[Saxophone begins playing] [Latish Walker] Hi. I am Latish Walker. I am 46 years old, very proud of that. I have two amazing sons that I have raised on my own. I am a native of Baltimore, I cannot see myself being anywhere else other than here. Being able to edify and fortify the city to make it one for everyone. I am what they call an empath, I feel everything down to what the bird might be feeling. And I believe that every person deserves integrity and to be treated with dignity. [Saxophone music fades] Years ago, I saw gentrification happening. The first time that I actually noticed it, my son and I were walking down Wolfe Street. When we crossed Biddle Street, I looked up and literally did a 360. Whoa, where did these houses come from? Where did this Starbucks come from? Did they do this overnight? How did this happen? I did not recognize my area. How is it possible that we have a Starbucks in the middle of the 'hood, but I don't have a grocery store? How are we supposed to be able to stay here? Ten years later I don't even recognize my own neighborhood because my trademarks are disappearing, but I'm going to be one of those people who stays here. I'll be that elephant in a room, that bull in a China shop. I'm never going to leave Baltimore City. They started building "affordable" homes in the community, affordable in quotes because the community could not afford these affordable homes. I understand that when I go to purchase a home, interest rates for me as a Black woman are higher. I understand our banking institutions have policies in place to keep people like me from even being able to achieve those things. I understand that the type of money that I make would not even allow me to qualify for that. I understand that being a Black woman, my annual salary is less than that of a man doing the same exact job. I clearly make less on the dollar. So when I see people that the system is made for coming into the community where I'm already struggling to live then I start preparing myself for a harder struggle. They are going to cater to this new group and exclude me. I don't know if it's fear or just understanding the reality of how America works. I have been working as a medical assistant through temp agencies, which meant that I had no stable work. And I was in a pretty abusive relationship. My ex had been using drugs and I confronted them about it. They didn't pay rent or anything, just packed up everything and left leaving me and my two sons with nothing. We ended up bouncing from house to house to house because at that time, both of my sons were over the age of 12. In Baltimore City, if you are a boy 12 years or older you are not allowed to go into a family shelter with your mom. That's another whole thing. Systemically separating Black families and labeling 12-year-old boys before they even had the opportunity to know their own identity. I am the first and only CHW at Johns Hopkins that does walking tours with our interns. The only one. We do them every July. And the physician who schedules the tours appreciates the fact that I make it so uncomfortable. On this tour, I point out the two sets of low-income housing right across the street. I make sure to walk them through the area where people shoot up drugs. I will walk them through the grocery store so they can see how fresh the meat is, the preserved foods versus the fresh foods, the expiration dates and how close they are to expiring. These are things that they should know when they're coming up with a meal plan for patients. I show them the sidewalks too so that when they're asking a patient how often do you fall in a day, they have the understanding that maybe it's not an equilibrium issue causing them to trip and fall, it could be the conditions of the sidewalks. I show them how many liquor stores and churches are in the area. I point out that we don't have a laundromat. I make sure that they see that because skin disorders and diseases are a very real thing. I show them the rehab facility that houses so many other different resources, including a shelter. The walking tour changes perspectives, which helps to change action. Any action that helps to eradicate oppression will help to eradicate social determinants of health. I explain to the interns that I am the elephant in the room, I am the bull in a China shop. I am going to make you uncomfortable, I'm okay with that and I hope you're okay with that. I tell them I'm going to talk about systemic oppression, racism, and food deserts. That's my spiel every time.