I have to commend Shannon Curran, our Volunteer Director, for the wonderful article she wrote that faces injustice head-on.  I hope you enjoy her article as much as I did:
One measure of the difference between my two Baltimore neighborhoods is six miles.   Another measure is 20 years of life.  

Born in the neighborhoods of 21210?  You can expect to live 82.9 years.  Born in 21201 near Hollins Market?  You can expect to live 62.5 years.  Unbelievably absurd and, unfortunately, believably true.              

These figures come from the Baltimore City Health Department’s and JHU Bloomberg School’s Health Profile of 2008.  The data was compiled from 2002-2006 and, within that timeframe, I actually lived in both neighborhoods.  While my home has been in 21210 for the past few years, my work with our volunteers occurs in 21201.  I drive between these two neighborhoods several days each week.   

Depending on which direction I am headed, I can imagine either losing or gaining around three years of life per mile.  That’s right, three years of life per mile.  For over ten years now, … continue reading…