It takes a lot of time to explain how the health care system works to patients and their caregivers with limited English proficiency. There are numerous forms that need to be read and understood. People often sign those forms whether or not they understand them.
Thousands of San Joaquin County residents are slipping through the health care safety net.
This story was produced as part of a larger project led by April Xu, a participant in the 2018 National Fellowship.
Other stories in this series include:
What happens when a poorer, unincorporated section of Sonoma is annexed by a wealthier neighboring city? Two editors share what they learned from telling stories of how annexation is impacting a community's health.
"The biggest thing I learned about people who were reluctant to talk: Emotion affects how people talk about their health, so hearing what they have to say in person matters a great deal."
An inaccurate census would deprive vulnerable communities of vital public and private resources, writes civil rights advocate LaGloria Wheatfall.
An 8-year-old boy's battered feet hint at the deeper traumas many migrant children are left carrying.
In LA's Boyle Heights neighborhood, a safety net clinic says patients have come to distrust health care in the wake of President Trump's aggressive moves on illegal immigration.
For years, the New River has been plagued by toxic pollutants and raw sewage spills. In 2016, two Desert Sun journalists set out to discover why.
There is no way for an outsider to just parachute into a different culture and start writing about something as complex as refugee trauma. It takes building trust in that community.
