Here & Now

Here & Now for March 5, 2021

Announcer:

The following program is a PBS Wisconsin original production.

Frederica Freyberg:

Vaccine is flowing into the state, but as schools reopen, many teachers still wonder when they’ll get a shot. And education policy heats up at the State Capitol as Republicans work to ban transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s school sports.

I’m Frederica Freyberg. Tonight on “Here & Now,” scheduling a vaccination is challenging for many visually-impaired people. COVID-19’s impact on mental health among communities of color. And Republicans at the State Capitol work to ban transgender athletes from girl’s and women’s team sports. It’s “Here & Now” for March 5.

Announcer:

Funding is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:

The week included a flashing show of support from Dane County emergency teams remembering those who have died in the area from COVID-19. And even as somber memorials are given, Wisconsin’s case numbers remain comparatively low. Low enough that Dane County loosened restrictions on public gatherings. Restaurants there can now serve up to 50% capacity. Taverns may open the doors to up to 25% capacity. So far in Wisconsin, more than one million people have received the first dose of vaccine. That amounts to over 17% of the population over the age of 16 authorized for the shot. Just over a half million Wisconsinites have completed the vaccine series. That’s nearly 10% of the eligible population. While the numbers show progress in the fight against COVID, state health officials still strongly encourage personal safety precautions. And now the need for continued testing parallels the focus on vaccine supply and demand, including shipments of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine headed into Wisconsin next week.

Julie Willems Van Dijk:

The addition of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to our federal allocation and the news of increased production for all three vaccines means our state will get more vaccine. Throughout the COVID-19 vaccine effort, we have continued to refine and improve our systems and processes, and with more vaccine supply, we will be able to more effectively utilize our network of vaccinators across Wisconsin to get shots in arms quickly, safely and equitably.

Frederica Freyberg:

More vaccine flowing into Wisconsin next week is especially well-timed. That’s because Deputy Secretary Van Dijk also announced the growing presence of coronavirus variants in the state. There have been at least 19 cases of the B1 variant found in Wisconsin. That’s the highly infectious variant originally found in the United Kingdom. Anyone who’s tried to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine can attest it’s not always easy. It can be down-right impossible if you can’t navigate the online process due to low or no vision. We turn to Denise Jess, CEO and executive director of the Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired to explore accessibility problems and solutions. Thanks very much for being here.

Denise Jess:

Thank you so much.

Frederica Freyberg:

What have you been hearing from people your council serves about trying to navigate vaccine sign-up sites online?

Denise Jess:

We hear folks experiencing anxiety on a number of levels. First of all, the sheer notion that some of the sign-ups have to be done online in some cases or folks don’t know the phone number to make that content is already problematic for our population. The majority of folks in the state who live with vision impairment are older adults. While there are certainly folks who have lived with vision impairment all of their lives like I do, we see such an increase among older adults because of diseases. And so they are folks who are new to technology use, potentially. Potentially also new to assistive technology use. And they also may live in places that they don’t have great broadband. So just the sheer notion of having to use a platform like an app or a website that is one layer. And then once you get into that website or that app, whether it’s coded properly for being able to be used with assistive technology or not is a whole ‘nother ball game. So the ADA and the web accessibility guidelines require accessibility of websites and what we know is that requirement and reality don’t always line up.

Frederica Freyberg:

So you’ve spoken to this a little bit, but what are some of the common issues for people with low or no vision when they confront a website, say, in terms of being, if you are low vision, not being able to even work with it? What is it about websites that are difficult for people with low vision?

