In This Suburban Neighborhood, Poverty Is Quiet, But Just As Insidious To Children’s Well-Being
You don’t see sprawling tent villages on the streets around Telfair, and there’s little of the squalor so starkly evident on skid row and elsewhere. Instead, poverty is hidden in the fabric of the suburban design. Los Angeles Times investigates the toll the housing crisis is taking on families who live there.
Los Angeles Times:
Hidden In L.A. Suburbia, Wrenching Poverty Preys On Children And Destroys Dreams
Los Angeles Unified, the second-largest public school system in the country, is more than a sprawling collection of campuses — it’s one of the nation’s largest depositories of child poverty. About 80% of the more than 600,000 students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. When I heard from Supt. Austin Beutner that nearly a quarter of the students at Telfair last year were classified as homeless, I began visiting the school and the neighborhood, hoping to give some human shape to the numbers. You don’t see sprawling tent villages on the streets around Telfair, and there’s little of the squalor so starkly evident on skid row and elsewhere. Poverty is quieter here. It lives indoors for the most part. To an extent, it’s hidden in the fabric of the suburban design, and for all the focus on homeless encampments in Los Angeles, far more people cope with cramped, inadequate, barely affordable housing. (Lopez, 11/25)
In other public health news —
Ventura County Star:
Out Of Backpacks, Ventura County Doctors Serve The Most Vulnerable
The group that visited a known homeless encampment on a recent Monday was part of a new effort geared at delivering medical care to some of the most vulnerable in the community. Over the past five months or so, the Ventura County Backpack Street Medicine team has visited river bottoms, street corners, parks, valleys and parking lots. Their immediate goal is to provide basic medical treatment and preventive care. The longer goal is to develop relationships. (Martinez, 11/22)
Modesto Bee:
Clinics To Bring Free Health Care To Homeless And Poor In Turlock
Mobile health clinics will make two stops in Turlock next week to offer free medical services to the homeless and low-income individuals and families. Legacy Health Foundation provided grant funds for Castle Family Health Centers in Atwater and the UCSF-Fresno Residency Program to bring services to people with limited access to health care in Stanislaus and Merced counties. (Carlson, 11/23)
KPBS:
Policing Tactics Can Affect Health Inequity, Association Says
The debate over police-community relations isn’t just a political concern but also a matter of public health. That’s according to the American Public Health Association, which unveiled new findings in San Diego during its annual conference focused on health equity. KPBS Reporter Tarryn Mento heard the details from Executive Director Dr. Georges Benjamin. (Mento, 11/23)