April Dembosky

Health Reporter

I am an independent print and radio reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I cover health (focusing on mental health and end-of-life), immigration, and arts & culture. My radio work has aired on NPR’s Weekend Edition and All Things Considered, American Public Media’s Marketplace, KQED’s The California Report and KALW’s Crosscurrents. My print work has appeared in the New York Times, the San Jose Mercury News, the Sacramento Bee, and San Francisco, Mother Jones, and Diablo Magazines.

Articles

Violence in Oakland: A crisis of grief?

<p>Advocates believe gang violence is often fueled by unresolved mental and emotional health issues among youth. April Dembosky explores the effects of violence on young people in Oakland and sheds light on what local organizations and charities are doing to reach out and help them cope with their grief.</p>

How Teenagers Grieve

<p>Last year, I was reporting a story about alternative churches in San Francisco. I talked to Matthew Fox, an Oakland pastor and the creator of the Cosmic Mass, a Christian rave that replaces sermons and hymns with techno music and dancing. Hold the drugs. Fox developed his event as a way for people to experience and process intense feelings of ecstasy, anger, and grief.</p> <p>"We're not shown ways to deal with grief," he said. "It's where a lot of our addictions come from. We bottle it up, we take a drink or a pill."</p>