Denise Jess:

That’s a great question. So there’s a couple of different things. First of all, many people with low vision use some sort of assistive technology or access technology. So maybe they magnify their screen pretty significantly or use a screen reader technology. I use a combination of both and so do other users. So when you interact with a website using those technologies, sometimes the website is fragile, so when you go to do the magnification, things move in unpredictable place so you have to reorient yourself to the page. If you’re using a screen reader, there’s key strokes you have to use in order to navigate down the page, and those key strokes and the page itself should tell you where you are on the page and what actions you can take on the page, whether something is clickable or has a link or is selectable. A lot of times what we experience is that that content isn’t available. So concretely when you’re going to set up an appointment and you want to choose your day and time, your screen reader may tell you that there’s an appointment on Friday, March 5, and at 3:00, 4:00 and 5:00 and you hear that content but it’s not coded to tell you can select it. So can I select this? Is this just reading, giving me a list? So you’re unclear what action you can take. So then you have to start hitting keys and hoping for the best. One person told me that when he scheduled his vaccine appointment, he thought he’d chosen the right day but he wasn’t getting the audio feedback he needed so he was greatly relieved when he got his confirmation that he’d actually signed up for the time he’d to sign up for. So it’s kind of a guessing game.

Frederica Freyberg:

As though there aren’t enough hurdles. Really intense for people in that circumstance. Just yesterday the State Department of Health set up a phone number for people to call for vaccine help. We want to give that here.

Denise Jess:

Yes.

Frederica Freyberg:

That number is 844-684-1064. I called it. It’s up. It’s activated. It works. And we will repeat that phone number in a moment. But how needed is an actual phone number for folks to call?

Denise Jess:

Oh, it’s so critical. I’ll just give an example. We have — our organization has a website and a small retail store and then we also have phone. And still the majority of our orders and requests come in via phone. Even though our website is built for accessibility. Just because there’s comfort in hearing a human voice. And for so many people in our population, isolation and loneliness are profound. You can’t get out. You can’t drive yourself someplace. So being able to talk to a human being who hears you, who can answer your questions, who can be a comfort that emotionally in a scary time is huge. And then for anybody who can’t navigate the website, it is vital. Otherwise how do you go about assuring that you’re going to get the vaccine?

Frederica Freyberg:

We leave it there. Thank you very much. Thanks for your work and thanks for enlightening us about this.

Denise Jess:

Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

Again, for vaccine help, the State Department of Health Services has just made a phone number available to call. It’s 844-684-1064.

Well, there may be light at the end of the COVID tunnel with growing numbers of people being vaccinated, but over the course of the pandemic, the mental health of people has deteriorated due to loss of family or friends, job loss, isolation and drug and alcohol abuse and younger people in the 18 to 24 age group have been especially hit as have communities of color. For example, compared to white residents of the state, Black residents have two times the hospitalizations related to COVID. Our next guest is the director of outpatient treatment programs at the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division, Ken Ginlack. Thanks very much for being here.

Ken Ginlack:

Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

So, the share of adults reporting symptoms of anxiety and depression has jumped from 11% before the pandemic to 41% now according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Is that what you’re seeing in your practice?

Ken Ginlack:

Yes. There has been a high number of individuals coming in since the pandemic and, you know, the symptoms of depression as well as anxiety has the highest number of people that come in. Also, you know, along with the stress of the pandemic, the people, the communities of color have been hit the hardest as far as what we’re seeing as the numbers come in.

Frederica Freyberg:

Yeah.

Ken Ginlack:

For services.

Frederica Freyberg:

So what are the biggest drivers of this anxiety and depression?

Ken Ginlack:

Well, job loss, you know, worries, stress over paying the bills, interrupting the routine, the daily routine, the high number of — the isolation as well, which would cause depression, and not having that connection with family.

Frederica Freyberg:

So young adults show symptoms, according again to Kaiser, at 56%. Why is it affecting that age group more so?

Ken Ginlack:

In young adults, particularly adolescents, they usually are getting services through school or, you know, being able to have access to social workers and that type of thing at school. And also, when they are able to communicate and talk with their friends, so the socialization that has been taken away due to the pandemic. And so as universities close as well, that age group is suffering from the lack of socialization as well.

Frederica Freyberg:

In fact, thoughts of suicide among young people sits at 26% compared to all adults at 11%. How frightening are those numbers to you?

Ken Ginlack:

Oh, they’re very frightening. And, you know, in fact, in Milwaukee there were 131 suicides in 2020. So, you know, that’s a high number. Actually, it was 131 versus, you know, — I’m sorry. It was 216 suicides versus 131 prior to the pandemic.

