Olmsted County draws attention to racism as a health issue

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ROCHESTER In 2020, Olmsted County joined cities, counties, and even the House of Minnesota in condemning racism as a public health crisis.

Now, Olmsted County officials are working to fix this problem.

County staffers are beginning to act on a series of recommendations that could improve public health outcomes for residents of color. The 42 recommendations are the result of more than two years of study and community sessions culminating in a report released last fall.

These recommendations run the gamut of social issues, from improving home ownership and access to housing, to better mental health care, to greater representation on advisory boards to help erase low-level criminal records that could prevent someone from getting a job or an apartment.

Essentially, it’s about breaking down barriers for Black, Indigenous, and other residents of color in the region.

“There may be hurdles that we haven’t dug deep enough to find yet that are going to impact some of these decisions,” said Leigh Durbahn, management analyst at Olmsted County.

In the United States, people of color are more likely to face health problems than white people for a variety of factors, and Minnesota is no different. A 2018 report from the University of Minnesota shows that black residents suffer from diabetes and kidney disease at 1.5 times the rate of the general population; this number increases to three times the general population rate for Asian residents and four times for Indigenous residents.

Black residents make up approximately 7% of Olmsted County’s population of approximately 163,000. Still, they made up about 35% of the county’s confirmed COVID-19 cases in July 2022.

Residents of color face more financial disparities than their white counterparts, making it more difficult to seek medical care. According to a 2021 county study, about 32% of white people say they are financially stressed; 54% of residents of color identify the same way. About 40% of black residents in Olmsted County live in poverty.

County officials hope to change those results by addressing various gaps in social services. Olmsted officials plan to revamp their data collection practices to ensure more families of color have access to county programs, as well as reaching out to community groups for ongoing feedback, among other things.

Olmsted County is still early in the process of identifying specific milestones, according to Durbahn. She said county staffers have yet to identify ways they are already responding to some of the recommendations, which needs to happen before the county creates new programs or efforts for residents of color.

The county will likely turn to other groups in the area for help. A report on black homeownership released earlier this month by the Coalition for Rochester Area Housing recommended several steps that lenders, realtors and first-time buyers can take to secure a home.

This includes creating a network of mentors for homeowners, partnering with more community groups, hiring more realtors and lenders of color, providing interpreters in the buying process of a house and even simplifying the language on a mortgage application form.

Other groups are already interested in the county’s work. Will Ruffin, director of equity and engagement at Rochester Public Schools, said he sees opportunities to expand the region’s efforts to provide access to housing, addictions and mental health. for families.

The school district already has a housing coordinator and access to mental health professionals and addiction counselors, which could expand with county-city partnerships.

“If we can get there as an all-court press, I think we’ll start to see some of that change,” Ruffin said. “People won’t feel like it’s just lip service because it will be all around us instead of just our individual sector.”

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