Final Treatment

Racial Healing And Health Equality is a project that branches from the Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center. The project meets on a weekly basis to discuss racism and how it plays into health. Location and education are important parts of people’s health. The objective of the documentary is raise awareness of the disparities involved in health and to document the process of the project. The film will involve interviews with teens and adults working on the project as well as actual meetings of the whole group, and their attempts to raise awareness in the community.
In unsafe, lower income communities, the average lifespan is significantly shorter because of street violence. People are more afraid to go outside, so not as many people exercise. In lower income communities, convenient stores sell unhealthier food for more expensive prices, which only contributes to poverty and poor health. The communities also tend to be more run down and residents can’t afford to renovate them. The fear of violence and the depressing view can contribute to poor mental health as well as their physical health.
Education is the most significant reason why people live in these communities. Teenagers that live in these communities often join gangs and spend less time in school and working on schoolwork because their gang is their first priority. There is also a lot of drug abuse and as a result, their grades drop. With poor grades, students often can’t get into good colleges and if they do, they can’t afford the tuition. Without a higher level education, the options for well-paying jobs are limited, and as a result, these people end up with a low income and move back into the lower income communities they were raised in.
Racism is a significant part in both of these cases. A lot of people don’t get hired for a well-paying job they apply simply because of their race. This is an issue called white privilege. A white male is more likely to get hired than a person of color, even if he isn’t as qualified. Doctors can also be racist to their patients of color. Doctor’s might not be entirely truthful with their diagnoses to patients of color and might prescribe them more expensive medicine that isn’t necessary, which, again, contributes to poverty.
There are other areas that affect health such as house and safety that may or may not be appropriate for this documentary.
Racial Healing And Health Equality is a project that aims to break down these racial and financial barriers that exist in health. The more awareness there is on the issue, the more likely someone will take action. The end result of the project will be teenagers going out in their communities and educating and raising awareness on these issues. This film will play a big part in raising awareness and encourage more people to take action and put an end the issues.