As part of the Advancing Health Equity in Aging initiative, Greater Good Studio embedded their team in Imperial, San Diego, San Francisco, and Shasta counties. In this March 2023 video, we are introduced to Derrion. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Derrion discusses his then-approaching kidney dialysis. He traces back what led to his health challenges – from alcohol and drugs used during his youth to escape the pain of an abusive stepfather, to growing up in an underinvested neighborhood with a lack of choices. The latter impacted everything – from the employment he secured to the food he ate.

As part of the Advancing Health Equity in Aging initiative, Greater Good Studio embedded their team in Imperial, San Diego, San Francisco, and Shasta counties. In Imperial County, we learned about Calexico – a town where California and Mexico meet and where approximately 20 percent of the population are older adults and/or on Medicare. Many of this population are also farmworkers. In this March 2023 video, clinic patients and providers of Calexico Wellness Clinic’s mobile clinic share perspectives and highlight some of the ways economic and environmental conditions such as poverty, housing stability, food security, and transportation play a pronounced role in a person’s biological age and the manifestation of health challenges over time.

As part of the Advancing Health Equity in Aging initiative, Greater Good Studio embedded their team in Imperial, San Diego, San Francisco, and Shasta counties. Health equity in aging requires a holistic definition of well-being — in body, mind, and spirit. This is especially true for older adults with diverse identities and backgrounds who have experienced the impact of discrimination and isolation; disconnection from identity, culture, or homeland; and an absence of belonging and community – all of which can dramatically impact mental and physical health. In this March 2023 video, members of the Hmong Cultural Center speak about the importance of cultural connection in service of their overall well-being and hopes for the future.

As part of the Advancing Health Equity in Aging initiative, Greater Good Studio embedded their team in Imperial, San Diego, San Francisco, and Shasta counties. This March 2023 video is an acknowledgment of Native people and culture that has been here, then erased, and yet is always still here. We have data about health equity but significantly less for communities of color – particularly Native older adults and caregivers. This video reminds us that inequity, and health inequity, is an unnatural part of the society we live in. The impacts of oppression are a form of pollution, affecting the older adults in our lives and the health of all of us. How might a return to where we come from – and who we come from – transform the state of health equity? What might that look like?

As part of the Advancing Health Equity in Aging initiative, Greater Good Studio embedded their team in Imperial, San Diego, San Francisco, and Shasta counties. In this March 2023 video, we meet Harry, who shares his experience growing up as a Chinese American and as an LGBTQ+ person. After decades of feeling ostracized and discriminated against due to his intersectional identity, he is finally finding the confidence to share his story and use his voice.