Ignored at the start of the pandemic, Latino-majority cities now face serious health challenges; 41% of the workers in this area are essential.
Seven out of ten residents of southeast Los Angeles County have lost their jobs or had their wages cut during the pandemic, and 40% have less than $ 500 in savings to help them survive during the economic crisis, according to a published survey. today thursday.
The survey was conducted for a foundation that seeks to know how small communities in the region are doing, such as Bell, Bell Gardens, East Los Angeles, Huntington Park, Lynwood, Maywood, South Gate, Paramount and East Compton, among others. About 700,000 people reside in the 15 communities, approximately 90% are Latino, and many live below the poverty level.
A high number of people in the region are estimated to be essential workers, including janitors, restaurant workers and supermarket employees. Of those surveyed, 41% said they were working outside the home, and a quarter said they don't feel safe in their workplace.
Also, including essential workers, it was difficult for people to obtain tests for coronavirus in their area. Almost half said they wanted to be tested, but could not because of the "test deserts," the lack of testing sites in the city, and inadequate medical care.
Gaspar Rivera-Salgado, project director at the UCLA Labor Center, said many Latino communities experienced poverty before COVID-19 due to the high cost of living conditions and low wages.
"When COVID-19 hit, I think it exacerbated those conditions and made it horrible," he said.
Rivera-Salgado said that in a low-wage economy, income is highly unpredictable.
"Saving is not a problem, survival is a problem for these communities," he said. "And given the fact that there is a high cost of living, you really end up living paycheck to paycheck and you don't save money in the event of a disaster, like what you see now."
Anayeli Velázquez, who lives with her husband and two daughters in Huntington Park, did not participate in the survey, but reflects many of the reported concerns.
She indicated that her husband is the family's main provider, and when the outbreak began, he was fired from a clothing factory.
The family decided to take refuge at home, but it has been difficult because their savings did not last long. "We live day by day and we hardly had any savings," said Velázquez.
Huntington Park Councilwoman Graciela Ortiz said many of her city's residents are essential workers in supermarkets or industrial plants in Vernon and Commerce. Most of the residents who lost their jobs were working in retail sales or in restaurants and food industries.
“Many of them do not have the luxury of staying or working from home. They have to go to their workplaces, "said the councilor.
The California Community Foundation surveyed 500 adults in English or Spanish from May 8-14. Almost half responded in Spanish.
In partnership with the Southeast Los Angeles (SELA) Collaborative, the survey was designed by researchers at the Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles and Latino Decisions, a public opinion research firm. Residents were randomly selected from the phone and email databases of residents in the region.
One of the most striking results was that "cash reserves are extremely limited," according to the survey, said Raphael J. Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute, and Claudia Rodríguez, analyst at Latino Decisions.
A quarter of residents surveyed said they have less than $ 100 in emergency funds, and another 15% have less than $ 500. About 30% of the participants said they had trouble paying rent for their homes, and almost half said they had received no help with rent or mortgage payments.
Rodríguez said the survey is designed to better understand how the pandemic is hurting people in communities.
"We had an idea of how these communities were doing, but when we really saw the serious economic impact and the serious impact on the health of our communities, once we got the numbers, it is surprising to see them," he added.
Smaller cities are often forgotten and underrepresented, added the analyst.
"The smaller communities within the southeast Los Angeles region I believe are particularly vulnerable and we should pay attention to their needs," said Rodríguez.
Among those who said they qualify for unemployment, half have yet to receive it. Additionally, federal stimulus aid has been inconsistent: About a quarter said they qualify for $ 1,200 per person checks, but did not receive them, and only one in three said they received the full payment.
Racism is also a major concern, with about 85% indicating that racism against Latinos and immigrants was a major or somewhat serious problem.
Not enough access to evidence
The survey found that coronavirus testing has been patchy in the region. Only 15% said they had been tested and 47% would like to be tested, but have not been able to do it for various reasons.
Despite following orders to stay home, Velázquez said her husband and seven close family members were infected with the virus. She said she does not know where or how her husband could have been infected.
"Sometimes he went out to buy groceries with his cousin," said Velázquez. "Sometimes my brother-in-law, who kept working, would bring us food or essential items." That brother-in-law also became infected and was forced to stop working.
Due to immigration status, lack of health care resources, and misinformation, none of the family members went to the hospital. Some feared that they would take their children if they said they were infected; others feared dying in the hospital.
Velázquez said it has been very difficult for the family to get tested.
"We only have emergency Medi-Cal and we called the Los Angeles County number, but they didn't give us an appointment," he said. "Then I went to a local clinic and they didn't want to do it to me either because I don't have Social Security. They said it would cost me like $ 300 ″.
Velázquez said a cousin faced a similar situation. He became infected and was examined, but evidence was available for his wife.
"I feel like they automatically think we are infected and they just send us to stay home for 14 days to see what our symptoms are," Velázquez said.
In the survey, 68% of residents said that, except for work, they had not left their home during the pandemic or had only left once a week.
After searching for more options, Velázquez was finally tested, but has not yet received his results.
Dr. Efraín Talamantes, medical director of AltaMed's Institute for Equity in Health, said the biggest concern has been inadequate access to testing in poorer communities.
"If there is some evidence, it is directed at the people who have the most resources," said Talamantes. "So we initially started seeing the trend, many more cases in Beverly Hills in West LA, and we weren't seeing any cases in East LA or South Central."
That's because these areas were considered deserts because they didn't have centers for people to get tested.
“If you have a place without test centers, you don't know that you have (the virus), then you won't isolate yourself. You don't know how to protect yourself and you will infect others, you transmit it to your colleagues at work, to your family, ”he said. “You have these massive outbreaks that are happening because nobody knows what is going on. It is too late when the virus spreads so fast. "
Bell Gardens Mayor Alejandra Cortez said the city council believes that if there were more access to the tests there could be a better awareness of how the region is doing.
"We know we have limited resources, so Los Angeles County continues to partner with organizations like AltaMed that already have medical personnel to avoid higher costs of having an independent testing site," said Cortez.
Bell Gardens and Huntington Park do not have test sites. Residents have to rely on neighboring cities like Commerce, Bell, South Gate, and Downey.
Ortiz said that in Huntington Park some local clinics can perform the tests, but people have to ask first to see if they are available.
"We are concerned that our number continues to grow and we want to provide as many resources as we can to our residents," said Ortiz.
Ortiz said that many of the region's residents are seriously affected because they work in places susceptible to contagion.
Tony Gomez, 41, a South Gate resident who works for a city, said that when orders to stay home were first announced in March, he worked from home. But soon after, they told him to go back to work at the office.
"I feel safe, but only up to a point," said Gomez. "They gave us hand sanitizers, but we don't know what people do outside of work."
This article is part of The California Divide, a newsroom collaboration that examines income inequality and economic survival in California.
