Listen: Immigrants Fear Gun Violence and Students Conduct Covid Outreach

By Heidi de Marco and Stephanie O'Neill Patison February 6, 2023

Jessica Rodriguez, who immigrated to the U.S. from Honduras, holds a photograph of her daughter, Kenia Rivera, who died from a drive-by shooting a few blocks from their Los Angeles apartment in 2021. “As an immigrant, I felt impotent during my daughter’s murder,” Rodriguez said in Spanish. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Immigrants ‘Very Worried’ About Gun Violence

California Healthline reporter and producer Heidi de Marco explained that many immigrants living in California are fearful of gun violence — but less likely to arm themselves — for Radio Bilingüe’s “Edición Semanaria” (“Weekly Edition”) on Jan. 27. A 2021 survey conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research found that nearly a quarter of immigrants reported feeling “very worried” about being a victim of gun violence, compared with roughly 13% of California adults. At the same time, fewer than 8% of immigrants in the state had a firearm, compared with more than 22% of U.S.-born adults in California.

(Note: This audio is in Spanish.)

Sean Tan, a senior public administration analyst at the center who worked on the report, said little is known about patterns of gun ownership among immigrants, but researchers were surprised by the level of concern immigrants expressed about gun violence. At least 18 people, many of them Asian American immigrants, were killed in two recent mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay.

Ana Montes, who immigrated to the U.S. from Toluca, Mexico, sits on the stairs in front of her family home in Los Angeles’ South Central region where she found her uncle and 1-year-old brother shot by stray bullets from a gang shooting. Montes says her mother remains traumatized and becomes fearful “when she hears of mass shootings in the news.”(Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Students Promote Covid Vaccines

California Healthline contributing radio correspondent Stephanie O’Neill described how community health groups are training teens to conduct covid outreach and education where vaccine fears persist.

A 2021 survey commissioned by Voto Latino found 51% of Latinos who are unvaccinated don’t trust the covid vaccine. The most common reasons included a belief that the vaccine is ineffective and a distrust of vaccine manufacturers.

Health providers and advocates believe young Latinos make effective health ambassadors because many already help Spanish-speaking relatives navigate the health care system. Read the original article by California Healthline reporter and producer Heidi de Marco here.

More Californians Are Choosing to Die at Home

California Healthline contributing radio correspondent Stephanie O’Neill reported a steady rise in the percentage of Californians who choose to die at home.

In 1999, just over a quarter of deaths in the state occurred at home. That climbed to 36% just before the pandemic, and the trend appears to be continuing. Last year, nearly 40% of deaths between January and October happened at home.

End-of-life care specialists say the increase reflects a desire to end one’s life in a comfortable, familiar place. Read the original article by California Healthline contributing data reporter Phillip Reese here.

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