Lerner Center News

Lerner Chair Shannon Monnat's research found that the Rust Belt counties that put Trump over the top were those that lost the most people in recent years to deaths of despair—those due to alcohol, drugs, and suicide.

"We must tackle root causes, which... drive suicide, alcohol-related deaths and more," says Shannon Monnat, Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion.

"Opioids may have been the spark, but a spark needs kindling in order to ignite," says Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion.

"This can’t be about government doing it all. It has to be about collaboration and community cohesion. Opioids thrive on isolation. The only way to combat this problem is community," says Shannon Monnat, Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion.

"Drug overdose rates just as with alcohol and suicide are higher in places that exhibit more economic and social distress," says Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion.

The Lerner Center and its community partners organized a neighborhood audit of the Wyoming Street corridor in the Near Westside, using a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) expert to speak about ways that the built environment can influence perceptions of safety and deter crime. The information gathered will be used to share conclusions with key stakeholders and address problems in the community.

"Economic decline is certainly an important factor, but our drug, alcohol and suicide problem is also related to social decline," says Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion. "We live in an era of individualism, disinvestment in social safety nets, declines in social cohesion, and increased loneliness." 

Maxwell’s Lerner Center is working with local government to encourage exercise and good snacking habits by students.

"I would include in this funding building opportunities/outlets for social cohesion, community engagement and civic participation," says Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion, on how she would spend a hypothetical budget of $100 billion to solve the opioid crisis.

Take Back the Streets campaign hosts the collaborative event each year, asking different groups in the community to lend a hand, serve apples and apple cider, play games with the kids, and host a costume contest. The Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health is a frequent participant. 

The Lerner Center staff and graduate fellows took part in a 10-hour online training through InclusionU training and certification program offered through the Inclusive Recreation Resource Center at SUNY Cortland. The training focuses on evaluation metrics anyone can use to assess the inclusivity of particular recreational spaces.

The need for healthy, fresh food is urgent on the Near Westside. To help meet this need, the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion has teamed up with the Near Westside Peacemaking Project and the Food Bank of Central New York to bring the Mobile Food Pantry to Syracuse residents who are most in need. Last week, residents received approximately 150 food boxes filled with milk, eggs, yogurt, fruit, vegetables and bread.

According to Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion, interventions should target communities with populations in "significant economic distress," focusing on "places that have experienced major labor market shifts and income decline over the past four decades." "Failure to consider the underlying economic causes could lead to ineffective policy strategies," she says.