“With safety in sight and security calling,
Would you turn back for the forgotten ones?
Would you risk your comfort or diminish your
Power to reach out to those left in the shadows?”
From “Idealistic Immigrant” by J. Buolamwini(2023). Unmasking AI: My mission is to protect what is human in the world of machines. Random House.
“Can this power
Be guided with care?
Augmenting delight alongside
Economic destitution?
Temporary Band-Aids cannot
Hold the wind when the task
Ahead is to transform the
Atmosphere of innovation.”
From Unstable Desire” by J. Buolamwini(2023). Unmasking AI. Random House
The Coalition for Health Justice’s work for this year is to transform the health of our members by a thousand actions. Promoting health will take many forms. Each organization is “beginning” to listen and look into health for each person. We will continue with vaccination events, health fairs, support for individuals and families seeking healthcare, and having navigators at the ready for discussions and support for health. Now, we need to add a bevy of speakers on health concerns: “What are warning signs of cancer, of diabetes, of heart disease, of diabetes, and mental health?” "Who can best help people at which of the hospitals and for what kind of care?” What about the vaccine for COVID and the flu works effectively and for who?” “What is it that a primary care provider actually does for a person, a family, and how do doctors refer to specialists?” “What are the programs that assist with addictions, mental health, and loneliness and how do people get access to these programs?” “How do Medicare and Medicaid really work and who is eligible?” “What happens if I cannot afford the co-pay and fear being cut off from treatment?”
The Coalition for Health Justice will pepper each organization with speakers, panels, literature, and phone numbers, pictures, and lists that will gather critical information. Using a model of participation developed by Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Ressa, we will encourage people to document “good examples” of healthcare. And, we will post these pictures and stories on our website for all to profit from this experience. Doing this will transform expectations and decisions about personal healthcare. Having a health question will be an invitation to look at your organization’s website for personal information. Or, every person will have access to a navigator to assist in the search for real answers that are related to everyone at every income level.
Ressa’s program raised involvement in voting, in understanding “fake news,” and in building communities bound together with valuable information. We will use her process to promote education about health, to encourage new avenues for access to knowledge about life saving people and places, and to support those in greatest need of health information. Our Coalition calls this approach, “I am the beginning.” By this we mean that as citizens in the Coalition, we expect really good information about health, about health institutions, and about health choices. We are all “beginning” to poke through the fog of medical confusion and, with better sight, can begin to take actions that promote our health and the health of our neighborhoods. Our next step will be the publishing of a calendar of speakers, vaccination events, and health fairs that will be open to everyone. Our navigators will be working with each organization to make dates for speakers and other events that are beneficial for each organization.
Happy new year everyone.
Let us begin.