Health and Hope Photovoice Exhibit Documents Stories of Homefree El Pasoans
Published November 17, 2022
By Darlene Muguiro
UTEP College of Health Sciences
Earlier this month, the Department of Social Work hosted the opening of the “Health and Hope – Perspectives of Persons Experiencing Homelessness” Exhibit at the La Fe Culture and Technology Center. The exhibit is the culminating project of a study funded by the NMSU Fred Hutch Partnership for the Advancement of Cancer Research aiming to explore resilience and coping skills for individuals experiencing homelessness who are also living with cancer and other chronic health conditions. The exhibit will be on display at La Fe through mid-December 2022.
“Health and Hope” is a photovoice exhibit featuring the work of seven individuals residing at the Opportunity Center for the Homeless who agreed to participate in the original study. Photovoice is a participatory action research approach that empowers individuals to express themselves creatively through photography and narration in order to share their opinions on important topics. Over a period of several months, beginning this past July, Social Work faculty and students led bilingual (English/Spanish) sessions exploring issues surrounding resilience, mental health, and aspirations among the study participants. The resulting work, over 50 images and stories, conveyed themes such as gratitude for the kindness of healthcare workers and case managers, spirituality, frustration related to stereotypes about individuals living with homelessness, and hope for a healthier future, among others.
In addition to images and stories, the study participants created a Call for Action to raise awareness about policy change, which they shared at the exhibit opening with audience members and community partners including the Opportunity Center for the Homeless, Centro San Vicente, La Fe and the City of El Paso. The call highlighted several areas of need, including healthier food choices for homefree individuals living in shelters; programming to promote mental, physical and spiritual health; educating the community on how to support people experiencing homelessness; and better access to screenings and treatment opportunities.
At the conclusion of the event, community leaders responded to the Call to Action, committing to identify additional ways to expand access to health care and preventive health measures as well as to sharing the call with additional stakeholders in the community. Nicole Ferrini, Chief Resilience Officer for the City of El Paso, shared strategies recently developed to increase resources for homefree El Pasoans – all funded through state and federal dollars – including El Paso Helps, a government hosted portal to access services; 24/7 street outreach services for individuals in crisis needing shelter; and funding for rapid rehousing. Drs. Celina Beltran and Tanya Guerrero of Centro San Vicente shared statistics reflecting the growth in utilization of services at the clinic and acknowledged the need for expansion of access. John Martin, deputy director for the Opportunity Center for the Homeless, pledged to include homefree individuals on the center’s advisory board as advocates for their peers and to better inform the board about how programming can best serve the homefree.
Paola Ortiz, Master of Social Work candidate and graduate research assistant for Health and Hope, said that the experience of working on this project helped her to better understand her future role as an advocate for individuals in need.
“As a social work student, this experience really increased my understanding around putting people first instead of their experiences or disabilities,” she said. “As healthcare and human service providers, we must work with our community and help people experiencing homelessness get to where they want to go and advocate for better access to services.”
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Go Miners!
The Health and Hope research team would like to thank the project Advisory Committee members, including:
Osinachi Ibilah, LMSW, Principal Investigator
Eva Moya, PhD, LMSW, Project Mentor
Silvia Chavez-Baray, PhD, LMSW Co-Principal Investigator
Paola Ortiz, BSW, GRA, UTEP GRA Department of Social Work
Rosa Escalante, BS, GRA UTEP GRA Department of Social Work
Celina Beltran, MD, Centro San Vicente
John Martin, Opportunity Center for the Homeless
Cynthia Jimenez, LMSW, CRCC Police Community Services Supervisor, EP Police Department
Martha Zapeda, MBA, American Cancer Society, Inc.
Orlando Jurado, Punto De Partida
Gabriela Gallegos, JD, MPP UTHealth Houston School of Public Health – El Paso Campus
Araceli Lazcano, Opportunity Center for the Homeless
Corene Seymour, LMSW, MA, CASS, The University of Texas at El Paso