ning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, thes- rollout continmore hospitals nationwide begin vaccinations as the numbers of infections and deaths from covid-19 continue to spike. en, balance of power-- the campaigns intensify ahead of georgia's runoff elections, with control of the u.s. senate up for grabs.ca and, invisible-- lack of available treatment and a cultural reluctance k help exacerbate the generational crisis of childhood trauma in ral montana. >> the's a certain amount of stigma around not solving problems on your own. we also see it with respect to being able to access services ability to stay al rurale the communities. >> woodruff: a that and more

on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> architect. bee-keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life, well-planned. >> you can do the things you like to do with a wireless plan designed for you. with talk, text and data. consumer cellular. consumercellular.tv

>> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. fostering informed andiengaged commun more at kf.org. a with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank u. >> woodruff: more than 400 hospitals around the country began giving a covid vaccine to their employees today, on top of some 140 that received ity.

yester the distribution widened as the food and drug administration is expected to approve another vaccine from moderna by the end of the week. f.d.a. reviewers said moderna's two-shot regimen is effective, ife and particularly pote preventing severe cases. the f.d.a. also approved the first at-home test for covid that can be bought wit prescription and provide quick results. available next month.e by the end of december, the trump administrationates 20 million people will have gotten vaccinations. ter health care workers, nursing homes are next in line. but asmna nawaz tells us, they pose special challenge, >> nawaz: jusidents and staff in long-term care facilities will start to receive vaccinations next week. pharmacy giants like cvs anwalgreen's wilide the shots on site at nursing homes and other facilities.

more than one million americans live in long-term care and they are pecial vulnerable. of the 300,000 people in the u.s. who have died from covid- related causes, more than 100,000 were residents andtaff in those facilities. joining us to talk about the plans to mass vaccinate in these facilities, is dr. richarder fe he is chief medical officer for genesis, a large for-profit nursing home companymore than 325 facilities in 24 states. dr. feer, welcome to the newshour. and thanks for being with us. so you have partnered with cvs. they're going to be providing the supply chain, the vaccine, the vaxinats coming into your secilities to administertho vaccinations. but it sounds like they're not am canning in with enough for everyone. how are you deciding who gets the vaccine first? >> vaccine priorization is somethg we're all res wrestling with. our understanding is walgreens will be acquiringhefizer vaccine. we expect to have enough during

each of those visits to vaccinate all the staff and residents. that may lead to thsome o visits that occur later to be spaced out a little bit. and that will be all dependent thon the supply chaiat cvs acquires, essentially, from the tanufacturers. if it turns ou the vaccine gets to our centers and we don't have enough for everyone who wantsth it-- agh we anticipate we will-- we do have a prioritization framework and entirely consistent with what c.d.c. has recomznded. >> nawyou said you have enough for everyone who wants it. you have said the goal is to generate enough hh-level vaccine acceptance voluntarily reads.your workers and your but we know there is skepticism around the vaccine around the you need people ated to keep them safe. if people refused what, can you do to make sure the vaccines are administered? >> at this time, our focus is on voluntary acceptance by well as by staff.ing homes, as nursing home staff and residents are just a microcosm of society in general. they have the same questions,

the same concerns. they don't know everything that we know in the scientific they don't know, for example, that the vaccine development has gone through all the same steps, the same science has gone into it as has gone into every otherd vaccine g development in history. they don't know that the same approval process has ben followed. and so we need to educate them and engage them, in some cases engage their peers and role model as leaders. so we'll be among the first as medical leaders recving the vaccine ourselves. we need to make sure we get high levels of acceptance and vaccinations so we can protect those in our care. is it possible there will be a ndate down the rad, maybe a federal mandate for those working in health carer maybe state mandates? that's certainly possible. maybe even employer mandates. t right now, all of our energy is focused on voluntary acceptance. >> nawaz: timing is also of the essence. you ha said getting throu this quickly is absolutely critical to making it work. when do you anictate this will be done, so to speak? will everyone be vaccinated by the end of thear in your facilities? >> well, we're certainly eager

to get this done as quickly as possible. and the speed is tied to thew supply, hoch supp there is from pfizer and from moderna, and each state actually gets to decide how m tat spry goes to cvs and walgreens for use in nursing homes, as opposed to hospitals and other setting that are at the same top priority level. we don't know yetactually, how much supply each state is directing to cvs in our case for use in our facilities. but when it becomes available we're going to put it to good use immediately. we already have clinics scheduled in our facilouies the country starting with cvs on monday, and going for the next few weeks. we're still looking to e whe the farthest out might be, and we don't have the final word on that. but we hope to get the first vaccines in people's arms within just a few weeks, maybe going into the beginning of next yeaen e need to make sure they come back and give the booster shots because the vaccine is not entirely fiective without two doses. >> nawaz: can i ask you about the other impact of this pandemic which is financial, and the costs of the pandemic have

