Pillars Project:

People
Eloise Durr, Sophie Sutton, Charlotte Burns,
Caye Kalbacher, Zoe Honigblum
Drug Abuse
 Economic Impacts
$11 billion dollars in healthcare
- Rehabilitation
- Consequences of consumption of drugs
 Environmental Impacts
Drugs hurt the planet in many ways….
-Deforestation
-Pollution
-Carbon emissions
-Water depletion
-Biodiversity loss
 Environmental Example

Cocaine is hurting the planet by destroying forests.

- Releases toxic chemicals like acetone and hydrochloric acid

- These toxic chemicals end up in our soil and water.
 Environmental Impacts
The difference between drugs.
- Prescribed drugs do not hurt our planet and is made with safe
substances
- Illegal drugs hurt our planet and our bodies
 Cultural Impacts
-From 1968 to 2019, there was 1,015,000 deaths from drugs
overdoses.
-The Opioid Crisis in 2019 killed 50,000 people
- People can lace drugs with deadly drugs to kill people
Example: Jake Ehlinger died from an accidental overdose
caused by fentanyl
 Hopes, Dreams, Recommendations

- LESS Drug Usage.

- Selling of Drugs should be watched more.

- People are dying from drugs

 Hopes, Dreams, Recommendations

- Families are losing loved ones to drugs.

- Rehab programs should be easier to attend and cheaper.

- People often look at people who take drugs as animals but they are human and
need help.
 Sources
“How Illicit Drug Use Affects Business and the Economy.” The White House,

obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/ondcp/ondcp-fact-sheets/how-illicit-drug-use-affects-business-and-the-economy#:~:text=economic%20costs&text=%24120%20billion%20in%20lost%20productiv

ity.

CDC. “Drug Overdose Deaths in the U.S. Top 100,000 Annually.” Www.cdc.gov, 17 Nov. 2021, www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2021/20211117.htm.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Opioid Overdose Crisis.” National Institute on Drug Abuse, 11 Mar. 2021, nida.nih.gov/drug-topics/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis.

“The Environmental Impact of Growing Drugs.” Gateway Foundation, 29 Dec. 2021,

www.gatewayfoundation.org/addiction-blog/environmental-impact-growing-drugs/#:~:text=Drug%20production%20leaves%20its%20mark.
Abortion Laws
 Economic Impact
● The cost of raising a child-
○ To raise a child to age 18 in America, it'll cost an average of $230,000, according
to Merrill Lynch report
○ 6/10 women who have an abortion are already a parent- cant afford another
child
● Abortion is increasingly concentrated among low-income women-
○ The Hyde Amendment, in effect since 1977, bans federal dollars from being
used for abortion coverage for women insured by Medicaid
○ Women who are low-income and lack insurance coverage for abortion often
struggle to come up with the money to pay for the procedure
Antiabortion

legislators have been

extremely successful

pursuing abortion

restrictions. This has

made it way more

difficult for women

struggling financially

to access abortions.
The Hyde Amendment falls

particularly hard on women of

color. Because of social and

economic inequality linked to

racism and discrimination,

women of color are

disproportionately likely to be

insured by the Medicaid

program.
 Cultural Impacts
● Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 8 into law on May 19, 2021

○ SB 8 bans abortion in Texas at around 6 weeks

○ For people with a regular menstrual cycle, that’s just two weeks after a missed period

○ Doctors often won't see patients until a suspected 8 weeks of pregnancy just to confirm it.

○ It also takes time to decide to terminate a pregnancy, find a provider, and secure the funds.

○ Half of pregnancies are unplanned, even those trying rarely know before six weeks

○ SB 8 is different from other abortion bans because it contains a “private cause of action”

○ The court's failure to stop S.B. 8 also paved the way for other states to mimic Texas with similar

bills that sidestep the Constitution

 Cultural Impacts
● Roe vs Wade…

○ The 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade made access to safe and legal abortion a constitutional right

○ Prevented many deaths from unsafe, illegal abortions

○ What Happens If its Overturned?

■ 26 states could ban abortions

■ 36 million women, and others who can become pregnant, are at risk of losing abortion access

● Risks of other types of care…

○ Could possibly lead to implications for other types of care including birth control, emergency contraception known as Plan B, trans-affirming healthcare, and fertility

treatments

○ The anti-abortion rights groups, Students for Life of America, (One of the leading pro-life advocacy organizations in the world), wants to recognize human life as

beggining at contreception

■ Think some devices and pills that can prevent implantation of a fertilized egg are "mislabeled" as contraception - Puts birth control at risk

■ Disagrees with American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, which defines pregnancy as beginning at implantation

● Safety facts!

