Natalie Eilbert

For the last few weeks, teacher Susan Cramer has been singing "La Mariposa" with the babies and toddlers in her music class. It's Spanish for "The Butterfly," and was Dailin Pacheco-Acosta's favorite song. It's become a song of hope for Pacheco's safe return after ICE detained her and her husband.

BREAKING: Wisconsin secures one year of funding for its deafblind youth program after Trump administration abruptly cut the five-year grant and denied DPI's appeal challenging the decision.

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Hello! I'm writing about Wisconsin K-12 school policies and whether there are adequate protections for LGBTQ+ students when it comes to bullying, harassment, discrimination. I'm looking to talk with former students and families about their experiences in WI K-12 schools: neilbert@gannett.com

A group of troubled Milwaukee-area nursing homes will soon have new operators after financial strains and hundreds of resident complaints sent the facilities into receivership. Read the latest from my colleague @natalieeilbert.bsky.social and I with the link below. www.jsonline.com/story/news/h...

A 1,000-year flood, historically bad air quality, extreme heat: Nothing about summer in Wisconsin has been normal.

Four Wisconsin nursing homes put into receivership, have racked up 384 violations The state will appoint a receiver to take over four nursing homes in Wisconsin operated by Bedrock Healthcare due to financial strains.

Four Wisconsin nursing homes with a litany of health care quality concerns have been put in court-ordered receivership as of July 31, the result of dire financial strains. Here's what me and @tamiafowlkes.bsky.social learned in our investigation.

Social media makes it harder to know who children meet online. How can you break through? Among those who become radicalized in Wisconsin, about a quarter are exposed by the time they're 22.

And then, there are so many ways to intervene if you suspect your child is starting to become ensnared by dubious online figures. Here are some tips to talking to your kids on a regular basis about their time online.

Revenge is the top reason for active shooter incidents in the U.S. Can we break the cycle? In an exclusive interview with author James Kimmel, the Journal Sentinel asks about the brain science of revenge and forgiveness.

Additionally, I found my conversation with Dr. James Kimmel on the science of revenge to be endlessly fascinating. I decided to include a condensed version of our conversation as a sidebar to the larger story.

How does a 15-year-old become a school shooter: The rise of online communities bound by hate Before long, vulnerable youths are in areas of the internet that would never show up in a typical Google search. And no one is around to stop them.

Here is the main story that I spent a couple months working on: How does a 15-year-old become a school shooter?

How does a 15-year-old become a school shooter: The rise of online communities bound by hate Before long, vulnerable youths are in areas of the internet that would never show up in a typical Google search. And no one is around to stop them.

This is the first story in what will be an ongoing series on the topic of youths becoming radicalized to kill. I hope you'll give it a read.

I started looking into records, then found disturbing websites associated with mass shooters, started acquainting myself to far-right extremist verbiage like the term "saint."

Amid all the horrors coming out of Madison after the Abundant Life shooting, I kept thinking about how someone as young as 14 plans a mass shooting and why. 1/3

Kaul joins multistate suit claiming Trump has sought to deter care of transgender youths The multistate lawsuit is asking the court to block the administration's actions, which it deems unconstitutional.

Wisconsin AG Josh Kaul has joined a multistate state lawsuit suing the Trump administration over order that attack the health care rights of transgender people. My latest:

I haven't been here for a minute. To reintroduce myself, I'm Natalie, and I cover mental health for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. I'm also going to start covering third spaces in WI as we reckon with isolation & greater need for community. I hope you're give me a follow! #wisconsin #mentalhealth

Trump order on unsheltered people strikes Wisconsin housing advocates as backward step Since the Housing First program began in August 2015, Milwaukee County has seen a nearly 42% decline in the homeless population.

Also this week, I wrote about Trump's latest order that would forcibly hospitalize people experiencing homelessness. The order also diverts funds away from the Housing First approach, a philosophy that says if you give someone housing first, they can then focus on treating behavioral health issues.