been. >> of enormous for your industry. your company is no exception. where are you now? y do you feel liu're on the brink if you don't get financial help soon? >> that's such an important question. cost caring for residents during is pandemic has skyrocketed, and revenue is a struggle costs. because so many fewer people are coming to nursing facilities fas from. all of us in the health care instry are working hard to get to it through the other side. and, yes, it's a major iss we've spong with key leaders in eager to receivetever, and we're support we can. and we're also grateful for the support we've ready received through legislation and also executive action. wee very grateful for the hipport that's helped us keep going throughouts pandemic. >> nawaz: dr. feifer, can i ask you, we mentioned the disprortionate deaths suffere in your facility, facilities

around the country. you're now at a point wh can use the vaccine to save people. what does this moment feel like for you? >> this is a huge moment. we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.en there has o much suffering in nursing homes in the country and around the world. read their loved ones, and even nursing home staff. we're entering this final phase, and i'm optimistic. we've got to get it rig. it's really complicated. we have all the right people working on it, but i'm timistic we're going toe the end of this pandemic in a matter of just a few months as we get through this, and i'm so glad to see that nursing homesed have prioritor that first wave of vaccination. >> nawaz: dr. richard feifer of genesis health care, thanks so much for being with us. >>hank you so much. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the top republican in congress, senate majority leader mitch connell, for the first

time, publicly recognized joe biden as president-elect. it came six weeks after the election. mcconnell spoke on the senate floor, a day after the electoral college confirmed the outcome. >> many millions of us had hoped the presidential election uld yield a different result, but our system of government has processes to determine who will be sworn in on january 20. the electoral college has spoken. so today i want to congratulatec >> woodruff: some top republicans have also recognized the biden win, since the electoral college vote. the president-elect responded today, athe airport in new cast, delaware. >> i had a good conversation with mitch mcconnell today. i called him to thank him for the congratulations. i told him although we disagree on a lot of things, there's

things we can work together on. we've always been straig with one another and we agreed we'd get together sooner than later, and i'm looking forward to working with him. press secretary kayleigh mcenany declined to say if president trump now considers mr. biden to be president-elect. instead, she said the electoral college outcome is, "one step in the constitutional process." a former biden presidential rival, pete buttigieg, is mr. biden's choice for secretary of transportation. the newshour confirmed it today. buttigieg dropped out of the democratic race before super tuesday. the former mayor of south bend, indiana was the first openly gay contender.a leading presidential that former michigan governored jennifer granholm is the pick for secretary of energy. signs of proess came from congress today, on new economic relief for the pandemic.

republicans said leaving two contentious points aside, aid mefor state and local goves and liability shields for businesses, would move >> those two things, if they're not on the table, what you're left in are the thgs i've just mentioned, which eoy broad bipartisan support, which should make this a pretty easy negotiation. >> on state and local, everyone knows my position, it has broad bipartisan support and i'm not going to get into negotiations in any way. ephen mnuchin joined tho talks in another sign it might be near. it is attached an omnibus y ll that must pass by fri e der to avoid a shutdown. in nigeria, thhadist group boko haram has claimed responsibility for abducting hundreds of boys.

more than 330 students missing from a secondary school in katsina state, after a friday night attack. classroom seats have been empty thnce the assault. boko haram opposes non-islamic ucation and abducted more than 270 girls in 2014. has rejected a plecriminal court investigate china's treatment of uighur muslims. exiled uighurs had claimed h crimes againanity, including internment camps and forced labor. the court said it lacks , jurisdiction because chike the united states, does not recognize its authority. back in this country, wall street rallied on signs that congress might finally agree on an economic stimulus bill. the dow jones industrial average gained 337 points to close at 30,199. the nasdaq rose 5 points, and, the s&p 500 added 47.

and, the actress and tony award winning choreographer ann reinking has died. she performed on broadway for nearly 30 years, first gaining fame in "chicago" in 1977. nearly 20 years later, she reprised her role as "roxie hart," opposite co-star bebe neuwirthin the revival of the musical. ann reinking was 71 years old. still to come on the newshour: hawaiians worry that re-opening travel will lead to an increase in covid infections. the campaigns intensify ahead of georgia's runoff elections with control of the u.s. senate up for grabs. concede reminds many immigrants of the autocracies they fled. and much more.

