Photovoice Assignment: Healthcare and Food

Lack of Access to Healthcare and Food in the Los Angeles Community of Cypress Park

Jennifer Benito

Health 102: Community Health Organizations

California State University, Channel Islands

December 1, 2021

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Photovoice Assignment: Healthcare and Food

Lack of Access to Healthcare and Food In The Community of Cypress Park

Cypress Park is located in Northeast Los Angeles. It is the neighborhood I was born and

raised in. My community is united and when help is needed the people get together to do what

they can. The Cypress Park community is the heart of the community. The people in my

community are low-income so there are times people need help learning about different

programs that can assist them. The people working at the community center help in any way they

can whether it is helping them apply to jobs or helping them apply to programs their kids need.

Though there are many strengths in this community there are challenges that are faced. This

community is predominantly Hispanic. I got the chance to work in the community center and it

allowed me to see how many families struggle with accessing healthcare and sometimes food. I

had an opportunity to talk to three members of the community and hear some stories they had to

share. I know this community is small but there is a range of problems whether it is lack of

access to healthcare, unable to afford rent, and gang violence. The main thing people struggle

with is not being able to afford health care and food.

Alicia is the first person I had the chance to speak with. Although she does not live in

Cypress Park she has worked in the community center for a couple of years now. She has helped

the people of Cypress Park from the most basic to the most complicated things. I had the chance

to work with her for a month in 2020 and I saw the impact she had on the community. The main

reason people come to her is to apply to programs like Medi-Cal and provide bags full of food.

She shared a heartbreaking story that I knew was worth sharing. Throughout the years she has

helped families gain healthcare but during 2020 she had to see families struggle and feel

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helpless. During the pandemic, thousands of people died and had to be hospitalized. There was a

lady that came into the center after being referred by a friend because it was her last option. She

is a stay-at-home mom and her husband was the provider for her family. They had four kids that

were two, five, eight, and twelve. Her husband caught COVID and was sick for weeks. He could

not work and his wife could not get a job because people were not hiring. She also had kids at

home and could not leave them because schools had closed. While trying to take care of her

husband and kids she also had to worry about paying rent. Her husband was a construction

worker and did not have a steady income. Another problem she had was getting groceries

because she did not know how to drive. After juggling everything the worse came to her when

her husband had to be hospitalized. He had to be on a ventilator and she was thinking the worst.

She knew they would not be able to afford the hospital bill, she was struggling to pay rent, and

barely had food to give her children. After a month and on the brink of giving up she had a friend

refer her to Alicia. Alicia signed her up to be part of the program she ran so in the future she

could give her a call and provide her with new programs and gifts the center gives. She helped

her apply for Medi-Cal and food stamps. She told Alicia that all she was able to give her kids

was fast food and during that time Alicia had received food donations. She was able to give the

lady two big bags of food full of fruit, vegetables, jam, bread, canned food, and even some

desserts. She was grateful for Alicia and a couple of weeks after she applied she was able to get

food stamps and they finally had health insurance. Luckily her husband was getting better and

also helped her apply to a program that was helping people with rent at the time. She was able to

get a thousand dollars from the center as well. The picture Alicia provided me with was the

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Photovoice Assignment: Healthcare and Food

picture of the community center itself. She shared his picture because she truly believes that the

center is the reason people in the community have access to healthcare and food. She provides

people with programs from the city to help low-income families have opportunities others have.

The next person I talked to was Teresa. Teresa is in her 40s and has lived in Cypress Park

for about fifteen years. She would always keep to herself but after an incident, she knew she had

to be some sort of advocate. Her husband suffered from alcohol addiction and made a mistake

that will affect him and his family forever. While he was intoxicated he climbed a utility pole and

threw himself off of it. He was hospitalized for months and had to go to physical therapy after.

They had a lot of medical bills to pay and had to find ways to pay. She and her family had health

insurance but it was not enough to cover everything. She had to work multiple jobs to provide for

not only her husband but their three children. After that, her husband was not the same person he

was before so she had to become the main provider. She started working with the community by

providing food and hosting meetings to make the community better. Her main concern was

helping people get groceries because she knew the struggle of paying for groceries when she had

other bills due. After talking to her this is what she wanted people to know “I like to always be

empowered to help others. I am always involved in the community because I believe that my

voice and my participation are very important. Currently, I organize deliveries of food, pantries,

and personal items for the elderly, the homeless, and vulnerable families with the support of

organizations and friends. All I am is because my parents and two very important women in my

life believed in me and what I could do for others. If anyone who reads this message thinks that I

can help and support them, do not hesitate to contact me. I will if I can.” The picture she wanted

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Photovoice Assignment: Healthcare and Food

to share was of her and her volunteers loading up her truck to do grocery deliveries around the

community. She will continue to be an advocate and hopes to grow her organization even more.