Frederica Freyberg:

Tragic, really tangible evidence of the anxiety/depression. Communities of color, as we’ve said, have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and likewise according to data have been more likely than white adults to suffer mental health effects. Is there enough support and access to treatment available?

Ken Ginlack:

Well, there has been a lack of therapists prior to the pandemic and especially therapists of color, right? And so right now there’s still a big challenge as far as having waiting lists and actually having access to those services. When you throw the pandemic in, you know, there’s also, you know, lack of transportation to get to providers, uninsured. So, you know, we have been doing everything in our power to make services accessible for people in the community. Something you may not be aware of, we actually have started to open clinics within the community to lessen some of those barriers of trying — you know, for people in the community to have access to services.

Frederica Freyberg:

Well, that’s great news. Other than that kind of access to your professional services, what should people do to try to help themselves or their loved ones if they see these kinds of things like anxiety or depression?

Ken Ginlack:

Reach out. You know, the biggest thing I can say is reach out. And, you know, reach out to that family member. Just give them a call. Just to say hello. Do wellness checks. You know, continue to take care of your family members, you know. Also, those that suffering alone, you know, there’s actual virtual groups that they can actually attend. And just talk to someone. Also calling the crisis hotline. So there’s various things that they can try to do to continue to communicate and release some of that pressure of being alone.

Frederica Freyberg:

Yeah. We should all keep our eyes open. Ken Ginlack, thank you very much and thanks for your work.

Ken Ginlack:

Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

Debate continued today in Washington over the COVID-19 stimulus package. This, after the reading aloud of the entire 628-page bill that concluded around 2:00 this morning. The read-aloud was forced to happen by Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson. “I’m going to make the Senate clerk read the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion bill,” he said in a tweet on Wednesday. “Then I’m going to offer amendments. Many amendments,” he said.

Proposed legislation called the Protecting Women in Sports Act is being introduced in Wisconsin. Republican lawmakers in statehouses across the nation are looking to pass similar legislation. The aim? To prevent transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports because their biological sex is male and represents unfair competition according to supporters of such bills. The proposal’s author, Republican Representative Barbara Dittrich of Oconomowoc was scheduled to join us to tonight but had to cancel at the last moment. Dittrich’s plan would add Wisconsin to a growing list of states that are pursuing such laws as part of a coordinated effort to push back on recent gains in protections for transgender individuals. That’s according to a joint statement from two Wisconsin LGBTQ advocacy groups. Megin McDonell is the executive director of Fair Wisconsin, an advocacy group working for the cause of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. She’s in Madison. Thanks for joining us.

Megin McDonell:

Thanks for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

The governor has said he will veto this legislation if passed. But as Representative Dittrich works to gather cosponsors for her Protecting Women in Sports Act, Governor Evers sent a message to transgender students saying they are welcome, wanted and they belong. What message do you think this kind of proposed legislation sends?

Megin McDonell:

Well, unfortunately, the one thing that this legislation does do is send an incredibly negative message to transgender youth in Wisconsin that they’re not valued, they’re not welcome and they don’t belong. And so we, you know, very much applaud the governor for taking a vocal position like that to send that message of welcome and support to our youth. So that’s very appreciated.

Frederica Freyberg:

The particulars of the legislation include banning transgender athletes from participating in girls and women’s supports from kindergarten through college. The CDC data says under 2% of high school students identify as transgender and the WIAA tells us they have had no complaints concerning transgender athletes. What is then going on with this proposal?

Megin McDonell:

Well, you know, I can’t really speculate as to their motivation. I know that Representative Dittrich mentioned that she had heard from constituents but I can also say that there is a very well-organized, concerted effort around the country to promote these bills. There’s something like — I don’t have the numbers right in front of me, but something like 45 athlete bans in about 20 different states right now and there’s over 100 anti-LGBTQ bills in general. I do think that a lot of the gains we’ve made as a community and as a movement evidenced by things like the progress the Equality Act is making, the very vocal and visible support that President Biden made on day one through some of his executive orders is probably one of the — at least some of the factors that contribute to this flood of anti-LGBTQ and anti-transgender actions that’s we’re seeing around the country.

