My community, it's Hispanic. The schools. The place where we stayed at. The stores. The neighborhood. Communities is a huge word. So let me explain it this way. My community first starts with myself, so I need to be responsible for me. Then the community at large. So I'm a resident of Baltimore City. For me, it would me Upton, Pendol area. Mccollum homes. Baltimore, my community because I've lived in Baltimore all my life. My community is people, then the programs, and so forth in East Baltimore. My community is in West Baltimore. My community has gone from a prominent black community to one now that at one point in time in 1950s, it was considered the suburbs, which now is considered the ghetto. It's a close-net area where you have a whole lot of different family members, who knows one another. A whole lot of different facilities where you can go whenever you need resources. We try to keep it clean, keep things together, and we watch out for each other children. I would say more of the immigrant community. It's me. It's my neighbors. It's my family. It's my church. Everybody is part of the community. I'm part of the community. Everybody plays a position in the community. Boy. In East Baltimore where's primarily low-income blacks, low-educated blacks. The life expectancy here is 20 years less than five miles away, which is in Roland Park. That's tragic when you think about it. In a community around where I live at, you had to keep your eyes and ears open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can't sleep at no way shape out of form. My community is a law of rough, lots of violence. Like I said, low poverty, gangs, and drug dealers, I can say that. Well, drugs, lot of drugs activity we have in the neighborhood, and we also have a lot of prostitution going on. If the violence can stop, I think our community will be better. It's way worse than it was because everybody's about self. The current state is in need of help right now because it's more of a low poverty area where you have a lot of people who don't really have any place to go, any resources. Well, they have the resources but they don't know how to use them. My community is low income. People who are unemployed. Parents that still are concerned about their families and their children and their safety. So you find older people who I have to say, "Do I have to buy food? What about medication? The medication, do I have to cut my medication and get food?" I think our health is not that good because we don't have a good customs. We don't eat healthy. The health in my community is and was average at best, I guess. You see a lot of people like they're sick, they need help They don't affect my health. I live in the projects and it affects my health along with my children health a lot. Whereas there is time where a shot came through the window and my daughter almost got hit by a bullet. It can be stressful at times with how you all live in. The crime. Majorly because stress is a major factor in someone's health. It messes with your mental health. Traditionally, many of these people work 20-30 years and never ever had health insurance. The only time they went to any medical facility was the emergency room when they were almost dying. But now, things have changed and they do have a card that allows them to get some care. So the health has improved and as a result of that. If you have good health insurance, you get better treatment. Because our status is not legal, they don't want to say nothing. They just call the ambulance when they already had the baby. So the ambulance has to come and cut everything and take five people, there from the mother. Race play a big part in health period. Because there's nowhere to go to purchase something as simple as a stalk of celery, a pound of onions, five pounds of potatoes. I can't get there from a corner store. You can get a popsicle, maybe. The community suffers with health because of diabetes, because of cholesterol, because of high blood pressure. Education affect your health because I know a lot of people that don't even know how to read. If you don't know how to read, how are you going to get to a doctor to be able to help you. That would be hard. I don't know if I've ever seen one over the TV. More place for the children to exercise. More people going to the dentist. More people taking responsible of their health. Everyone getting along. No crime. Being able to come out. How about bath in a day when you could sit with your door open. The idea will be the one in which health is a right to everybody.
