Monday Minute with Brice Armond Patterson

What do our leaders and institutions need to do to ensure that communities have pathways to well-paid jobs and income equality, opportunities for entrepreneurship, and access to quality education for all?

“As much as we love what we do in the nonprofit industry, in the critical care industry, or anybody that is on the street doing mutual aid, that is not going to solve the underlying structural issues in our society. The reality is that people need pretty broad outreaching access to health care. And for free without a dime, we need to invest in it via our taxes, so that it’s available for all peoples. And until we do, you know issues like you know, people struggling with substance use, people struggling with chronic illnesses, or even STDs and STI since that is fully shamed in our society and also healthcare access limits people’s abilities to go to clinics, and get the things that they need, These issues are going to continue the cycle. People in our society who serve in the roles that we do can be advocates, But ultimately, I don’t know if it’ll be the final solution.”

 

What do you do to empower communities?

“The change that we are able to provide is like once people no longer have any options once, healthcare is no longer provided for them, once they’re kind of out in the street, their only option is kind of organizations like this that come out, come to them and connect with them.”

 

One piece of advice for leaders

“Ultimately, the final solution so this no longer happens again, is meeting the needs of our community, which is ensuring that they have housing, access to nutrition and that they have educational options that are available to them, so that they can do something and play a specific role in society.”

Brice Armond Patterson is a Peer Outreach Specialist at Courage Medicine