Equity Issues in Building Healthy Communities

Everyone wants and deserves to live in communities that are safe and healthy. Incidents of violence can result in significant negative outcomes for individuals, families, and communities. Violence can impact one’s physical health, mental health, and productivity and can contribute to substance use disorders and criminal justice system involvement (Gilad & Gutman, 2021).  

There are many different types of violence and trauma that may be experienced in one’s lifetime. This includes historical trauma that is the result of systemic discrimination due to one’s race, ethnicity, gender, age, or sexuality.  Historical trauma produces negative outcomes for individuals, families, and communities, and these outcomes may span across multiple generations. The monetary costs of these outcomes are staggering. Gun violence, for instance, has been estimated to cost $1 billion in hospital-related costs each year (GAO, 2019), while childhood exposure to violence left untreated is estimated to cost $496 billion each year (Gilad & Gutman, 2021).  

It is important to acknowledge that individuals and communities throughout the United States may experience one or more types of violence or trauma, and individuals who live in communities with high percentages of racial or ethnic minorities, indigenous populations, immigrants, or those living under the poverty level deal with the burden of violence, discrimination, and trauma at notably higher rates than those living in primarily white, wealthier communities.  The relationship between disadvantage and crime has been well documented in numerous studies; communities experiencing high levels of concentrated disadvantage also experience high rates of violence and crime (Chamberlain & Hipp, 2015; Pratt & Cullen, 2005; Wang & Arnold, 2008).

These communities have often been denied the resources needed to be healthy and safe places to live as a consequence of disinvestment and other discriminatory practices. Moreover, formal systems intended to support community well-being have contributed to community harm. This includes over or under policing, police mistreatment and abuse, poor medical access or care, and poor educational opportunities. For instance, families living in disadvantaged neighborhoods experience limited access to healthy foods and adequate medical care, poor education, low employment, and high crime all simply because of where they live, all of which can impact long-term health outcomes. 

Addressing discriminatory practices and disinvestment in communities is important and should not be overlooked. In fact, research shows that a whole-of-society approach produces the best results. This is an approach in which residents, families, and non-governmental and governmental agencies work together. This training focuses on what communities and individuals can do in support of a whole-of-society approach to violence prevention. Specifically, this training will look at actions that can be taken immediately while community members continue to advocate for better resources for residents.