On the Border, Out of the Shadows

In Texas' poorest communities, substandard living conditions and health concerns abound – but local efforts are providing hope.

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A basketball hoop stands at the edge of a trailer home's yard in Hidalgo County, Texas, in January.
Around half a million Texans live in colonias – largely impoverished neighborhoods that fall 
outside of city limits and can lack basic public services.
Image Credit: (MELANIE STETSON FREEMAN/CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR/GETTY IMAGES)

As reported by Gaby Galvin in U.S. News, the rural communities along the Texas-Mexico border, also known as colonias, are high density health risk areas for a multitude of reasons. Lack of potable water is still largely an issue for many of these communities, as well as inadequate waste disposal. In certain areas, pesticides and mosquito borne illnesses pose serious threats to the health safety of ​inhabitants​. Furthermore, these issues are exace​r​bated by the absence of available healthcare treatment resources. Several barriers to successful improvement initiatives in these areas are the Trump administration’s strict immigration policies as well as inadequate state funding for programs providing aid to colonias.

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Source U.S. News

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