TAKING BACK OUR BODIES
Almost one year ago today, Ascension, the largest non-profit health system in the U.S., announced its plan to greatly reduce the services offered at St. Joseph Hospital. St. Joe’s is the only remaining general hospital on Milwaukee’s North Side."
OPINION: The fight against ‘medical red-lining’ on the North Side
JACK HANSON, RICK BANKS AND NATE GILLIAM, APRIL 18, 2019
Environmental injustice is often looked at through the lens of the physical: houses, cars, landscape. But environmental injustice can go beyond what is seen. The negative consequences it can have on a persons health can have a lasting impact that may not be noticed for years.
HEALTH JUSTICE
Limited Health Access
Health becomes an environmental injustice when a community is more vulnerable to certain health concerns due to their location and socio-economic level. Specifically in Milwaukee, capitalism and deindustrialization has produced unequal environmental outcomes (low-paying job market that does not provide health benefits, cost of insurance/medicine, lack of hospitals, doctor's offices, and/or staff, etc.) that restrict accessibility of overall healthcare. This is the case with the North Side of Milwaukee, whose residents face an increase in multiple health risks due to the extreme lack of resources in the area they live in.
FOOD JUSTICE
Limited Food Access
Reoccurring, serious health issues from heart disease, diabetes, obesity, to reproductive concerns, and even mental health are all byproducts of repeatedly eating greasy, sugary, fried fast foods. Along with sever health issues, a lack of access to raw food material can keep community members from cooking homemade meals, and enjoying the sense of identity cooking and food can bring. Some may feel a loss of identity from the loss of cultural cooking practices because they can not purchase the food necessary. However, Sherman Park and Washington Park residents have refused to accept starving in a urban desert, and are instead actively participating in strategies to redefine their neighborhood as no longer a Food Desert but a Food Destination.