Unnatural Causes

Last Thursday I went to a video premiere of “Place Matters”, which is the fifth episode in the video documentary series Unnatural Causes…is inequality making us sick? (see Meghan's previous Blog for a preview) I have to say as I walked into English High School in Jamaica Plain I was surprised to see how many high school students were present. There were parents, non-profit educators and executive directors there as well, but the sheer fact that about 45 high school students gave up their Thursday afternoon and night to come watch a community video in their auditorium was inspiring.

The video raised the question: why is your street address such a good predictor of your health? The “Place Matters” episode documented the environments of Richmond, California and West Seattle, Washington and showed how two different low-income communities had similar issues. And how one of those communities was able to rally the people of that area together to help start making change. The statistics and personal stories in the video were startling and interesting about how your environment affects your health.

After the premiere a panel discussion from three local Jamaica Plain community organizations took place. Each panelist expressed their reaction to how they notice similar issues in the neighborhoods of JP. As each panelist spoke about their action items to help keep JP from suffering like the “Place Matters” neighborhoods did, I could feel a sense of urgency and concern from the audience.

A number of people from the crowd spoke up about how JP can do things differently. Parents spoke up about the need for resources, a recent resident of JP originally from Cuba revealed he was once a practicing doctor and explained the need of educating our youth about fitness and nutrition, and finally a young student of English High School stood up and declared the need for everyone in the community to get involved. She passionately told everyone, “We shouldn’t be afraid of how big the issue is of health and environment in JP, instead we should take action and do something about it.” The purpose of the premiere of “Place Matters” episode was to begin the conversations about how the people within their own communities can begin take a look at their environments and begin to take action and change.

As, I left English High School that Thursday night at 8 pm, I could hear teens and public health educators talking together about the issues in their communities and what should happen next. The “Place Matters” video is scheduled to also be viewed in the communities of Dorchester, Mattapan, Brockton, etc. Check www.unnaturalcauses.org for updates on when the conversation can start in your neighborhood.