The last person I talked to was Maria. She has lived in Cypress Park with her husband for

thirty years. She has seen this neighborhood grow into what it is today. She has seen all the good

and the bad and even though she has struggled she has overcome the barriers. Her husband has a

condition in his bones where one wrong move he could break a bone. Throughout the years he

has broken many bones and could not work for months. The main struggle they went through

was being able to afford food because she did not work at all. They had to rely on the money

they had saved. They have three boys so in total there were five who had to eat. Two of her sons

also had the same conditions so what the husband went through the two boys also went through.

Due to their condition, they were in the hospital many times getting treated and going through

therapy. Most of the money went to those bills and it was hard to get money to pay for everyday

necessities. People in the community started a food distribution and she started to get things from

there. The picture she shared with me was of the people of Cypress Park picking up fresh fruits

and vegetables as well as canned food. They give a variety of things to make a home-cooked

meal.

These stories helped me realize that Cypress Park has a lot of members that have gone

through the same struggles. Most of the people either have no access to health insurance or it is

still expensive for them to afford. Even though one of the people I talked to does not live in

Cypress Park they have been serving the community for a long time. Due to them being

low-income they could not afford groceries most of the time leading them to rely on fast food.

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Photovoice Assignment: Healthcare and Food

The population in Cypress Park comes to a total of 2,679. The community is predominantly

Hispanic or Latino making up 84.6% of the population. The total of White is 7.6%, Asian is

6.1%, and Black is 1.3%. The median household income is about $54,572. According to the

article “For Many Low-Income Californians, Health Care is Still Too Expensive” by Claudia

Boyd-Barrett “Affordability barriers prompted 55 percent of low-income people or their

household family members to delay getting medical or dental treatment in the past year, such as

check-ups, tests, prescriptions and mental health care.” It is hard for many to be able to get the

necessary needs because they can not afford it. Not only is health insurance a problem people

have but also not being able to afford food. As stated in “Food insecurity hits nearly 1 million

LA County households during COVID, says report” Galperin found that “food banks reported

serving 10 times more working and low-income families during the COVID-19 pandemic, and

levels in October 2021 remain higher than they did before March 2020. The highest portion of

impacted residents included people who were unemployed, single parents and low-income

women of color.” Low-income families still need help. It is hard to get access to resources

because of the pandemic.

This inspires me to go back to the community center for winter break to work for them

again. I want to give back to my community especially during these times because many people

might need it. It might be hard to share these stories because it makes people vulnerable. Luckily

my family did not have to go through these struggles during the pandemic but I still want to be

able to help as much as I can. The government has provided help for low-income families but

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Photovoice Assignment: Healthcare and Food

sometimes it is not enough. The healthcare system could be improved. I hope people are not

afraid to ask for help because sometimes we all need it.

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Photovoice Assignment: Healthcare and Food

Photo provided by Alicia

Photo provided by Teresa

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Photovoice Assignment: Healthcare and Food

Photo provided by Maria

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Photovoice Assignment: Healthcare and Food

References

Boyd-Barrett, C. (2019, July 15). For many low-income Californians, health care is still too

expensive. California Health Report. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from

https://www.calhealthreport.org/2019/06/19/for-many-low-income-californians-health-car

e-is-still-too-expensive/.

Cypress Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California (CA), 90065 detailed profile. Cypress

Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California (CA), 90065 subdivision profile - real

estate, apartments, condos, homes, community, population, jobs, income, streets. (n.d.).

Retrieved December 2, 2021, from

https://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Cypress-Park-Los-Angeles-CA.html.

Service, C. N. (2021, October 15). Food insecurity hits nearly 1 million la county households

during COVID, says report. Daily News. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from

https://www.dailynews.com/2021/10/14/food-insecurity-hits-nearly-1-million-la-county-h

ouseholds-during-covid-says-report/.

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