BY LYS MENDEZUP206A FINAL

MARCH 14 , 2011

Health and Housing in South Los Angeles

Health issues in South Los Angeles

South Los Angeles has the highest overall rates of disease and premature deaths in the county.

The region disproportionately suffers from lack of healthcare access, poor physical design and lack of quality housing.

The South Los Angeles service planning area has some of the county’s highest proportions of children with asthma and lead poisoning.

Transportation and money are barriers to medical care.

What can explain concentration of poor health outcomes in South Los Angeles?

There is evidence that several health issues in South Los Angeles can be linked to environmental conditions found in the home.

Prevalence of slum housing in region.Over 18 percent of units built before 1939;

less than 40 percent are owner-occupiedAlmost 40 percent of units are overcrowded.Lax code enforcement and inadequate

inspections leave tenants with few recourses to fix housing issues.

What housing conditions are found in South Los Angeles Homes?

A survey of patients from St. John’s Clinics in South Los Angeles found the following slum housing conditions in over 1,400 homes:

Rats Bedbugs Mold Chipped paint Leaking walls Roaches

Policy question: can better housing regulations improve health outcomes in South Los Angeles?

Links between housing and healthSymptom Slum Housing Condition Health Impacts

Lead Poisoning Peeling Chipped paint Paint dust

Kidney disease Developmental problems in

children

Respiratory Problems Mold, mildew Dust mites, roach droppings Inadequate ventilation

Asthma Chronic bronchitis Allergic rhinitis

Dead Roaches in ears Roach infestation Ear infection

Rashes and fungal infections Fleas from rats Dirty carpets Leaking water, humidity

Acute infections Dermatitis

Is South Los Angeles a high-risk health hotspot?

Links between health and housing

Efforts in South Los Angeles

St. John’s Well Child and Family Center has ten clinics in South Los Angeles.

The clinics work with a collaboration of community-based groups to organize tenants and fight for housing improvements.

Tenants tend to be immigrant, low-income, or elderly residents with few financial or legal resources.

Policy Recommendations

Stricter housing codes that address housing environmental issues that affect health.

Better housing inspections and harsher citations that remove the incentive to be a slumlord.

Resources to organizations that address health and housing concerns in region.

Better coordination among school, health, and social services to address housing concerns.

Better transportation access in medically-underserved areas.

Models and Metadata

Skills Used

Inset map Point/graduated symbol Create index Attribute subset selection Buffering Geocoding Charts/graphs/images Modeling Metadata Measurement/Analysis Original data Hotspot analysis

Information and pictures from:

Strategic Actions for a Just EconomyLos Angeles County Department of Public

HealthNational Center for Healthy Housing