>> woodruff: as states grapple with how to ke their economies afloat while controlling the spread of covid-19, e state of hawaii is uniquely positioned. it's had one of the lowestase counts and positivity rates in the country, and that's not just because of its geography. stephanie sy reports on what the state has done to protect its population, and what's it doing now, to re-open to tourism. >> sy: hawaii's success in keeping covid-19 in check is nos just abouteography, it's had some of the strictest restrictions, including a statewide mask mandate and until recentlya 14 day quarantine rule for all arriving tourists. violators have been ar, but its restrictions have also crushed its economy. in october, hawaii had the highest unemployment rate in the country at more than 14%.

now the islands are implementing tourism while keepcalsd revive s fe. it allows travelo can prove they've gotten a negative covid test within 72 hours of travel to forgo that 14 day quarantine period.ov lieutenantnor joshua green joins us now from the aloha state. dr. greene, thanr you so much ining us. what is the balance you're trying to achieve berisk to the public from covid-19 and risk tyour economy at this point in the pandemic? >> well, the balance we're trying to aceve is keeping people alive and safe while also restoring those pas of life which are necessary, such as having a job, being able to pay one's rent to pay for food these are the challenges. and i come at it from a health care perspective. i'm an e.r. physician on the weekends and lieutenant governor by the weekdays. so i see both perspectives. we've been lucky because we've been able to keep our accounts relatively low and at the sameup

time comith some policies based on our isolation to begin to open up. >> sy: well, let's talk about the policy that you implemented on october 15th, you want to reopen to tourism. i understand that as far as thei job lossyour state, they've been significant. how is the policy going a month and a half in? >> it's exceeding expectations. it's actually working very well. we actually have fewer cases of it now, fewer people in the hospital now than we did before we started safe travels. but we were averaging 103 people in our hospital at that time. we're now down at 55 in our. hospit we had an average case count of 90 people positipe in the state day. now we're down to 75 and oe positivity rs 2.8% when we started safe travels. 's now down at 1.8%. we're at eighty five percent mask wearing in our state. excellt numbers. we get to 95%. we won't even have to talk about travel resictions, but when

you're in 85% in your state, when you limit extensive travel with a pre-test, you can actually keep your numbers really low. >> sy: and have you seen jobs return, are tourists coming back in mass, and is there a point at which you'd be concerned that too many people are comi again? >> we normally were gettin 30,000 people a day traveling to hawaii. when we instituted the lockdown, the quarantine, we dropped 99.6%. so functional zero. right. it's now crept back up to between ten and 12,000 people coming back per day, and we immeately restored jobs. it was actually shocking. 29,000 out of our 125,000 jobs at least, at least returned. we're starng to think it might be closer to 50,000, which is a very big return quickly. we're watching very carefully with the extra travel that occurs around christmas time,hat and if we can keep that negativi advance and do some

additional testing periodically here, we think we can keep the lid on. >> sy: but yousiave had some ance to the safe travel policy. know that the mayor of kauai, he did see a slight rise in cases and relative cases that smwere as connected to tou and they have now instituted at least hawaii that 14 day quarantine period again. >> yes, and we respect all of our mayors, we have four counties and four mayors, of licyse, and their recommendations don't fall on the reality of thers were they were still small, and you have to remember, hawaii has the lowest rate of cov in the country. and then why has the lowest rate of covid in hawaiibut they have somewhat limited health care resources. as an e.r. doctor, i can tell you that we are mindful about people ending up in the hospital. kuai only had seven hospital admissions in seven weeks, so they're being ultra safe, ultra protective, but that's ok, too. >> sy: lieutenant governor of hawaii, dr josh green, thank you

so much for joining us. >> you bet. best wishes for the holidays.>> y: even with relatively low transmission, more than 240e people hed from covid-19 in hawaii. for more, we turn to dr. thomas he hawaiihair of pandemic modeling work group and epidemiology at the university of hawaii at manoa. t dr. lenks for joining us. you know, the c.d.c. has advised people not to travel if theyha don' to. is there really such a thing as a safe tralicy right now? >> the one thing for everyone to remember is that with a disease ther such thing as reducing the risk completely to zero. so even with covid, he great advances in screing and testing and what we know about contributed to reducing overall risk of transmission and spreading thdisease onto to a level where policymakers have felt safe enough to reopen travel but we've definitely reduced it

