I have had an increasing urge to justify and explain to everyone the importance of my values, one of those being public health and health equity.
A large part of what enables us to have fulfilling lives is the health of our community.
Having just moved to the Twin Cities in Minnesota, I’m reflecting on the value of community and the value of my chosen field of study.
This time next month my Master of Public Health degree will be underway, with a program in Community Health Promotion.
While I have become accustomed to the questions of, ”What are you going to do with that?” and even “What is community health?”, I really wanted to talk about this for my own sake.
I have what feels like a responsibility to work towards increasing the health of those among us who have become accustomed to being sick. There are whole urban communities that exist as medical refugees living next to millionaires.
Communities should stand as shining examples of the best parts of humanity. The part of us that helps and supports each other simply because we care for and have personal relationships with those around us.
The concept of a community functioning in this way may seem so foreign to some of us. We've grown accustomed to the individualism and the dog-eat-dog world that we live in where we don't look at our neighbors and our systems as integral to our well being. However, if we're honest with ourselves, we desire this. Deep down, we see an idyllic representation of a family unit or people connected across families and generations and we strive for it. Just listen to the last one of your friends that traveled to a country in the Global South. They marveled at how "inviting" and "family-oriented" the people were, as if this should not be the norm.
While I understand that a large part of this is cultural, I also understand that in the United States since its conception as an English colony, Native Americans, stolen people from Africa, and other marginalized groups' attempts at creating community have repeatedly tried to be discouraged and erased.
Community is freedom and it is rebellion.
Looking at the health of a community is so much more than whether there is a prevalence of hospitals in that area. It is asking the question of are people given the opportunity and the resources to really exist as a community? Or are they repeatedly displaced, brought drugs and economic desperation, told they are not worthy?
Urban community health is so important to me because cities show us firsthand what happens when community is disrupted and abused. The vast move to suburbs, white flight, gentrification, and barriers to home ownership (and housing in general) have resulted in what we see today with poor urban infrastructure and a lack of funding for inner city areas.
The problems arising in our community didn't come from nowhere and they didn't arise because anyone in those neighborhoods chose or asked for it.
So I am starting this Community Health Series in order to give some perspective to what I believe is one of the most important focus areas for those interested in making a difference and helping people. I am not only making the case for those who may be confused at what exactly the field entails but the different ways folks in my field are making a difference.
I hope to not only educate others but also myself and to do my part in changing our culture so we can change our world.
Art by B Mike
Cover image: "Love and Protection" by New Orleans–based artist B Mike
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