○ When abortion is legal- it’s one of the safest medical procedures

○ In the US - abortion has a safety record of over 99%

 Environmental Impacts
● Worldwide
○ Around 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide each year.
○ Foster care accepts higher rates of kids each year, due to restricted abortion
○ Lack of access to abortion has pose risks to women’s physical and mental well-being throughout the
life-course
● Safety
○ Abortion is a simple health care intervention that can be effectively managed by a wide range of
health workers using medication
○ In the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a medical abortion can also be safely self-managed by the
pregnant person outside of a health care facility
○ Turnaway Study at the University of California, San Francisco
■ There was a study done that proved more than 200 women were denied access to abortion.
■ As a result ⅔ of those women were forced to have their baby, creating a negative impact on
both the mother and the child
○ Abortion is health care - before this health care was legal and safe, illegal abortions caused at least 1
in 6 pregnancy-related deaths.
Hopes, Dreams, and Recommendations!!!
● End Hyde Amendment
● Keep Roe vs Wade
● Vote
● Spread the word - Protest
● Congress needs to take proactive measures to protect and expand abortion access
● Lawmakers at all levels of government need to fight to ensure everyone can make their
own health care decisions
● Sign petitions and see how you can support :
https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/rightfully-ours/bans-off-our-bodies !!!!
 Sources
The US birthrate is the lowest it's been in 32 years, and it's partly because millennials can't afford having kids
Business Insider
May 24, 2019
https://www.businessinsider.com/us-birthrate-decline-millennials-delay-having-kids-2019-5

Abortion in the Lives of Women Struggling Financially: Why Insurance Coverage Matters
Guttmacher Institute
September 21, 2018
https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2016/07/abortion-lives-women-struggling-financially-why-insurance-coverage-matters

SB8
SB8 | Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, Inc.
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-gulf-coast/sb8

The impact of provider restrictions on abortion-related outcomes: a synthesis of legal and health evidence - Reproductive Health
BioMed Central
April 18, 2022
https://reproductive-health-journal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12978-022-01405-x
NPR Roe vs Wade Live updates
https://www.npr.org/live-updates/supreme-court-abortion-roe-wade-2022-05-05
THE LINK BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND
ABORTION pdf
https://www.jopafl.com/uploads/issue7/THE_LINK_BETWEEN_ENVIRONMENTAL_FACTORS_AND_ABORTION.pdf
NPR
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/11/1097666334/roe-birth-control
New York Times Roe vs Wade
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/11/opinion/roe-supreme-court-birth-control.html
Homelessness
Caye Kalbacher & Eloise Durr
 Economic Impacts
The economic effects of homelessness are often overlooked but our government is forced to spend large
sums of money to take care of the homeless community and attempt to remedy what it’s doing to our
society.

● Government required to pay for housing for the homeless to move into
○ Housing Permits require lots of time and money

● Homeless and police interactions cost lots of money

○ In Los Angeles alone 83.7 million dollars were spent on police interactions with the homeless

● Homeless cleanup and sanitation

○ In one city alone the Bureau of Sanitation spent 547 thousand dollars on cleanup
○ Cleanup includes not only the encampments themselves but also the litter and garbage that go along
with them
 Environmental Impacts
Homlessness contributes to many issues in our environment.
Large Accumulations Litter
of Trash Contamination in our
Human Waste Land and Water

Hazardous Materials Exposes other people

Fires Destroys Wildlife and

Vegetation
 Cultural Impacts
Homelessness Affects:
Sense of Community

Crime Rates Social Barriers

Public Health Next Generations

 Economic Impacts (Government Solution)
● The CoC Program was given 1.96 billion in 2017 and still struggled to regulate
and find solutions to homelessness
Statement from The Department of Housing and Urban Development, Continuum of Care Program
(CoC):

“The Continuum of Care Program is designed to promote community wide commitment to

the goal of ending homelessness; provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, and
State and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families…;
promote access to and effect utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals
and families; and optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing
homelessness.”
 Hopes, Dreams, and Recommendations
Economically …

○ Get more housing, to lower costs of police interactions

○ Focus on building homes for the homeless in low cost neighborhoods

Culturally…

○ Stop Stereotyping ○ Donate to Charities ○ Advocate ○Volunteer to Programs

Environmentally…

○ Pick up Trash ○ Implement Public Bathrooms ○ Water Sanitation Efforts

 Sources
-Emily. “Impact of Homeless Encampments on the Environment.” Eco Bear Biohazard Cleaning Company, 5 Apr. 2021,

https://ecobear.co/knowledge-center/impact-of-homeless-encampments-on-the-environment/

-American Security Project. “The Impact of Homelessness on Economic Competitiveness | ASP.” American Security Project, 1 May 2018,

https://www.americansecurityproject.org/impact-homelessness-economic-competitiveness/

-Ponio, Judy. “How Homelessness Affects Society.” Our Father’s House Soup Kitchen, 27 June 2021,

ofhsoupkitchen.org/how-homelessness-affects-society. https://ofhsoupkitchen.org/how-homelessness-affects-society

-Ponio, Judy. “Small Ways We Can Help End Homelessness.” Our Father’s House Soup Kitchen, 20 Apr. 2021,

ofhsoupkitchen.org/end-homelessness. https://ofhsoupkitchen.org/end-homelessness

- Ohanian, Lee. “The Economics of Why Homelessness Worsens as Governments Spend Even More on the Problem.” Hoover Institution, 18 June

2019, https://www.hoover.org/research/economics-why-homelessness-worsens-governments-spend-even-more-problem