to a point where it's much safer relative to disease transmison in other parts of the world. >> sy: hawaii's geography obviously makes it unique in its ability to perhaps keep the virus out, people are only arriving by plane. but you' also done other things on the island, dr. lee, such as making sure there are places to isolate a covid sexposed people, talk aboe of those measures. >> we have dedicated facilities to assist our residents and those traveling to our islands, a place to isolate and arantine safely and not worry about economic consequences. and also the big impact for at is that reduces future risk of transmission. in haw ltigenerational households andit hard for those households to isolate and quarantine safely. so by reducing those infected cases, by putting them in a safe place where they are taking care of in these quarantine andol

ation facilities, that further reduces potential for cluster situations. >> sy: is there a threshold, dr. lee, where you would see positivity rates rise, where you would encourage a science based lockdown or more restrictions to again beut in place on the island's. >> it's really not just one or two or three or even fe metrics that might determine whether or not a policy decion must be made. it's looking at all the data points on a holistic level and looking at the trends over time. and one of the things to rember is that for these decisions and metrics to be looked also at a county level. because waii is unique, we have other outer islands and islands that differ slightly in their needs and their capacity. so it's really these looking at all the metrics on a daily and weekly levelo really determine whether or not policy changes

must be enacted. >> sy: dr. thomas lee with the university of hawaii at manoa. thank you so much for joining us from honolulu. >> of course, thank you for having me. >> woodruff: president-elect joe biden flew to the battleground state of georgia today. that's where two races just weeks away will determe balance of power in the u.s. senate. with early voting kicking off ths week, biden told georgi today that the senate is on the line. >> come january 5th, yta vote in record numbers again! because yes, the liv of everyone georgian still depend on what you do and yes, yo still have to vote like your life depends on it, because it does. >> woodruff: president-elect biden's visit comes after vice

president mike pence traveled to georgia late last week. while there, he urged a vote for the republican candidates, despite president trump falsely claiming the november election was fraudulent. >> we need to send them back because the republican majority could be the last line of defense to preserve all we've done to defend this nation, revive our economy and preserve the god-given liberties we hold dear. >> woodruff: for a view from the ground in georgia, we turn to deborah scot she is the executive director of stand-up, a non-partisan community organizing group in atlanta that's focused onge ing out the vote there. deborah scott, thank you so much for joining us. so, tell us what is your organization advocate? why are you trying to get the vote out? >> we are socited here in georgia. despite the holidays, we are ecited and ready to get vote out. we have been out to the polls. the first two days started yesterday with early voting, and

we've been out there again today, giving out voter cae kits. we're excited because we know at people are coming ou. 200,000 people have already cast theirote. they're not leaving line, despite the weather. it's cold outside, and people are standinged . and what we're seeing is people are determined to make sure eir vote count. >> woodruff: so who are the voters you're going after? i know you're nonpartisan, and there's a lot of emphasis on women voters. tell us about the role of women voters right now in the georgte electo >> yes, actually, we are a part of the black women's roundtable, and we believe that we need to speak to our base. and forr us, base is black women. what black womhe want tor are issues that affect their everyday life. they want to hear those kitischn tablue beside jobs and about the economy, aboutti covid-19 t and relief for health care. they really are concerned about

what's happening in their communities and their families. s.'re speaking directly to women about their iss we're not talking about the national implications of this ra t, because hey don't wa hear about that. they want to hear about how these races affect their lives and their family. what do they tell their children because they can't go back to what do they tell their children about the lack of jobs and affordable health cre and affordable housing? so we're speaking to those everyday, bread-and-butter issues for black women on the ground. >> woodruff: and are they hearing about these issues from s?e candida are they hearing about these issues from president-elect biden, from president trump, and vice president pence when theyo comeorgia? >> well, we're not sure what heey're hearing from candidates we know that because we are trusted stakeholders on the ground, we are a 15, 16-year-old organization and people trust us because we're here all the timed 365 days of voter registration, along with our come to them, we're coming from

a place ofnguthenticagement with them. so we're talking to them in their own language, at their doors, on the phones, in the streets about what's important to them. s so i'm nore what the candidates are saying to them, but we do know thathey are tired of the mail, and they're tired ofhe negative ads and they're grateful when they get a call from a friendly nonprofit just to ask them are they oka and do they want to vote? >> woodruff: i was going to geask about the challof getting people engaged. as you mentioned, they've had a campaign going on in georgia week after week. specificly, i want to ask about a comment todayy joorg's republican secretary of state. he was part of a panel of the bipartisan policy center, and yami he alcindor ask about the drumbeat of claims that the november election wasrigged. here's their exchange right now. >> reporter: how do you make sure that peop aren't

