, which, since COVID, now we all know about N95 masks.
Emyle Watkins:
Reverend Thomas Sember was a Buffalo fire lieutenant who responded to ground zero. Ja'ciel's reporting reveals how workers face limited equipment, extraordinary working conditions, and didn't know what they were being exposed to when responding to the disaster. 25 years later, many 09/11 first responders require long-term specialized care for their physical and mental health. Among the impacts, post-traumatic stress disorder has remained one of the most commonly certified conditions among 09/11 responders. Buffalo Fire Captain Anthony Liberatore, who responded to 09/11, shares with BTPM.
Anthony Liberatore:
Any fireman that deals with what we deal with on a day-to-day basis, if they don't think that it impacts their mental health and have to keep that in check, would be lying. What we deal with is very, very difficult, especially a situation like that.
Emyle Watkins:
If you or someone you know is dealing with a mental health crisis, you can call or text 988 or Erie County residents can call crisis services at 716-834-3131.
Emyle Watkins:
And finally, last week, reporter Alex Simone and I both covered expansions from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center that will improve access to cancer screening and prevention in marginalized and underserved communities. According to the American Association of Cancer Research, screening patterns "Vary across cancer types and are lower among racial and ethnic minority groups, citizens of sovereign native nations, and other medically underserved populations."
Roswell broke ground last week on an expansion to double the space in its broad view community outreach and engagement center. Former WKBW-TV AM Buffalo host, Mercedes Wilson, is being treated by Roswell Park for breast cancer and shares.
Mercedes Wilson:
This new community outreach and engagement space is a promise, a promise that our community deserves clear information, real access, and a place to feel connected to cancer prevention, screening, research, and survivorship.
Mercedes Wilson:
This center will help build trust between Roswell Park and the communities it serves. And trust is how we save lives. Trust is how we move forward together. And partnership is how we move from awareness to change.
Emyle Watkins:
Additionally, Roswell also announced last week a new mobile lung cancer screening van to replace its original van, which was larger and more difficult to drive into some neighborhoods. The previous van provided 3,400 lung cancer screenings across seven counties since 2022, which is important because only 19% of people eligible to be screened for lung cancer actually get screened according to the AACR.
For more on these stories, visit our website at btpm.org. I'm Emyle Watkins. Thanks for listening.
