Since June 2020, the Community Voices for Health in Monroe County team has hosted small group discussions and personal interviews with more than 150 community members to enhance our understanding of community perspectives on health in Monroe County.

These stories will inform the project as we work with community members and decision-makers to move towards solutions for health in Monroe County.

“I also want to just stress how horrible and unfortunate it is to work with people that have no clue what it is like to be in poverty and how it affects us on a daily basis to have people not have a clue what it is like to be here and who are uncompassionate to work with us in healthcare and in community. . .at any of the places we go to get resources. I don’t know how many times I run into people that are non-compassionate – that are just like ‘if you can’t figure it out, I don’t know what to tell you.’ I do think it is a community’s responsibility to be more compassionate towards people in poverty and the elderly, which I don’t think Bloomington is doing a good job of.”

- Small Group Participant

There is a great issue with the older people I work with, not having access to some of the things at the grocery store. They have to take a bus - imagine relying on a cane and you have to take a bus to get to the store. Trying to carry bags of groceries when using a cane, having to get on and off the bus, getting into your apartment. Big issues for a lot of the folks that I help. One lady was given 30 minutes, imagine being 80 and you have 30 minutes to go through Kroger. You don’t have time to find what you need. When you do find what you need, carrying it home is another issue. I see a lot of seniors with poor nutrition. They don’t have the money to get it delivered. I see a lot of older folks who can’t drive to food pantries. Food delivery can be inconsistent. There’s a huge need. I don’t know what the answer is. I’d like to see a bus like the ones they have that go to food deserts. It’d be great to see a big Kroger bus come to these communities. They’d have more access to things from the grocery store. It’s a huge deal for them to have food. They don’t want to get out every week and don’t have the strength to go, this time of year they’re afraid of falling and it’s cold. COVID has really brought out people calling me at home asking for help.

- Small Group Participant

Sometimes it is discrimination. Maybe the mother of this child who needed the same surgery that my son needed has more opportunities and a good job. But as someone who wasn’t born here or does not have documents has more difficulties to get medical care. Yet I still think it’s a good idea to try to find medical care when one is sick.

- Small Group Participant

The education and lack of awareness - when people do not look like the doctors, they often don’t seem to “see” the patient. My doctor mistook me for someone else, because it would seem everyone from my racial group looks the same to the doctor.

- Small Group Participant

I have been using the term historic, systemic transphobia. We have been denied healthcare for the last 10 years. We have never experienced equality and don’t expect it. People in the medical industry understand us because we have to get counseling for gender dysphoria before we’re allowed to be considered transgender. Some doctors won’t work with us because they aren’t trained in gender dysphoria. We’re not recognized. People don’t understand us. We get misgendered by insurance, providers, everyone. That is malpractice. The medical industry recognizes dysphoria; they know being misgendered is the worst trauma that can occur. When I went in for COVID test I had to correct the provider repeatedly on my preferred gender.

- Small Group Participant