Culture of Health Blog

Both of us are proud of our immigrant roots and the paths our families forged after coming to the United States. Mona’s parents arrived from India, and Tina immigrated from South Korea as a toddler with her family. As members of the Asian American community, the past year’s wave of hate crimes has been painful and traumatic. But it is not new. What is new, though, is the attention these incidents and the Asian American community as a whole are receiving.

At times, these crimes bring back terrifying memories. Mona was just 10 years old when a hate group in Northern New Jersey sent a racist letter threatening Indians to a local newspaper, and the newspaper published it. The deep societal racism that letter exposed was manifested through verbal abuse, brutal assaults, and murders that occurred time and again over many years. Mona grew up hearing racist comments from police officers and teachers and seeing South Asian businesses and homes, including her own, vandalized.

At times, they remind us how few people seem to consider the intergenerational trauma and challenges faced by Asian Americans. Tina’s parents grew up in South Korea during the Korean War and her father remembers his family losing everything. Arriving in a new country not speaking the language while trying to navigate a culture with a different set of values was incredibly difficult for her parents. Adding to their stress was the need to lean heavily on their children to negotiate, translate, and serve as intermediaries with authorities and agencies.

At times, they compound the numbness and hurt we feel in the face of sometimes-profound insensitivity and endless microaggressions that add up over time and contribute to chronic stress that undeniably harms health.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This funding opportunity is now closed.

When Harris County voters approved a $2.5 billion bond to pay for more than 500 local flood-control projects, it seemed like a sound response to Hurricane Harvey. In 2017, the storm dropped 50 inches of rain in the Houston region, flooding some 166,000 homes. Based on a traditional return-on-investment analysis, it might also have appeared reasonable to spend that bond money in neighborhoods with the most expensive properties.

But county officials understood what that would mean—little protection for communities living with the most inadequate social, physical, and economic resources—many of whom are communities of color. And so, they chose a different policy approach. They gave preference to projects that ranked higher on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index, which uses socioeconomic status, racial and ethnic status, household composition, housing, access to transportation, and other metrics to uncover potential vulnerability. The result: funds for flood control prioritized towards low-income communities and communities of color, those least able to recover from disasters.

For millions of people in America, having a home is an obstacle and a financial burden. Too many live in residentially segregated neighborhoods isolated from opportunity, making it difficult to break out of poverty and overcome the adversity that comes with it. 

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is offering funding for policy research aimed at overcoming deeply rooted problems related to housing stability and equity. We invite researchers, partnering with small cities or community-based organizations, to evaluate housing policies in hopes of turning up actionable lessons for other communities.

We Need Far-Ranging Solutions to Deeply Rooted Problems

RWJF president and CEO Richard Besser, MD, explained how safe and affordable housing supports positive outcomes across the lifespan—and how unsafe and insecure housing can deepen inequity and undermine a Culture of Health. Where we live can make it easier or harder for us to access opportunities: to get a good education, to have transportation options to living-wage jobs, to afford and have access to nutritious food; and to enjoy active lifestyles.

NOTE: The funding opportunity described in this post is now closed.  

Law and policies should address, not compound, inequities. This is personal and something I carry with me.

I was 10 years old when a man in my northern New Jersey community was beaten to death outside a neighborhood cafe. Soon after, another community member was beaten and sustained brain damage. The number of victims—all of whom were of South Asian descent—grew over the years. The violence ranged from verbal abuse to brutal assaults and murder. It wasn’t uncommon for my home and other South Asian homes to be vandalized while having to hear racial slurs.

Officials denied that these attacks were hate crimes and ethnically motivated. Research and data on discrimination and hate crimes against South Asians simply did not exist, and there wasn’t much diversity among local officials. It was therefore difficult for community members to get the protection we needed. It wasn’t surprising that there were subsequent and repeated acquittals of people who perpetrated the violence. Even living in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, we didn’t feel a sense of freedom to live our healthiest lives because our laws didn’t do enough to stop racially motivated violence. It was years later when hate crime laws took effect.

There are countless examples of how policies, laws, and guidelines can help people in our society live better and healthier lives. For example, zoning ordinances can help keep dangerous manufacturing emissions away from homes and schools, ensuring that children aren’t exposed to toxic pollutants. Earned Income Tax Credits have been shown to improve infant mortality and birth outcomes. Healthy food guidelines can help our kids consume less sugar by recommending schools provide whole foods, like apples. These policies shape how we live, learn, work, and play.

But there is still too much we don’t know. If your organization is a non-profit or public research institution, this is where you come in.

Through the Policies for Action (P4A) program, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) seeks to build a stronger evidence base for how policies, laws, and guidelines—in the public or private sectors—can help ensure everyone has the opportunity to live a healthier life.