I cover public health, ethnic health and health disparities in Orange County, Calif. at VoiceofOC.org, which is a nonprofit investigative news website. I also teach in the Literary Journalism program at UC Irvine. Recent awards include the Los Angeles Press Club, Orange County Press Club, National Education Writers Association and the Council on Contemporary Families.
Homelessness is a health crisis, and the clock is ticking. With homeless life expectancy between 42 and 52, and half of the nation's homeless at least 50, it's not surprising that Orange and several other California counties have seen a dramatic rise in homeless deaths in recent years.
Low-income Mexican immigrants might be healthier than the overall U.S. population on some measures, but that health advantage fades as immigrants adjust to life in the U.S. That in turn can have worrying consequences when it comes to Latina birth outcomes.
Low-income Mexican immigrants with little formal schooling are healthier than the overall U.S. population, according to a number of measures. But once in the U.S., they lose their health advantages within a generation, despite the improvement in their standard of living.
