Sahith Mukku
NJJN is committed to a holistic vision of justice where young people have all that they need to thrive as human beings. Youth legal system reforms go hand-in-hand with investments in communities to ensure young people and their families have the resources necessary to live safely and healthily. Our vision of justice includes addressing the root causes that create the conditions for crime and funding safe affordable housing, family sustaining jobs, physical and mental healthcare, police free schools, and parks and childcare centers. Understanding the Social Determinants of Health helps us recognize why it’s critical to take a holistic approach to community safety and youth justice by examining the social determinants of health and youth justice.
The Social Determinants of Health (SDH) influence nearly every aspect of our lives. They are comprised of factors such as socioeconomic status, access to education, access to healthcare, the surrounding built environment, and the surrounding community. These ‘upstream’ factors influence a person’s overall health status, as well as their life decisions.1 Disparities in the SDH lead to long lasting inequities that affect entire communities, rather than just individuals. By focusing on reducing these disparities present in upstream factors, the SDH can be used to improve health outcomes and overall quality of life.
When it comes to youth justice, focusing on the SDH can keep children out of the carceral system, as well as ensure that they have a happy and healthy life. For example, increasing access to affordable and nutritious food could prevent a child from having to steal to avoid going hungry, and encouraging the creation of safe spaces in neighborhoods, such as parks, can encourage physical exercise and keep children away from more dangerous areas. Even just focusing on increasing accessibility to mental health resources could also make huge bounds in reducing the youth incarceration rate in disadvantaged communities.2
There are nearly unlimited avenues to address the factors that comprise the SDH, but the difficulty lies in how ingrained these disparities are in both our country and its institutions. Given this however, there have been successful initiatives aimed at addressing the SDH for children.3 A few are listed below:
- Housing Rx in Boston, Massachusetts aims to provide low-income families with children access to affordable housing, in addition to other services such as financial and legal help. A program evaluation found that children had better health at the end of the study period, and adults experienced less anxiety and depression.4
- Progreso Latino in Rhode Island focuses on connecting both Latinos and other immigrant groups to educational opportunities for adults and children, free health care, and free legal services.5
- The Door in New York City helps youth living in the city by providing a comprehensive set of services, ranging from college advising, free meals, consistent shelter, and free health services, among others.6 This comprehensive approach to addressing the SDH gives children more possible paths they can take in their life.
Providing kids who normally don’t have the luxury of options with accessible ways to stay healthy can reduce youth crime rates.7 By giving children a path to avoid poverty and crime, there is no reason to resort to illegal behavior simply to be able to survive. Additionally, giving adults the same opportunity, with accessible ways to stay healthy and safe, can have a significant impact on their children. A multifaceted approach to addressing the SDH, targeting both children and their parents, may thus be the key to achieving genuine change. Through this, the ideal goal of prevention in terms of both health and youth justice can be achieved.
Notes:
- Social Determinants of Health. Social Determinants of Health – Healthy People 2030. https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/social-determinants-health. Accessed December 22, 2021.
- Gorski PA, Kuo AA, Granado-Villar DC, et al. Community pediatrics: Navigating the intersection of Medicine, Public Health, and Social Determinants of children’s health. Pediatrics. 2013;131(3):623-628. doi:10.1542/peds.2012-3933
- Tebb KP, Pica G, Twietmeyer L, Diaz A, Brindis CD. Innovative approaches to address social determinants of health among adolescents and young adults. Health equity. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6238651/. Published November 14, 2018. Accessed January 11, 2022.
- Housing prescriptions improve health outcomes in children, reduce anxiety and depression in adults. Boston Medical Center. https://www.bmc.org/news/press-releases/2020/04/06/housing-prescriptions-improve-health-outcomes-children-reduce-anxiety. Published December 23, 2021. Accessed December 11, 2022.
- Mission & History. Progreso Latino. https://progresolatino.org/new-page-20. Accessed December 11, 2022.
- Programs & Services. The Door. https://door.org/programs-services/. Accessed December 11, 2022.
- Mocan HN. Economic conditions, deterrence and juvenile crime: Evidence from Micro Data. American Law and Economics Review. 2005;7(2):319-349. doi:10.1093/aler/ahi011
Sahith Mukku is a Master of Public Health student at George Washington University, and a Health Equity Intern with NJJN.