Project Community Capital
an nreuv affiliate
Project Community Capital
an nreuv affiliate
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    • Home
    • What We Do
    • Impact
    • Join the PCC Network
      • For Job Seekers
      • For Entrepreneurs
      • For Contractors
      • For Employers
    • Volunteer for PCC
    • Social Capital Platform
    • Collective Impact Model
    • Our Company & Team
    • Contact Us
  • Home
  • What We Do
  • Impact
  • Join the PCC Network
    • For Job Seekers
    • For Entrepreneurs
    • For Contractors
    • For Employers
  • Volunteer for PCC
  • Social Capital Platform
  • Collective Impact Model
  • Our Company & Team
  • Contact Us

contextualizing the problem: racial inequity

Racial Inequity is a primary part of the economic and social struggle black and brown people endure. PCC was borne from the legacy of decades of oppression and disenfranchisement. Contextualization of this crisis can be vital.

Because when you can take care of yourself and your family, when you make money and move out of an underserved neighborhood and into the middle class, your life changes. People of color, especially, haven't had these opportunities to climb the ladder or meet the American dream.


Dr. Gina Merritt, Founder

the "Structural" determinants of health

The Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) are the environmental, social, and economic conditions in the places where we live, learn, work, and play. The SDoH play a significant role in impacting health equity and health outcomes in a community.


At PCC, we call these the Structural Determinants of Health.

Find out more

the "Structural" determinants of health

Economic Stability

Unemployment rates among people experiencing homelessness ranging from 57% to over 90%. This isn’t coincidental, even though homelessness can cause unemployment, unemployment is a main factor in becoming and remaining unhoused. For example, “in Los Angeles County, 46% of unsheltered adults cited unemployment or a financial reason as a primary reason why they are homeless."


Rates of homelessness were higher for non-Hispanic blacks (16.8 %) or Hispanics of any race (8.1 %) than for non-Hispanic whites (NCBI), with Black people, who are only 16% of the population, making up 40% of the unhoused population in 2020 (NAEH).

Education Access and Quality

Black, Latino, American Indian and Native-Alaskan students attend schools with higher concentrations of first-year teachers at a higher rate (3 to 4%) than white students (1%) (UNCF).


African American students are less likely than white students to have access to college-ready courses. In fact, in 2011-12, only 57 percent of black students have access to a full range of math and science courses necessary for college readiness, compared to with 81 percent of Asian American students and 71 percent of white students (UNCF).


Racial disparities are particularly acute in schools where uncertified and unlicensed teachers are concentrated; nearly 7% of the nation’s black students – totaling over half a million students – attend schools where 80% or fewer of teachers meet these requirements; black students are more than four times as likely, and Latino students twice as likely, as white students to attend these schools (UNCF).

Health Care Access and Quality

Homelessness creates and exacerbates existing health issues and significantly lowers access to health care, let alone quality health care.   


Unemployment also directly impacts insurance coverage, which is vital in maintaining physical and mental health. The number of people covered through their employer by health insurance is 49% of the country, and Black and Hispanic people are the least likely to have coverage from any source. (SHADAC)


Those who are unemployed report feelings of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, demoralization, worry, and physical pain. Unemployed individuals tend to suffer more from stress-related illnesses such as high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, heart disease, and arthritis.(Health)

Neighborhood AND Built Environment

Racial inequality in exposure to low-income neighborhood environments is so strong that high-income blacks are exposed to greater neighborhood poverty than low-income whites.


Economics status in youth is the biggest indicator for educational success in the future (Economic Policy Institute).


Two-thirds of Black Americans brought up in the poorest neighborhoods remain in the poorest quarter of neighborhoods after a generation; meanwhile only 40 percent of whites brought up in the poorest neighborhoods remain there. The long-term effects of being born and raised in a high-poverty neighborhood are thus far more persistent and damaging for Blacks than for whites (Brookings Institute). 

Social and Community Context

Unemployment limits housing options, which can limit educational options, social and community-based experiences, physical safety, and more.


Economics status in youth is the biggest indicator for educational success in the future (Economic Policy Institute).


Across the nation as a whole, roughly 80 percent of poor neighborhoods in 1990 remained so in 2000, and 75 percent of poor neighborhoods in 2000 remained so in 2012 (Bloomberg).

sources

  • Economic Policy Institute
  • Statista
  • University of Southern California - Social Innovation
  • NCBI - National Library of Medicine
  • Health.gov
  • NAEH - National Alliance to End Homelessness
  • SHADAC
  • US CHAMBER of COMMERCE
  • National Healthcare for the Homeless
  • U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights


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