Connie Valencia is a first-generation Latina Ph.D. student at UC Irvine. She is currently researching the inequity in Boyle Heights and the health issues that low-income Latinos face. In an effort to give residents the opportunity to have a voice and to better understand the social inequalities and health disparities, she seeks to understand these communities.
Valencia found her niche as a public health professional through her passion for patient and family care. Her passion for social justice and inspiration to become a doctor stemmed from her childhood experience with no health insurance and frequenting the hospital. However, her mentality changed after she was introduced to public health. Valencia stated that she thought to her self, “Wait a minute, the community is my patients, I need to do some work in public health.”
This was the beginning of her journey to public health.
Boyle Heights was chosen by Valencia as her current patient. This is due to its constant exposure of pollutants in the soil and air. Boyle Heights is close to the East Los Angeles Interchange. This interchange facilitates more than 430,000Cars and trucks are used daily, which in turn contributes to poor quality air.
There are also many polluting companies in the area. Exide, a battery-recycling facility in the area was closed in 2015 after it was discovered that it had been operating with false permits for over thirty years. Polluting the soil around With lead Extensive research revealed that Lead can cause weakness, anemia, kidney and brain damage..
Boyle Heights residents have suffered from asthmatic symptoms for years. This can be due to strong contaminants in the soil, water, and air. Valencia says that the exact cause of illness can be difficult to determine because Boyle Heights is such a toxic city.
Many people don’t really ask, “Is it because I live near a refinery?” Is it because I live near a freeway? Valencia said.
Valencia shared with New University that the average Boyle Heights citizen does not understand how their environment might affect their health and what they can do to change it. Valencia feels a strong need to help others and is focusing her research on ways to improve these poor living conditions.
Valencia is completing a fellowship at the American Society for Environmental Research to help her understand environmental injustice in Boyle Heights, focusing on air pollution. Research Justice ShopUCI and local organization MPNA GreenSanta Ana, CA: A local organization. She is currently in her second season of her fellowship at UCI’s Research Justice Shop with Dr. Connie McGuire, and Dr. Victoria Lowerson. The Research Justice Shop offers year-long fellowships to graduate students. They also collaborate with communities to solve problems related to environmental and social issues. MPNA Green is a non-profit organization that supports education and leadership, and promotes health equity.
Valencia learned a lot from working with these political groups. Assembly Bill 617 (AB-617). The bill requires that the California Air Resources Board (and air districts) create and implement measures to reduce air pollution in communities affected by environmental injustice. These measures encourage communities and individuals to confront environmental injustice and to speak up.
Valencia wants to know what resources residents require in order to make it easier for them to work with elected officials to change policies. She is learning more from her interviews with focus group participants.
Boyle Heights’ injustices are not unique; many other communities face the same issues. Valencia hopes that the information she gathers from her research will be useful in improving the conditions of Boyle Heights, as well as low-income Latino communities dealing with the same problems.
Valencia has been supported by UCI Director and Founding Dean of the Program in Public Health, Bernadette Boden-Albala. She is also a recipient the UCI Director and Founding Dean of the Program in Public Health, Bernadette Boden-Albala. 2021 Campus-Community Research Incubator Grant, (CCRI),Along with Dr. Brittney, Brittney was her advisor. Lucy Herrera, LegacyLAs Director for Leadership and Community Engagement Lucy Herrera
Giselle Garcia will be a STEM intern during the winter 2022 quarter. She can be reached by email at [email protected].
