At Site For Proposed Border Wall Sits A Community That’s Burdened By Poor Health
"We're not just about the border wall or the river," says Rose Timmer, a community advocate. "We're about being fat, we're about being poor, we're about being illiterate." Such advocates are working to improve the health of those who straddle the country line.
US News & World Report:
A Battle For Community Health In Texas’ Rio Grande Valley
About three years ago, Sareth Garcia's immune system began breaking down. Rashes and infections, crippling headaches, kidney problems and what felt like a painful cramp near her heart landed her in the hospital more than once. Garcia weighed 265 pounds. Without a car, the uninsured single mother had no way to get to a doctor's office, let alone pay for medical treatment, despite working several jobs to care for her two sons. "I was so afraid to die," the 47-year-old says, clad in a floral hat and a light pink button-down bearing an insignia for La Unión Del Pueblo Entero. LUPE, a community group founded three decades ago by activist César Chávez, connected Garcia to a low-income clinic where she received a free medical assessment and insulin for her newly diagnosed diabetes. She credits the group with giving her the determination and resources to begin improving her health. (Galvin, 5/16)
