Anissa Dickerson of the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic Speaks in Support of the Feeding Our Neighbors Campaign
Statement of Anissa Dickerson, Director, Refugee Women’s Health Clinic, Boston Medical Center on May 2, 2023 in State House Room 222
I have the privilege of working with a team of dedicated SW, CHW and care providers to serve recently arrived immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers at the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic at Boston Medical Center. We provide OB and GYN care as well as support for medical affidavits for asylum seekers.
This clinic has grown over the last few years into a clinic that’s almost unrecognizable from a few years ago. Our current population is made up of new arrivals, mostly from Haiti. Many arrive in their 3rd trimester with little or no PNC. They’ve often arrived in the last few weeks and are attempting to access basic resources for themselves and their families.
Many of these pregnant people do qualify for benefits. Unfortunately, due to dysfunction in the system and severe resource insecurities that create barriers to access, they are unable to obtain the benefits that could help provide support for a healthy pregnancy. I care for many pregnant immigrant patients who only eat once a day because they aren’t able to obtain healthy/culturally appropriate food. Data from the last 2 months from case management groups set up to help pregnant patients access benefits showed that 83% of our patients were in a food emergency and needed food that night.
I am seeing new parents who have been advised not to breastfeed even though we know that is the recommendation for feeding their newborn, because they don’t have enough caloric intake to support breastfeeding due to severe food insecurity.
We know that food insecurity impacts the health of the pregnant person and the health of their child. For the pregnant person there are risks of poor mental and physical health outcomes.The child is at risk of low birth weight, congenital birth defects and issues initiating breastfeeding.
We also know that a quarter of all children in immigrant families live in poverty, a higher rate than children with US citizen parents. Unfortunately, they are prevented from many federal and state benefits. The pandemic worsened hardships for many families who were already struggling, including immigrant families. These families are largely excluded from federal relief. Denying SNAP and cash benefits to immigrant families exacerbates health inequities and contributes to preventable health costs.
As I said, this clinic served a different population a few years ago. It was made up of immigrants and asylum seekers who were more established and had been in the US a bit longer.
Even though many patients were better established in communities they still lived paycheck to paycheck and were one paycheck away from being food insecure. During the pandemic we saw even more drastic vulnerabilities in these marginalized groups.
During covid we undertook a needs assessment with our patients and found many were struggling to pay for utilities, rent and food. We heard over and over about concerns for food insecurity because they had to make choices between rent, utilities, medications and other needs or food. Often working multiple jobs but still having to stretch a paycheck which often didn’t fully cover food.
Whether they are immigrants who are newly arrived or are those who are more established and have been here for years, they are all our neighbors and community members. They are mothers and fathers who are concerned about feeding their children. They are immigrants who only want to provide their families with an opportunity to succeed.
We are one of the wealthiest states in the country and we are leaving our neighbors without the basic needs to build a healthy family. There’s been an attack on reproductive health across this country. I am lucky to live and work in a state that supports reproductive rights. If we truly believe in reproductive justice we must provide support for parents to raise children in sustainable communities.
This is why you should support state funded nutrition benefits to immigrants and cash assistance to immigrant families with children .
Anissa Dickerson is a Certified Nurse Midwife and the Director of the Refugee Women's Health Clinic at Boston Medical Center. She's an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Boston University School of Medicine. She provides family planning services at the BEACON Clinic at Boston Medical Center. Ms. Dickerson has a background in global reproductive health and an interest in developing innovative care models to meet the needs of immigrants and refugees to address inequities in healthcare for pregnant patients.