No power or air conditioning.
No paychecks coming in.
No internet access.
Don’t know when their next meal will be.
Stress of figuring out systems they don’t understand.
“Disasters show us the fault lines in our infrastructure and society like nothing else can,” says EHF CEO Ann Barnes, MD, MPH. “We’re getting a glimpse. It’s hard, but we know we’ll come out on the other side with power and resources. Many of our neighbors don’t have the luxury of anticipating that within the next week they’ll be back to where they were.”
And these realities of daily life have a direct impact on a person’s health and well being. That was part of the discussion in EHF’s all-staff meeting this week focused on moving ahead as we all recovered from the hurricane in many different ways.
“I think this highlights the importance of infrastructure and live environment on health,” said Willie Bennett, an EHF senior congregational engagement officer. “We had people die because they didn’t have access to equipment and meds because people couldn’t get to them. We saw what’s happened with trees being overgrown and coming down. This is the reality for the folks in our neighborhoods. You don’t get to always choose what you want to eat. You don’t necessarily have computer access. That is the reality for many, many folks in our community. So we’re getting to live a day in the life of those folks.”
Willie ended his comments by saying that the storm and it’s long-lasting effects remind us about importance of improving hashtagHealthNotJustHealthCare.
And that’s the takeaway from this loooooong week — remember how you felt when you spent a few days battling the stark realities of life that are all too common for many Texans every day.
Follow Episcopal Health Foundation‘s efforts to change the conversation to promote equity by improving hashtagHealthNotJustHealthCare in Texas. We stand ready to accelerate positive change by tackling the unequal and unacceptable health realities faced by Texans, especially among those who face the most obstacles to health.