Frederica Freyberg:

And specific to the one here in Wisconsin, the other thing that it would do is create three types of teams: boys, girls and co-ed, allowing transgender athletes to go into that co-ed squad. Is that discrimination in your mind in itself?

Megin McDonell:

Yeah. I mean, it does — you know, here’s the thing. Transgender kids want the opportunity to play sports for the same reason as other kids do, to be part of a team where they feel like they belong. And this does essentially discriminate against those kids. It means that there will be a girls’ team and a boys’ team and then a team for transgender kids. And we just want to help people understand that trans girls are girls. Trans boys are boys. And when we do things to limit participation of trans girls in particular in girls’ sports, we are really hurting all girls in sports and athletics.

Frederica Freyberg:

Since 2013 the WIAA has required that male students transitioning to female must have one calendar year of medically-documented testosterone suppression treatment to be eligible to play on a female team. What do you think of that requirement?

Megin McDonell:

Well, so that requirement, you know, right, has been in place for quite a while, and it really does make it — already that policy makes it pretty difficult for trans girls in particular to be able to participate in girls’ athletics and sports. So it has that effect of excluding. And not all kids have the — have access to various medical interventions that that policy requires. But even when they do have access to that, whether or not they choose those interventions, they are taking place under the care of a physician. So that’s another thing about these bills, is that the WIAA policy really already makes it pretty difficult for trans kids to fully participate in organized sports in their schools. So really at the end of the day all this bill really accomplishes is sending that negative message of exclusion to our youth.

Frederica Freyberg:

Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs including sports. Representative Dittrich says that Title IX “protects all biological females from being required to compete against biological males.” Is that what Title IX says?

Megin McDonell:

Title IX’s been a cornerstone of advancing those opportunities for women and girls. I think we all agree that it’s important to defend and preserve the impact of Title IX but the good news is that ensuring freedom and opportunities for LGBTQ youth, especially transgender youth, doesn’t undermine those protections. Like we should remember what Title IX is all about, making sure that all girls, including girls who are transgender, have the opportunity to participate in sports. And kids learn a lot of important life lessons in supports: leadership, confidence, self-respect, what it means to be part of a team. So local schools around the country, there are about a dozen states that have positive, proactive policies that help trans kids participate in sports. Minnesota, for example, our neighboring state. And those policies are working. So we can celebrate girls’ sports and protect trans youth from discrimination and make sure all students have the ability to access these lessons and opportunities and the lifelong benefits that organized athletics can provide to young people.

Frederica Freyberg:

We started by talking about messages. What is your message to transgender youth in the midst of all of this?

Megin McDonell:

Well, the governor said it really well in his tweet, that we all — we’re happy to see and echo that. And I mean I’m just here today. I care deeply about the health and well-being of the young people in general. I have two teenagers myself. One is trans teenager in high school. Bills like these are just really harmful. They don’t achieve what their goals are supposedly achieving. And, again, the one thing that is clear that they do do is send those negative, harmful messages to youth that already have a really, often difficult time in the schools. So, you know, you’re loved, you’re welcome and we see you and we’re here for you and also we are obviously going to be doing a lot of organizing in the weeks and months to come around these bills. Also positive efforts that we’re advancing with our friends and allies in the Legislature and with our other organizations, like G-SAFE and the Wisconsin Trans Health Coalition, Diverse & Resilient, many of our other colleagues around the state. We’re going to be working very hard to make sure that youth aren’t — we can hopefully minimize the negative impact of these bills on our youth and make some advances.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. Well, thank you. We appreciate it. Thanks very much, Megin McDonell.

Megin McDonell:

Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.

Frederica Freyberg:

Stay up-to-date on State Capitol coverage by going to PBSwisconsin.org and then click on the news tab. “Here & Now” COVID-19 coverage can also be found on the news page. As more vaccine flows into the state next week, including the new Johnson & Johnson single-dose shot, Wisconsinites will continue to search for appointments.

Earlier in tonight’s program, we shared the new state vaccination hotline phone number. We want to share that again. The number is 844-684-1064. And that is our program for tonight. I’m Frederica Freyberg. Have a good weekend.

Announcer:

Funding for “Here & Now” is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.