^ortlanb (Observer June 15, 2011 Page 7 Sobering News on Health Care Disparities Taking control of our health According to the Center for Dis­ ease Control, African-Americans are affected by and die from heart dis­ ease, diabetes, cancer, HIV and by J udge G reg M athis homicide at disproportion­ Most, if not all, Afri­ ate rates. can-Americans look at Our infant death rate President Barack Obama among is more than double as the ultimate symbol of that of whites. Heart dis­ the gains our people have ease death rates are 40 per­ made in the last several cent higher for African decades. Yes, there is still Americans than for whites work to be done but we are, on the and the death rate for all cancers is surface, doing better economically 30 percent higher for us than for and financially than we were just a whites. The death rate from HIV/ few generations ago. AIDS for African Americans is more Dig a little deeper, however, and than seven times that for whites, you’ll find that huge disparities still while the rate of homicide is six times exist. Health and healthcare are two that for whites. ofthe areas you’11 find those glaring Sobering news, indeed. holes. Why are we affected at such alarmingly high rates? There are many reasons and poverty is among them. Many African-Americans have no health insurance and a trip to doctor is an expense many can’t afford. For those who do have in­ surance the co-pay for a doctor’s visit is often too high. Lack of access to healthcare is another reason. Health clinics in urban areas have been closing as local governments have struggled to balance their budgets. Without a doctor in their neighborhood, many don’t have the resources to travel to seek care. We can’t let ourselves off the hook: as a people, we must take responsibility for the food we eat and the unhealthy lifestyles we live. We must learn portion control, monitor our intake of salt and limit fatty and fried foods, no matter how good they taste. We must also incor­ porate physical activity into our lives and practice safe sex. And we must teach our children to do the same. To be fair, eating healthily is easier said than done, especially for those living in urban cities, surrounded by food desserts and few grocery stores that stock healthy, well-priced item. The government is doing its part to help address these and other issues that lead to health dispari­ ties. The Department of Health and Human Services is providing $100 million in community grants to pro­ mote healthier lifestyles and the CDC, with th eir, Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health, is steering funds to local programs that target blacks and Latinos in an effort to close these gaps. The healthcare law President Obama fought to pass includes pro­ visions for programs that work in underserved communities to pro­ vide healthcare and screening; that law is one ofthe best tools we have at our disposal. Our local legislators must work to ensure the funds provided are uti­ lized in the best possible way, while we must work on a personal level to take control of our health. It’s im­ portant that we stay healthy so that we may continue to achieve. Greg Mathis is a former Michi­ gan District Court judge and cur­ rent syndicated television show judge. When 1 Cutting Head Start violates our values by M arian W right E delman The colors were brighter than any she had seen before. Shapes, letters, and lots and lots of colors adorned the walls. Around the room, children worked together building high rises with colored blocks and "reading" colorful picture books. "I had never seen so much color," Angelica Salazar recalls of her first days as a Head Start preschooler in Duarte, Calif. She remembers her discovery of library books and spending hours curled up on the reading rug. Head Start provided her first formal English instruction. Her parents, who spoke mostly Spanish, enrolled her in the program knowing that their little girl would need to master English to succeed in school. Salazar ultimately graduated from H arvard U n iv e rsity 's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She's now a juvenile justice policy associate at the Children's Defense Fund where she helps us identify and change the policies that trap millions of our nation's children in a pipeline to prison every year. B efore studying at Harvard, Salazar taught middle school English in an impoverished Los An­ geles neighborhood as a Teach for America corps member. She believes her early childhood experience in Head Start put her on the path to academic success and nourished her commitment to serv­ ing others. In an interview for the National Head Start Association, her father relates in Spanish how he never had the opportunity to finish elemen­ tary school. Their family was poor, and he and his wife could not afford to pay for preschool. HeadStart was a godsend for the entire family, help­ ing Salazar's immigrant parents be­ come more fully integrated into their community. It allowed her mother to work outside the home for the first time while her children received safe, high-quality care. Salazar is one among over 20 million Americans for whom Head Start has given a positive start in life since 1964. Today, 15.5 million U.S. children live in poverty, and more than 20 percent of children under the age of 5 are poor, including more than 40 percent of black children and more than 33 percent of Latino ^ íjü r tla n h Observer ■ children. These are the kids Head Start is designed to serve. More than 60 percent of students and 80 percent of minority students struggle to perform at grade level in fourth grade, eighth grade, and their senior year of high school. Readi­ ness to begin kindergarten — espe­ cially for poor and minority children — is more critical than ever. But less than half of those children eligible for Head Start and fewer than 3 percent of those eligible for Early Head Start, a program for infants and toddlers, are enrolled. Poor infants are already behind their higher-income peers in cogni­ tive development at nine months old. The gap gets even wider for 2- year-olds. By kindergarten, poor children have to beat the odds to catch up— and as the testing shows, many never do. Quality, compre­ hensive child development pro­ grams are crucial for the physical, emotional, and educational health of all children — especially poor and at-risk children. Early childhood programs sig­ nificantly increase a child's chances of avoiding the prison pipeline that Angie now studies as a policy ex­ pert, and investments in quality early education can produce a rate of return to society significantly higher than returns on most stock market investments or traditional economic development projects. Congress is debating whether to slash more than $ 1 billion from Head Start and to cut several other essen­ tial programs for young children. But that's just the beginning. House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan's pro­ posed budget would dism antle Medicaid and other lifelines for poor children. The Wisconsin Republi­ can, meanwhile, is pushing for tril­ lions of dollars in new tax cuts that would benefit the richest Ameri­ cans and corporations. Where are our nation's values? We must stand up for programs that support the cradle-to-college pipe­ line. We simply can't afford to leave more poor babies, toddlers, and preschoolers behind. Marian Wright Edelman is the president o f Children's Defense Fund. Dentures Worth Smiling About! • Professional Services • Affordable Prices Payment Plans: OAC • Over 20 years experience • Full & Partial Dentures • Natural Appearance Full Service Lab • Accepting Oregon Health Plan Melanie Block, L.D. D enturist 503-230-0207 200 NE 20th Ave., Suite 100 Portland OR 97232 Free parking Established 1970 A Th cp-“ ^ Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and w ill be returned i f accompanied by a self addressed envelope ll created design display ads become the sole property o f the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage w ithout the w ritten consent o f the general USPS 959-680 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 manager, unless the client has purchased the com position o f such ad O 2