Are we ready for the health problems that come with extreme heat changes? In a word, no. Heat can affect people with mental illness, and create new problems as well, even affecting moods and emotions.

With much of the US on the brink of tripling its days of extreme heat and quadrupling its nights due to climate change and what one climate scientist called a "lack of political will," a new report shows the world isn't ready for the mental health toll of extreme heat. My latest. 3/3

Extreme heat, of course, is part of the problem, not only for the wildfires but for the loss of wonder, adventure and well-being. Beyond causing these enormous fires, extreme heat by itself also harms our mental health. 2/3

Throughout the week, I had wanted to go for a run. Work has been stressful and my anxiety is through the roof. Running is a balm for me. Wildfire smoke, however, has made that too big of a hazard. Yes, I went for walks, but they were eery, and that eeriness only added more worries to my day. 1/3

Milwaukee LGBTQ+ group joins national suit against Trump effort to ban DEI, erase trans people Trump's orders terminate equity-based grants, prohibit federal funding for DEI programs, and eliminate recognition of transgender people.

BREAKING: FORGE, a Milwaukee-based LGBTQ+ nonprofit, was among the plaintiffs in a second Lambda Legal lawsuit filed this week against the Trump administration. The lawsuit was announced over Zoom Thursday evening.
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I started a novel years ago and don't know how to stop rewriting the first two chapters over and over. What are your favorite craft books on writing novels?

Trump administration to fire thousands at health agencies The Trump administration is set to eliminate thousands of federal health care jobs Friday, targeting employees across agencies who were hired in the past one to two years.

#Breaking - Trump administration to fire thousands at health agencies. Employees across agencies who were hired in the past one to two years are being targeted

The news that has truly undone me is the anglerfish that finally sees daylight and then dies

Disappearing Data: Why We Must Stop Trump’s Attempts to Erase Our Communities Ensuring the collection and protection of demographic data affirms the visibility, rights, and well-being of the people behind the numbers.

"Eliminating critical data allows for agencies to absolve themselves of accountability, obscures population-policy impacts, and worsens inequities. Without trusted data to make decisions, mistrust and disinformation can proliferate." lgbtmap.medium.com/disappearing...

“This afternoon AP’s reporter was blocked from attending an executive order signing.” www.ap.org/the-definiti...

Associated Press: “Today we were informed by the White House that if AP did not align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, AP would be barred from accessing an event in the Oval Office.“

Next week, I'll be sharing more information about this growing development. Stay tuned.

Children's Wisconsin, which operates state's largest clinic for trans youth, pauses new care In wake of Trump's executive orders, one of the state's only pediatric clinics for gender-affirming care halts new appointments.

Then Friday, the first sign of the ripple effects on Trump's EO: Gender Health Clinic in Milwaukee appears to be pausing treatment for new patients. Hat tip to @phoebepetrovic.bsky.social for breaking the story Thursday.
www.jsonline.com/story/news/2...

Josh Kaul joins 14 other attorneys general pushing back against Trump orders on trans care Kaul issues press release saying Trump's position on care for those with trans identity is wrong on science and the law.

On Thursday, how Wisconsin agencies like DOJ and DPI are pushing back against Trump's EO: www.jsonline.com/story/news/h...

You support your trans child. Increasingly, your country does not. And so, you worry. Then what? The order is the latest in a series of injunctions that deny the rights, and even the existence, of transgender people.

I have been extremely bad at social media on purpose. However, here are the stories I published this week. On Wednesday, my story about Wisconsin families, scientists & advocates responding to Trump's EO that would halt funding for youth gender-affirming care: www.jsonline.com/story/news/h...

You support your trans child. Increasingly, your country does not. And so, you worry. Then what? The order is the latest in a series of injunctions that deny the rights, and even the existence, of transgender people.

Want to note that while we broke this story, other local news outlets Fox6 and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel were close behind us. @natalieeilbert.bsky.social, the MJS reporter, has been doing really great work. Read her: www.jsonline.com/story/news/h...