Vulnerable Population Observation: Low-Income Communities Poverty is a vicious cycle of lifelong barriers and troubles passed on from one generation to the next. It’s harsh effects on health and education start early on in a child’s life and continues to accumulate throughout their adult life. Living in a stress-filled home, not having a stable nutritional diet, living in toxic environments, and dealing with healthcare gaps of every kind, cripple individuals and families. Recent economic crises have deeply affected the lives of millions of American throughout the nation. Foreclosures and job layoffs are crippling many families, particularly those living in low-income communities. As poverty continues to stricken this vulnerable population, …show more content…
Disparities such as stress, nutrition, and toxic environments all contribute to the healthcare gaps within household families and communities. However, inadequate access to healthful foods has been recognized as a significant barrier to healthful dietary behaviors among individuals and families who live in low-income communities (Evans, Banks, Jennings, Nehme, Nemec, et al., 2015). Lack of food places low-income communities at greater risk for engaging in less healthful dietary behaviors because of insufficient funds. Low-income individuals living in toxic areas with limited healthful food access tend to have less healthful diets and run a higher risk for chronic diseases such as various cancers, cardiovascular disease, and Type II diabetes, compared to individuals and families living in higher income communities (Evans, et al., …show more content…
Felix Pantry, a non-profit organization, caters to the low-income community and provides them with food, clothing, household items and even healthcare services. While observing the flow of people, many different races came to the store and majority were Hispanic and non-Hispanic white’s. When conversing with a few individuals, some mentioned they come every week for food and clothing, and others came to resell the clothing items at a garage sale and use the money to pay for other expenses. St. Felix Pantry has also partnered up with Walgreens during their “Get a Shot, Give a Shot” campaign and provided flu shots to those who could not afford the vaccine. Walgreens also supports St. Felix Pantry and provides other healthcare services as well to those in need. Overall, it was a humbling experience to see how appreciative the low-income community was to have these life essentials provided to