My First Month in Camden

Our shiny red Hyundai bumped over huge potholes as John and I sat in silence on our way to our first diabetes education class.  It was only the second time either of us had travelled to North Camden.  The last time we visited, during our orientation as AmeriCorps volunteers, we were warned it was one of the most dangerous places in Camden.  It was the first week of our service and all the rumors and warnings about Camden still weighed heavily on my mind.  We were on our way to the Coalition’s Spanish-language Diabetes Self Management Education (DSME) class—a free four-week workshop that focuses on diabetes self care—to experience some of the Coalition’s community initiatives first hand.  The GPS located prominently on the windshield repeatedly admonished us that the “destination is on your left” as we looked around for the office.  Cars behind us began to honk and we immediately pulled away and started circling the block.  On our third trip around the block we began to attract the interest of the neighbors sitting outside.  We heard shouts asking if we were lost but we kept circling.

Last winter I came across Atul Gawande’s article, “The Hot Spotters,” in The New Yorker in a café in Montreal.  While reading it, I knew I had to find a way to get involved with the Coalition.  After four years abroad working and studying at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, I was ready to come back to the States and get involved with issues that have been shaping our national dialogue.  My imagination ran wild; I pictured myself on the front lines of the national healthcare debate in the murky trenches of Camden, NJ, rebuilding a broken healthcare system through data-driven interventions that tackled the problems that have eluded so many for so long.

I have been working for the Coalition as an AmeriCorps Volunteer for a month now and I have already seen that the day to day is different and far more varied than anything I could imagine.   On my first day I was sent out on a scavenger hunt with our other AmeriCorps volunteer, John Shin, to familiarize ourselves with Camden’s urban landscape.  Walking around the city under the hot summer sun, the problems of Camden seemed overwhelming at first.  The hunt left no part of Camden unexplored and, with exception of the waterfront, the poverty and urban decay were all too apparent.  Decades of being rocked by drugs, violence, corruption, and high unemployment were visible on almost every street corner.

Since then, I’ve gotten a chance to experience some of the city’s heart.  I’ve spoken with dedicated individuals and residents, like members of Camden Churches Organized for People (CCOP), who have made Camden’s problems seem less overwhelming and the solutions more manageable.  What has become increasingly clear to me through these conversations and through my daily work with the Coalition’s diabetes education classes, with resident groups, and with primary care providers in the city is that Camden has the potential to serve as a model for the rest of the country in healthcare reform.   This is an exciting time to be working on healthcare in Camdenand I’m glad I made the trip south.

On that day in North Camden, we eventually found the class tucked inside an unmarked office building.  We parked and walked down the street to the class.  Once there, we were warmly greeted by the students—all community residents, most over thirty years of age, and predominantly Spanish-speaking.  Over the next few hours, the teacher taught us the basics about proper nutrition and blood glucose levels.  People shared intimate personal stories, asked questions, and laughed a lot (often times at John and my mispronunciation of Spanish words).  By the time class was over, my trepidation to walk outside was gone and the car ride back to the office was full of discussion of our morning adventure.  Interacting with Camden residents I was able to see the city not just as an amalgamation of grim statistics but rather as a dynamic community striving for and in need of positive change.  I left feeling invigorated for my year of service.

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