questioning the integrity of the elecon when they have this huge incentive that maybe will turn out republican voters if, they sayes, its true. is was falsely done. this elction was stolen, andw u have to back me so i can get it right." for people to play.a risky ro stacy abrams always talked about voter suppression, but if people continue to talk about you can't trust results, you're going to have voter depression. in other words, you're going to depress your turnout.uf >> woodr how much is that a factor for the voters you're trying to turn out, deborah scott? >> yes, so the voters we're talking to have lived through years of being-- their vote being suppressed, from voter purges-- illegal voter purges -- to funny business at some of the polling places. they aresed to obstacles. sd they're not being deterred. they are goiraight ahead, and they're going to challenge it. if they're asked not to vote, they're going to make se their vote is counted. one of the things we're striving to get as many people to votrle as possible. christmas.s 12 days of

there are 12 days of voting. we want people to vote early and make sue that their vote is cast. and if they have a problem, there's enough time for us to help straighten it out. so there's a 1-eight-66 vote number we are giving people. >people. >> woodruff: just quickly, are you finding people, that it's hard to get people to turn out, ven how long this election's' going on in georgia? >> actually, we're taking it as a different approach.s we're saying ts a brand new election and become a serial voter. every time there's an opportunity to vote you should come out to vote. we're not acng as if theio november eleeven happened. this is breadon-new election and an opportunity for to you voice yo power through your voe. so put your priorities in order, and go vote yo piorities. >> woodruff: deborah scott, who is the executive director of the organization "stand-up."

thank you very much for talking >> thank you for having me. have a great day. >> woodruff: more than a month after the presidential tlection, donamp continues to falsely insist the results are t fraudulent a election was in the echoes of tment, some immigrants hear the d political turmoil they f their own countries. yamiche alcindor has the story. known conflict moser life.ar has she was just three months old when soviet union troops of afghanistan.er home country when she turned six, the tiban took power. her family escaped their harta rule for pakn, and a chance

at an education. akbar moved to the u.s. permanently in 2014. but she says in the echoes of president trump and his administration, she the turmoil she and her family fled in her home country. >> none of these a signs of a democratic leader. these are all signs of an autocrat who is drunk on power and doesn't have people around him who would call him out >> alcindor: the transition to the biden white house has beguno but more than h after the election, donald trump continues to falsely insist he won, and that there was widespread voter fraud. earlier this month, the president repeated false claims at a rally in georgia: >> they cheated and they riggeds our ential election. but we will still win it. we will still win it. >> alcindor: there is no evidence of widespread voterd fr any state. president trump lost the election. and it wasn't close, either in but some trump supporters terms.

continue to protest the election results. over the weekend, thousands of pro-trp supporters rallied in d.c. as night fell, members of the right-wing proud boys group rned black lives matter banners. confrontation broke out betweenu pro and anti-t groups, and four people were stabb. akbar says the world is watching america, including afghans abroad. they are all-too familiar with actual fraudulent elections, as in 2014 when then secretary of state john kerry mediated the disputedutcome. >> who is most impacted, when democracy becomes shaky, who is most impacted when this idea that your vote doesn't matter ndbecomes a common belief, becomes a tool for voter suppression that only hurts the most marginalized people. >> alcindor: marginalized people like francois pierre-louis' family when they landed in 1970s new york city.in after grup in haiti, suppression was all pierre-louis

for 14 years, the country's leader, francois "papa doc" duvalier, jailed or killed his critics. when he was a young boy, duvalier killed pierre-louis'. uncles by 1965, duvalier had f clared himsel"president for life". and even after dictatorship in p haiti ended,itical turmoil in the country has remained. >> no one ever loses elections in haiti, and if you tem they lose, they arm their gangs, th go around shooting everybody, burn down homes, burn down offic, burn down electoral offices so they can intimidate peoe and finally they're self declared winners.ou whenave people really buying into the news that the president trump won, even though he didn't win the election and he has all these pple out there mobilizing for him, d , ese people are armed, they're

threatening peoponer or later they can go out there and start violence. a indor: pierre-louis said he hopes the u.s. has strong government institutions and officials who will guard against such lawlessness. indeed, of the dozens of lawsuits president trump and other republicans have filed tot est the election results, not one has found any evidence of fraud. and key republican statent officials ue to push back on the president's rhetoric. ducey tweeted the state followed the rules and has "some of theon strongest elecaws in the country." still, pierre-louis says americans need to pay attention and understand that democracies can die. >> i think the american public doesn't understand tha democracy is a fragile system that can wither away if you don't take care of it. look, the u.s. is the beacon,on an that light turns off, ls's going to take a long time

to for somethito appear. >> i think they need to be very >> alcindor: infectious disease dr. nada fadul knows what it means for a democracy to slip away. she grew up in sudan and saw a democratically elected leader overthrown by military officer omar al-bashir, who then ruled for 30 years. she says the americadream includes being able to choose your own leader. president trump's rhetoric reminds her ofer past, and she's worried he will set a dangerous precedent. >> the fact that he refused to concede reminded us, reminded us of those times. so we had alst like a p.t.s.d. type of reaction. that model of transition of power that we've witnessed every four years in this countrys now at risk because future presidents might follow his footsteps and say, you know, he did it before, why can't i do it? >> alcindor: mara kavaleuskaya fled her native belarus in 2012. the human rights lawyer worked in a land with no rule of law; and the government of europe's tor"alled "last dic threatened her.

