Significance of Different Cultures in the Bailey’s Culmore Area

Author(s): Indigo Kellum, Anagha Sreevals, Morgan Swindall

Mentor(s): Lisa Gring-Pemble, School of Business; Rebecca Sutter, School of Nursing; Anne Magro, School of Business; Charish Bishop, Kaulin Jennison, Graduate Assistants

Abstract

This project aimed to look at the significance of culture in Bailey’s Culmore and how it impacted this specific area in Northern Virginia. At the beginning of this summer, we aimed to meet with Culmore residents and community partners to discuss barriers to health and the way that cultural norms and adjustments have affected these, but due to coronavirus concerns, we were unable to make it out into the community as much as we had hoped. We were still able to interact with community residents and partners, just not at the same frequency as would have been most beneficial to our research. Despite physical barriers to interacting with the community, we still had several online meetings each week with community partners and on occasion, some of us even got the chance to have them in-person. The information we have presented has been gathered from the combination of research methods (including traditional research involving searching databases and collecting information from written sources on the web). This group, as part of the overall team of “Wicked Boot Camp Summer Program”, specifically examined the issues of transportation, mental health, and physical health in Bailey’s Culmore.

Video Transcript

Slide 1: Our presentation is on the significance of different cultures and how they impact different community barriers and problems in Bailey’s Culmore. Slide 2: These are the demographics that make up the Bailey’s Culmore region. Slide 3: Our group project focuses on the impact of cultures on the topics of transportation, mental health, and other forms of health and food security in Bailey’s Culmore. These are some examples of the presence of culture, but the main example revolves around how cultural identity can impact people during their daily lives. For instance, cultural identity can bring about stigma regarding mental health, so even if an individual needs and wants to use mental health resources, they are discouraged due to the stigma. Another example is how culture shock during resettlement and integration can prevent individuals from utilizing transportation resources and other resources provided by their community, due to again stigma around receiving help, but also more literal barriers such as lack of language translation. Slide 4: One of the things we learned this summer was that there exist things called social determinants of health. These are the social factors that affect the health of individuals and groups, but are often not thought of when considering traditional healthcare since they are the everyday factors that affect health. A few examples of social determinants of health are things like: food, housing, and transportation. Transportation is a social determinant of health because it affects access to adequate healthcare and health resources. “According to the 2018 National Health Interview Survey, 3.6 million U.S. residents delayed medical care due to the lack of transportation, 13 percent of whom were immigrants.” More broadly, transportation determines access to general goods, services, and jobs. transportation is a lifeline to the world that is deeply affected by U.S. histories, cultures, and migrants. Slide 5: In my research, I heard mentions that transportation services like Uber and lyft are quite popular in the region, but for those who can’t afford the daily fares of these larger companies, some opt for similar, but cheaper options called rideros. Rideros seem to be the smaller, cheaper, and more community-driven versions of Uber and Lyft. They are the communities’ way of solving the problem not yet resolved by the government. Slide 6: After meeting with several groups in the region and beyond, including the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, I feel ready to offer some possible suggestions for the community of members in Culmore to adopt who are looking for travel options around and outside of the Culmore region. One of these options is the Free Student Bus Pass Program which allows middle and high school students to travel within Fairfax County on the bus system for free and additionally for all of the community members in Culmore, I believe that they deserve to voice more of their concerns to the Fairfax County Department of Transportation. They could do so by petitioning or protesting, maybe even communicating directly with the Department of Transportation and asking for better bus stops and more sidewalks. Measures like these would allow the community to have a voice in the transportation systems that they are provided by the county. Slide 7: Due to the high population of immigrant and refugee communities in the area, there is a great need for care by mental health professionals. The community health assessment for the area determined through a survey that a majority of individuals rank mental health care as one of the top five needs in the community. However, even with availability of resources, there are barriers to seeking help, such as financial instability, lack of language translators, stigma and hesitancy, and most importantly, lack of culturally sensitive professionals who specialize in trauma-informed care. Some organizations do a needs-assessment on whether the client needs specialized mental health care, and then they are referred to a professional. Some organizations provide pro-bono counseling and care from professionals. However, there is still a great need for more to be done, especially in regards to the need for culturally sensitive and financially accessible mental health professionals with language skills. Slide 8: Community gardens are multipurpose. Its primary use of providing fresh produce supports a healthy diet. Communities experiencing socio-economic disparities may struggle to get access to healthier foods at a low cost. Food pantries are invaluable to families in need; however, not all distribution sites are capable of storing fresh produce. While canned goods have a longer shelf life and are easier to donate, they ultimately lack the nutrients that fresh fruits and vegetables contain. Making the necessary behavioral changes to address health concerns such as diabetes and high blood pressure, requires access to the right foods. Growing produce too enables people to maintain their cultural identity. This is especially important for Bailey’s Culmore because of its immigrant and refugee population. Community gardens should encourage people to hold onto their backgrounds. Culturally appropriate foods invoke familiarity and in turn a sense of security and self-respect. Attempting to change one’s values and practices in order to fit into a different society may lead to disconnect thus prolonging attempts to be fully established into the community. Growing familiar foods may give rise to finding others who eat the same or inspire some to learn about a new food culture thus building better relationships. Looking back at Bailey’s Culmore, initiatives can be enacted to better overall health and acknowledge the diversity that members of the community offer. There are existing gardens in the area so we can utilize them to encourage more community engagement expanding from the youth to the elderly. Current health programs, along with residents who enjoy cooking, could possibly hold weekend workshops that utilize the foods grown in the gardens. These workshops will both guide families into making healthier choices when cooking and incorporate ancestral recipes.

For more on this topic see:
Data Usage in Bailey’s Crossroads
Food Insecurity
Historical Framework of Bailey’s Crossroad

One reply on “Significance of Different Cultures in the Bailey’s Culmore Area”

Amazing project guys! Great to see the final product from all of the research. I really enjoyed how your project had many different dimensions ranging from transportation, green spaces, and mental health. Really loved working with you guys this summer!

-Ashanti

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