A Community to Remember
Lisa Koh
2nd Year MPH Epidemiology Student
Although it's only been a week, it feels like a month has passed due to how eventful and packed the week in San Antonio has been. Driving around the East Side of Bexar County, listening to community stories, and visiting a salsa bar – it has been a week of many firsts for me.
This was my second time participating in a focus group, although my role was mostly observing while my teammates led the session. The perspectives that were shared once again reminded me of the necessity of having community input and the power of storytelling. In the first focus group, we heard numerous accounts of how the medical system and doctors had failed community members, sometimes causing more harm than good. We also learned about spatial disparities in resources and investment across different parts of Bexar County. The second focus group revealed the community's resourcefulness and strong bonds, highlighting how they came together to help one another despite facing adversity themselves. That was my greatest takeaway: the strength of their community bonds, and how they were their best resource. I am inspired by the strength of their bonds, and I wish to find, or to help build such strong community bonds in the places I live in.
Focus group participants expressed frustration with previous researchers who treat them as "one-day projects," leaving without effecting sustainable changes or providing new knowledge or resources. It is ironic, given that we are coming for a week and then leaving the community, but I hope that the presentation and information we give to AHEC will be beneficial for the community in the long run, through additional services, programs, or advocacy.
I feel humbled and grateful to have had this experience in Texas: with amazing food, life lessons, and new friendships made. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my Spring Break any other way.