Veronica Squires - How Neighborhoods Make Us Sick: Restoring Health and Wellness to Our Communities

InterVarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
ivpress.com

2019 by Veronica S. Squires and Breanna L. Lathrop

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Press is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges, and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, visit intervarsity.org.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

While any stories in this book are true, some names and identifying information may have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

: Used by permission of The Good Samaritan Health Center, Inc.

Lyrics from The Unmaking: Written by David Hodges and Nichole Nordeman, from Nichole Nordeman, The Unmaking, Sparrow Records, 2015. Copyright 2015 Birdwing Music (ASCAP) Birdboy Songs (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) / 3 Weddings Music All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Cover design: David Fassett
Interior design: Daniel van Loon
Images: apartment block: duncan1890 / E+ / Getty Images
shot of city map: Ugo Leonetti / /EyeEm /Getty Images

ISBN 978-0-8308-7335-7 (digital)

ISBN 978-0-8308-4557-6 (print)

This digital document has been produced by Nord Compo.

With admiration for our colleagues and contributors

who are making their neighborhoods healthier.

And for our children:

May our life work help narrow the
life expectancy gap for your generation.

But if I could turn life on its side

Go back and do everything right

Oh I think, I think

that I might.

T he drive to the clinic in the morning is usually dark, the sun just starting to emerge over the heart of West Atlanta. Near the clinic, the roads become lined with abandoned houses and closed businesses. There are several corner shops and a few gas stations. Despite the early hours, there is always foot traffic and kids in uniform waiting at bus stops. Occasionally stray dogs wander along the road, and someone holding a sign is asking for money. Shortly before the clinic opens, the local jail procession drives past taking prisoners to work duty for the day. The landscape fits the story of urban poverty: unemployment, crime, and abandonment.

Yet, having worked and lived in the neighborhood for nearly a decade, we are aware of another story as well. The neighborhood is filled with vibrant church communities offering fellowship, meals, and social services in addition to weekly sermons. There is an urban garden movement with fresh produce hiding behind many rundown buildings. Several clinics, like the one we work in, offer health care services and health education. Progressive and creative learning communities like BEST Academy and KIPP are just blocks off the route to work. The neighborhood is filled with engaged community members with deep passion for their community and strong family ties. Yet the neighborhood is suffering.

When the Virginia Commonwealth University released their Mapping Life Expectancy project, we saw numbers that confirmed what years of clinical and community development experience had revealed. Life expectancy in this West Atlanta zip code is thirteen years less than life expectancy on the more affluent side of town. A twenty-minute drive within the perimeter of Atlanta creates a life expectancy gap of thirteen years. This finding wasnt unique to Atlanta. From a sixteen year gap in Chicago to twelve years in St. Louis and twenty years in Philadelphia, life expectancy gaps persist throughout US urban areas. How is it possible that people living within the same city could have such drastic differences in life expectancies? How can residents in neighboring zip codes have such distinct differences in mortality?