Getting Healthy in L.A.

Although the health care needs of our community are great, there are not sufficient health care resources available for homeless and low-income residents. Based on our organizing and educational efforts over the past year, the most significant gaps in access to needed health care are: comprehensive health care (although there are many health care providers in our community, many cannot provide the full scope of services needed by patients); in-home health services (even for those who access these services, residential hotels charge $10 per visit, often making the service unaffordable); inconsistent City policies that serve as a barrier to access (for example, participants in a City-funded needle exchange programs are consistently cited by LAPD for drug paraphernalia); Hepatitis C and Tuberculosis treatment (programs refuse to serve homeless people due to the type and length of treatment); lack of appropriate facilities/housing for those discharged from hospitals; dental care; vision care; and appropriate mental health care (most homeless service providers are unequipped to house or adequately serve people with severe mental illness). In addition, there is a great need for continued education and mobilization of residents regarding access to health care and advocacy for improved health care policy, although our campaign has made a great impact in its first year.

LA CAN works to increase access to quality, affordable, comprehensive health care in a community that is substantially affected by infectious disease, chronic health problems, mental health conditions, and other health conditions, an issue that is worsened by the recent County budget cuts in health care. The issue will be addressed by grass-roots leadership, which will empower community members that are often disenfranchised and disregarded by policy makers and the broader community. LA CAN also collaborates with local organizations and broader health coalitions, including Homeless Health Care Los Angeles and Western Regional Advocacy Project.

LA CAN has also recently launched a new collaboration with St. John’s Well Child and Family Center, Esperanza Community Housing, and Strategic Actions for a Just Economy to address health conditions related to slum housing conditions in residential hotels. LA CAN organizers will be working with Esperanza health care providers to identify and reduce unhealthy conditions in housing, such as mold and lead-based paint, and with St. John’s to provide appropriate medical care for lead-based paint exposure, asthma, and other housing-related illnesses. This unique collaboration will allow tenants to receive medical treatment that accounts for their housing conditions, often causing or exacerbating their medical conditions, while at the same time organizing tenants to force landlords to improve the conditions in their hotels.