president alexander lukashenko has ruled the country arr 26 sunday is now protest day in belarus, as it has been eachay of since lukashenko was declared winner fraud- ridden early august vote. belarusian security forces have arrested more than 30,000pe le. >> every sunday morning, i wake up together with the hope that i won't get a report from belarus about my friends being tortured, beaten up on the streets or sentenced to weeks or years of imprisonment. >> alcindor: still, in t u.s., she says she has confidence in the people and institutions that >> what we have in the united states, we have the country with checks and balances, with historically very strong rule of law and respect for courts, etc. but i would say one should not take these principles for granted.

one should really care first and foremost about these key pillars of democracy that prevy ts your counom becoming another belarus. >> alcindor: last month, president-elect joe biden assured americans he would tempt to restore that confidence nationwide. what do you say to americans, especially immigrant ans who came to the united states looking for political stability and seeing all the things that the presidenis doing?" >> hang on, i'm on my way. >> alcindor: as the transition formally continues, akbar thinks america should take time to reflect.nk >> i this is an opportunity to look at our choices.or it'sviolence, more chaos, more disregard for democracy or really a moment of reflection of why we have come here, why this country has become what it is. >> alcinr: a moment for reflection, and hope, that as the president continues to insist the election was fraudulent, the country's institutions stand firm. for the pbs newshour, i'm yamiche alcindor.

>> woodruff: now we continue our weeklong look at childhood trauma. tonight, we explore how trauma is passed down from generation to generation in rural montana, are scarce and a stigmaources surrounds seeking treatment. special correspondent cat wise and producer leah nagy look at what is being doneo break that cycle. and, a warning, this piece includes references to suicide and sexual abuse that may be disturbing to some viewers. it's part of our series, "invisible scars: america's childhood trauma crisis." reporter: at the end of a winding dirt road in montana's boulder valley, lies the three- room log cabin where grace foulk's story begins. >> what i remember most was

being really little, and my dad campfires.hese little we'd all sit in lawn chairs and he'd just bring his guitar out and he'd play >> reporter: it's an idyllic setting...>> e'd play in the creek, oh, there used to be a rope swing down here. >> reporter: ...but the rugged individualism that often still defines life in ral montana can mask deep suffering, and darker momen from grace's childhood cast a shadow on her happy memories. >> my dad, hworking at the mine would leave for long periods at a time. and he also was suffering fr bipolar. he would hit the lows and the depressions and he cldn't get out of bed. he began drinking pretty heavily as well as like his father before him, i guess. >> reporter: a cycle of untreated trauma, passed down from one generation to the next. >> his dad was an abusive alcoholic. his grandpa was schizophrenic. he never treated that wound properly. he would just kind of self medicate.

he had to pull up his bootstraps and be a man. >> reporter: when she was a freshman in high school, grace's worst fear came true. her father took his life. and i just fell into the deepest, darkest place that i've ever been in my entire lif i was writing notes to loved ones because i didn't want to bt s planet anymore. i thought about taking my own life. >> reporter: grace's story is montana has one of the highest including for adols.the country, experts here say many children are growing up in homes plagued by domesc abuse, drug and alcohol addiction, and university of montofessor ryan tolleson knee says a lackou of res, combined with a deeply ingrained stigma against en acknowledging mental health issues, has led to a crisis of untreated auma in his state. >> there's a certain amount of stigma around seeking he or getting help from others or not solving problems on your own.

we also see it with respect to being able to access servis in remote areas of rural areas, are hospitals that don't have the ability to stay alive in rural counities. >> reporter: those were among the issues that contributed to a nightmare scenario in graces' town of big timber several years ago. >> 30% of high school students had serious thought about suicide. 19% had actually attempted at least one or more times. >> reporter: across rural montana, school counselors are often the only resource for students struggling with mental health issues. but grace was lucky. her guidance counselor was able to connect her to a new program, run by this woman, that grace ys saved her life. in january 2019, amber martinsee blakme montana's first community health worker specializing in mentalarealth in ruras. tae's now a trusted, discrete, local guide to mhealth resources available in big timber, whergrace lives, and ross the state, via telehealth.

