For nearly 100 years, it has been illegal to build anything other than detached, single-family homes on most residential land. As a result, many cities are facing a housing affordability and stability crisis which disproportionately displaces Latinos and low-income communities of color, contributing to disparities in health and wealth. That’s why advocates across the country are pushing for rent control and more inclusive zoning laws — and it’s working in Oregon (13.3% Latino). This year, Oregon passed Senate Bill 608 and House Bill 2001. These laws include three major policy changes: Banning no-cause evictions, passing state-wide rent control, and legalizing duplexes.
Affordable Housing Crisis
As access to affordable housing diminishes across the nation, Americans are ...
The City of San Francisco (15.1% Latino) unanimously approved legislation to create an Office of Racial Equity on Tuesday. The position will oversee a citywide race-equality plan, according to city officials as reported by NBC Bay Area. "This legislation will hold us accountable to moving the needle for racial equity in our city and addressing the disparities facing communities of color with regards to economic stability, housing, health outcomes or policing," said City Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer, who proposed the legislation along with Supervisor Vallie Brown. "It is long past due that San Francisco makes real our commitment to racial equity, and this Office of Racial Equity will make sure that everyone in San Francisco has equitable opportunity to survive."
Racial Equity ...
We already know that Latinos are more likely to die on the job compared to their white and black counterparts. The majority of Latino work-related deaths happen in the construction industry, and most fatalities affect foreign-born Latinos. However, there is good news: This issue was addressed at the Safety 2019 Conference. “There is a lack of communication between foreign-born Latinos, their superiors and even their coworkers because of limited language capabilities,” Carmen Julia Castellon, Health and Safety Specialist for U.S. Cellular and a Bolivian immigrant, told EHS Today.
Latinos & Workplace Harms
Latinos make up 19% of all workforce fatalities, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2016, 879 Latino workers were killed on the job. Just one year ...
Health equity is when everyone has a fair and just opportunity to live their healthiest life possible. Yet health inequity remains. Latinos, for example, face discriminatory policies and barriers to healthcare, social support, healthy food, and more. That's why we're proud to share A Blueprint for Changemakers: Achieving Health Equity Through Law & Policy, a new report from ChangeLab Solutions and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that can help communities advance a local agenda to ensure health equity for everyone. The Blueprint report offers key policies and legal strategies on five underlying realities behind health inequity:
1. Reduce Structural Discrimination
Historic oppression, segregation, and bias create health inequity. Among Latinos, implicit bias impacts ...
We already know that nearly a million SNAP participants could be affected by the Trump Administration’s proposed rule to tighten SNAP work requirements. However, there’s more bad news. The vast majority of those potentially impacted reside in deep poverty and live alone, according to a new analysis released by Mathematica, which is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “No one in America should go hungry or live in poverty,” said Giridhar Mallya, senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in a press release. “The findings of this analysis show that USDA’s proposed rule would disproportionately affect some of the most vulnerable SNAP participants. USDA should carefully consider whether this change promotes the ultimate goal of the SNAP ...
At least 9.6 million U.S. children (13%) live in poverty. Among Latino children, poverty rates are even higher (22% vs. 8% white children). These children will often lack quality education and healthcare while suffering trauma and poor health outcomes. But what if there was a way to fight poverty? Or better yet, what if you had a road map with the most effective ways to fight poverty? A new bipartisan report produced by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), focuses on 10 big policy areas that could cut the child poverty rate by up to 50%, while at the same time increasing employment and earnings among adults living in low-income families. Researchers conducted two simulations or projections for each policy area to explore the effects that ...
The SNAP federal food assistance program is at risk again, and YOU CAN HELP! The Trump Administration wants to cut SNAP and could abolish food aid to 750,000 Americans who are underemployed and unemployed. This could fuel hunger and poverty among those most vulnerable, says the Food Research & Action Center. SNAP cuts would hurt Latinos, who are already less likely to seek nutrition help for fear of immigration penalties. You can make a public comment to USDA on SNAP until April 2, 2019.
How to Submit a Comment to Save SNAP!
1. Copy one of our Salud America! model comments. Tweak the parts in green:
SNAP HAS VALUE I am a NAMEOFPROFESSION in NAMEOFPLACE. I really value the SNAP program in my community. SNAP is proven to improve the economy, according to a Salud America! ...
Paid leave reduces the use of public services, boosts employee productivity, and can help families better succeed—yet three in four Latinos are unable to take such time. Despite data that shows its benefits, there is no federal requirement to provide paid family leave. The 1993 federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), legislation most businesses follow, does not cover all workers and leave offers are unpaid. Lack of paid leave and other economic support contributes to health and economic disparities among Latinas, Latinos, and low-income families. Still, paid leave is gaining popular support, including a proposal for universal paid family leave. “If the [corporate officers and directors] gets paid leave, then the factory floor worker should also get paid leave,” ...
The overall U.S. cancer death rate fell 27% from 1991 to 2016, according to a recent study by the American Cancer Society. Good news, right? Not so fast. The report revealed a disturbing trend: a growing gap in cancer death rates based on wealth. "It was surprising to see that the disparities by socioeconomic status are actually widening," Rebecca Siegel, first author of the study and strategic director of surveillance information at the American Cancer Society, told CNN. "Wealth causes differences in exposure to risk factors and also access to high-quality cancer prevention, early detection and treatment." Cancer is the leading cause of death among U.S. Latinos. They are more likely to receive a cancer diagnoses in later, less curable cancer stages.
The Bad News
This is ...
