Several of our MPH students attended the 2017 CityMatCH MCH Leadership Conference & Healthy Start Convention, held September 18-20, in Nashville, Tennessee. What follows is a post from one of these attendees.
by Kara Hoffman, BS
Coming in to the CityMatCH conference this year, I was not sure exactly what to expect. However, within moments of the opening plenary session beginning I knew that I was going to have a life-changing experience in Nashville. The conference as a whole placed an emphasis on the role of public health professionals in changing the current national dialogue around racism, both on the systemic and individual levels. The multitude of ways in which racism in America affects health outcomes is truly astounding – and I know as a future healthcare provider and public health professional that I need to take a stand for my patients and for the health of the entire nation.
One of the first sessions I went to was about housing inequities. Several panelists presented their work, all coming from different parts of the country yet all showing the same results: the color of a person’s skin negatively affects their ability to get fair, good quality, affordable housing regardless of their socioeconomic standing. One of the presenters, who works in the affordable housing sector in Cincinnati, said, “The home is the foundation of health. If we want to really improve the health of Americans in this current moment, we need to address the housing issues at play today. That means looking at everything from why the housing markets are failing in some of our cities, to realizing that people will give up almost anything – even food – before they will give up their shelter. Without a safe home, no woman or child will be in good health. Period.”
This really struck a cord with me because I had worked throughout college with some homeless services in the Washington, D.C. area and had never once thought about the fact that just a home is not good enough. People need safe homes that are lead and mold and parasite free in order to be truly healthy, both mentally and physically. As I embark on the next steps of my career journey, I will always keep at the forefront of my practice as a public health nurse that it is critical for people to be living in safe homes, and working to address this issue in my interactions with them in any way that I can. Coalitions need to be formed and strengthened between the public health and housing sectors in order to connect people to the resources they need to find affordable, safe housing for their families, and I hope to contribute to this movement throughout the rest of my life.
Kara Hoffman received her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise and Nutrition Science from The George Washington University in 2013. She is currently a second-year MPH student, concentrating in Maternal and Child Health, and she plans to graduate in December 2017. She will be attending nursing school in January to become a public health nurse. Her interests include improving access to health care services, child and adolescent health, and holistic family health. She also enjoys doing yoga, going hiking, and spending time outside with her dog!
