RISE: Healthy for Life

08/21/2026

Did you know? 💜

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you don’t have to navigate the next steps alone.

📞 You can call the hotline on the flyer to be connected directly with a sexual assault advocate or speak with a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE).

✨ No ER waiting room required.
✨ Free and confidential.
✨ A SANE nurse can meet you at a local hospital (or our Branch House facility) and provide a specialized sexual assault exam and support.

You deserve to be heard, supported, and treated with dignity. You are not alone. 💜

Please save this information and share it—someone you know may need it someday.

08/20/2026

So excited for Pharrin Clarida (MPH student), RISE’s current intern and ETSU Elevates partner! She recorded the promo video for Raising Resilience today! MARK YOUR CALENDAR to attend the ETSU Elevates pitch event OCT 5 at the MARTIN CENTER. Light refreshments at 5, pitch begins at 5:30. Hear how ETSU students want to make a difference in our community and cast your votes to support them. (We recommend supporting Pharrin!)

08/19/2026

07/28/2026

07/24/2026

Nationwide, including all across the South – it is legal and possible
for transgender adults to access gender-affirming care. However,
anti-transgender organizations and political actors have made
no secret of their agenda to restrict – and ultimately, attempt to
ban – gender-affirming care for transgender adults. In 2026, we’re
seeing the clearest indications yet of how this agenda is impacting
access to care for transgender adults across the South and
gaining momentum on the policy and practical levels.

This community advisory widens the aperture of our analysis
from tracking isolated developments in specific communities
to focus on the totality and impact of attacks on access across
the South. It provides updates about adult gender-affirming care
access in the South and resources for those seeking care in the
following Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

07/19/2026

Washington, D.C. – A coalition of organizations and local governments filed a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful…

07/09/2026

At Menopunkapalooza, riot grrrls sang and rallied around a topic still taboo today: women’s health during midlife

Read more at: www.theguardian.com

07/07/2026

Anonymous Question Box:
Middle School Edition!

Why do women have a black belly button when they are pregnant?

Everyone has a “seam” where the muscles for each side of their abdomen meet in the middle. This is called the linea alba, which means “white line.” in Latin.

When a person is pregnant, higher levels of hormones might tell some of their skin cells to make more pigment. Pigment gives skin its color. The more pigment in a person’s skin, the darker it is.

The dark belly button and line you might notice on a pregnant person’s abdomen is called the linea nigra, which is Latin for “black line,” and it happens where the linea alba is. A pregnant person might have more pigment on other parts of their body when they are pregnant, too.

The darker skin is not harmful–it is just one of many changes a pregnant person might notice. It usually shows up around the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy. It is normal to have extra pigment during pregnancy AND normal not to.

If a person DOES have extra pigment, it usually fades away when the pregnancy is over. This might take a few months.

To Learn More-
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23488-linea-nigra

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/pregnancy/art-20047732

https://www.pregnancybirthbaby.org.au/skin-changes-during-pregnancy-linea-nigra