>> the fact that i'm from this huge role in our success with this program. people know my face, the aknow my nam that's really your boots on the ground. that's your trusted individual in the community who has a u uniqerstanding of that culture and knows how to kind of work with that population. >> reporter: she connected grace therapists, amber reet.few >> first, it's developing are tionship so that therapy becomes a safe place, then it's about normalizing, there's a reason why we're here. an then we kind of start to dig in to the memories themselves. >> i start seeing her and from the veryirst session. i'm opening up about things and learning things about myself that i didn't even realize about myself.st i ad so many blocks of shame and trauma. >> reporter: while attitudes and resources are starting to change in some parts of the state, other areas are still struggling, like montana's reservations, where native yout suicaths occur at five times the rate of the rest of

the state. nationwide, native american children are two to three times re likely than non-hispanic white children to have experienced multiple "acrs," or adchildhood experiences. those are potentially traumatic events tcur in childhood. >> i remember when i first tooky the aces studycore was six, and that was really surprising to me. >> reporter: savannah sinquah grew up on the crow reservation, some 40 miles outside of billings, and was hised mostly mother. >> not having both parents in the household really affected, you know, my self-esteem, myce confidevel, some of the stuff i've seen like family members that were thrown in jail or prison, or other stuff that ve seen was like physica abuse. i actually lost track of how many family members i've lost to wrecks or drinking or overdosing. with adults not being around there's a lot of things that have happened to me. u know, i am a sexual abuse

survivor as a lot of us are, but that's not something that's really spoken about. >> reporter: savannah says many b the hardships experienc children on the reservation today, are the result of trauma that goes back generations. vast stretches of sinquah'sce ors' lands were taken away by the u.s. government. other injustices, she says are at the root of so many problems native country.ce around the when savannah learned about"ve e childhood experiences" for the first time, it was a wake-up call.t >> i fke somebody had turned the light on in a dark room.ha it wasn't all like that. was happening because of choices i made. a,i was born into this tra historical trauma, transgenerational trauma, and it actuallyid affect my life as an adult now. >> reporter: that knowledgean

helped sh process her childhood experiences. she now works as a therapist, and shs educating her community about trauma. >> my neration, like this is a new thing. i am like one of the first to learn about trauma and then come out and teach my people. but there's still not a lot of knowledg >> reporter: at a recent family dinner, savannah's aunt and mother shared how she helped them see their own history through a new lens. >> i never thought of myself as traumatized. >> the kind of traumas i think of are like what she had to go through, couldn't talk crow in school, could only talk english. so they had to use sign language, i think about that and in my head that's real trauma. >> reporter: savannah says she hopes that recognizing trauma will be the first step in a long joury of healing for her community. >> kids are so resilient. they will love people that have.

solo they wil people that have put them through so much. but they'rshowing up every y. and that's just so, soful. and children honestly give me hope that one day things will be better. >> reporter: grace fouhares that hope. now when she returns to the la where she grew up, sfa can feel hoshe's come. >> this is the cabin where my dad took his life. i think it was about two years before i came back down here. it doesn't give me negative feeling to be down here, we've really worked hard to make pce with things. >> reporter: grace is working for the community herogram that set her on a new course in life. >> my dad always used to talk about breaking the chain. it was something he really wanted to do. i feel like i have this

opportunity to look at other people in the eyes who've gone through similar experiences as me a to tell them, you're going to be ok. and i'm kind of hell bent on it's what my dad waveer because wanted. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ reporter: and she's now musician, like her dad. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: and she's now a ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ll she'arry on his song, but she hopes her family's chain of trauma has been broken with her. for the pbs newshour, i'm cat wise in montan >> woodruff: you can listen to more of grace's song on instagram. find us @instagramom/newshour.

>> woodruff: "the nutcracker" is one the holiday season'sost beloved aditions. it is also vital to the financial well-being of ballet companies all over the country. but this year, amid pandemic closures, all dance companie face an enormous threat. jeffrey brown reports for our ongoinarts and culture series, canvas. >> brown: live from toledo this pa weekend, make that live- streaming: the nutacker., until a week ae toledo ballet had planned to be one oft the very fstage

