The Center for Health Journalism has partnered with ethnic media organizations in California to report together on health equity, immigrant health, community well-being and gaps in health care in a unique collaborative learning effort. Learn more about the initiative here.
Nicky Cao is Vietnamese, queer and trans. She calls it being a minority within a minority at a time when her identity is hyper-politicized and under attack in policy, rhetoric, and in practice.
For Vietnamese seniors living in a mobile home park in Santa Ana, limited English proficiency make navigating leases, code enforcement, or eviction notices difficult to understand. They teeter on the edge of eviction for failure to comply with the numerous demands from the management.
Unhoused and Housing unstable Vietnamese seniors gather on the streets in Little Saigon, communing with each other and preferring that "freedom" over shelters. Severe rent burdens, an aging population, and low labor force participation are factors that have increased homelessness risk in this population.
As UCSF faces a hiring freeze, Spanish-language medical interpreters say severe short-staffing is jeopardizing patient care for immigrant families.
For far too many Asian families, finding enough food is a daily struggle. As prices climb and government aid wavers, more Chinese immigrant families in Los Angeles County are turning to food distributions for help. Language barriers and fears about their immigration status make this daily struggle even harder.
In Santa Clara county, many face a silent struggle: staying healthy, without shelter, and with limited resources. Rosa Maria lives in a makeshift tent with her six dogs and relies on mobile clinics to get regular checkups.
Advocates in Sacramento say domestic violence is one of the leading drivers of homelessness for women, particularly Black women, who already face disproportionate barriers in housing and health care. Women leaving abusive partners often have few safe places to go, and the trauma compounds when children are involved.
Due to the continuing government shutdown, SNAP (CalFresh) benefits will be halted for more than 270,000 Sacramento county residents who depend on the monthly aid to buy food. With no timeline for when the shutdown will end, local officials warn of a growing food crisis that could worsen poverty, strain the local economy, and push more residents toward homelessness.
Store closures and displacements are reshaping Chinatown and eroding the community’s emotional and physical well-being.
