COMMUNITY LEADERS CRINGE AS THEY HEAR THE TERM “HOOD DISEASE”
Even the slang nickname for the condition, “Hood Disease,” itself causes pain, and ignites debate among community leaders, as they say the term pejoratively refers to impoverished areas, and distances the research and medical community from the issue.
“People from afar call it ‘Hood Disease,’ – it’s what academics call it,” said Olis Simmons, CEO of Youth UpRising working in what she describes as the epicenter of the issue: East Oakland.
She said the term minimizes the pain that her community faces, and fails to capture the impact this has on the larger community.
“In the real world where this affects real lives, people are suffering from a chronic level of trauma that doesn’t have a chance to heal because they’re effectively living in a war zone within your town,” said Simmons.
“Terms like ‘hood disease’ mean it’s someone else’s problem, but it’s not. That’s a lie. It’s a collective problem, and the question is what are we prepared to do about it?”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to clarify that it is a Centers for Disease Control doctor who presented the findings on children with PTSD, and Jeff Duncan-Andrade, Ph.D. estimated one in three inner-city youth have some form of PTSD. This story is part of the Equity Reporting Project, which is a year-long effort.