performances for an in-person ondience. the recent explof covid cases put a stop to that. s but there they were, adud children, including ten year ohe steven arisshird, as" fritz". already a dance veteran, this was his third ¡nutcracker.' you remember the firstyou were on stage in the nutcracker? how did it feel? >> i had butterflies in my stomach but i was so excited. and the thing they do when we're in the green room, then comes up and she calls up the scene and it gets the adrenaline up and you're all happy inside, and when you enter on stage, it's just so exciting. >> brown: the christmas fantasy of young clara, the sugar plum fairy, and the wooden nutcracker that turns into a dashing prince has been doing that to dancers and audiences for a long tim the original ballet was staged in 1892 by russia's marinsky ballet, with choreography by

marius petipa and music by pyotr ilyich tchaikovsky. it became an american tradition after george balanchine created his version at the new york city ballet in 1954. various re-workings havell foed, and as a ballet with many roles for children,ed introduc generations of young dancers to the art form. >> it's such an integral part of the ballet world, every dancer has experienced the nutcrackere in sy. >> brown: one of today's biggest stars, american ballet theatre principal dancer misty copand, has continued to spread¡ nutcracker' cheer, through years of performances. and in the 201movie, "the nutcracker and the four realms"" and she well remembe what it gave her when she started dancing at age 13. >> and it gave me a voice in a way that i d not have as a shy little girl, one of six childret juing to survive. so being able to tackle the role

of clara at 13 years old with so little training, i grew in leaps and bounds just from that experience, and it's definitely shaped who i am as a dancer today. >> brown: but this holiday season, dance and other performing arts companies face a continuing threat." dance usa', representing companies across the world of member organizatio cancelled in-person performances through the end of 2020. albut companies, includingt, have looked to creative solutions. and this year there e plenty of ¡nutcrackers', just in w ways. outdoors, at sold-out drive-in performances by the sao ballet.pr ojected on the side of a building, by the joffrey ballet in chicago.il as am, shot around town by the santa cruz ballet in, california. most of all, in re-imagined¡ virtual' performances: sansc fran nashville, washington, throughout the country. the stakes are high." yse nutcracker" is alhe single most important event on

the calendar. lisa mer-lang is artistic director of the toledo ballet. >> so many people are attending the nutcracker, 's part of their yearly tradition, and that the year, because most otherugh things that we do are losses, most othererformances. we do a lot of educational performances, we may come out even at best. with the ballet work i think that's pretty typical around the world. and it's very well known that the nutcracker iwhat affords do to be able to keep our ors open. >> brown: the toledo ballet claims an 80 year continuous history with the nutcracker, started by founder marie vogt, who diedarlier this year at age 99. mayer-lang herself grew up in toledo and studied ballet here. she spent 22 years in new york working freelance and on broadway before returning home to take over as artistic director. the hope this year: to put on a live performance for a small,

distanced audience. but even when we talked recently, she knew the odds wer. growing slim >> i definitely don't want to do anything that is going to endanger anybody. so if we can at least keep thetc cker going, that's great. if not, of course the organization. we're doing our hardest to work through this and like everybody, to be innovative in figuring out how to keep music, dance and the arts alive. >> brownin the end, the live show was cancelled, but the virtual show wt on, including s ung steven ariss iii. i asked him and ther, steven ariss junior, if they were disappointed not to he a live audience. >> no. >> brown: no? >> i'm not disappointed. the only reason i'd be disappointed is that i would not be able to put on the show. and since you're still putting on the show, i would not be disappointed. i would be proud. >> that's a good way to look at it.

>> brown: that's a really good answer. what about for dad? are you disappointed it's not a live audience? >> yeah, i'de lying if i said i wasn't. when you bring everyone together thisime of year you see old friends, you have a reason to go somewhere with family to go t watch a sht maybe you've seen before and it's a tradition.te but liken said, you have to find the positive lining in even the harshest situations. >> brown: all over the world this holiday season, just as in the story itself, the nutcracker has been broken. our wish for the dancers in toledo and everywhere: a happy ending. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: happy ending for sure. so glad th were able to keep going. before wgo, a go news update to report. and before we go, a good news update to report. st week, we brought you story on how mandatory drug testinin alabama can hold back people looking to move on with their lives e ter prison. n we profiled, frank cobb

of stevenson, alaba, had to hitchhike and walk miles to get tested. his story moved some viewers to action. one gave him a car. o another pa his remaining fines and fees. it is viewers like youho make a difference in people's lives. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshourthank you, please stay safe, and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: co

>> carnegioration of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like u. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

. hello, everyone. welcomeo "amanpour & co."s here's whaoming up. >> i will pleased to announce joseph biden has received 16 votes for president of the united states. >> the electoral college formal declaration on the 2020 election takes on add significance. voters against trump sah lican longwell joins me. ♪op'mg these words don't ring so hollow when you hear me say mer christmas and happy >> musical shape shift