By Vincent Lim
A new report from the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging at the USC School of Social Work offers a glimpse into the lives of aging Latinos and African-Americans living in East and South Los Angeles and the challenges they face amid the ongoing economic crisis.
“The economic problems that have beset California and the United States have imposed a special hardship on low-income aging people in the Los Angeles areas surveyed in our report,” said Provost Professor William Vega, executive director of the USC Roybal Institute.
A research team led by Vega and Karen Lincoln, associate professor at the School of Social Work and associate director of the Roybal Institute, conducted a community survey to determine the current health status and living conditions of older Latinos and African-Americans in select low-income and middle-income neighborhoods in Los Angeles County. The most recent U.S. census data from 2005 to 2009 suggested to researchers that more minority seniors in areas such as Crenshaw, Inglewood and Boyle Heights were facing greater financial hardship since the 2000 census.