Shobha

A video snapshot of L.A.'s Skid Row

L.A.'s homeless: Aerial tour of Skid Row, epicenter of crisis You can get a sense of the scope of the Southland's homeless crisis when you see it from the air.

In the process of compiling a resource guide for women experiencing homelessness (and breast cancer, and other overlapping issues) in Skid Row, Los Angeles. I'll be highlighting organizations as I go! Here's an advocate I admire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km8ztUGdkh0
-Eva Dittrich, Shobha Founder

Woman Offers Makeovers To Homeless People On Skid Row Shirley Raines offers food, showers, and beauty services to the homeless people of Skid Row in Los Angeles. She always had a passion for helping out the home...

In my words, here is an overview of the research and a straightforward way to think about the experience of being a homeless woman with breast cancer:

It is clear that the process of breast cancer from diagnosis through treatment for the average American woman profoundly disturbs not only her physical but also her psychological well-being, as she may experience painful physical side effects, symptoms of posttraumatic stress, existential questions, body image issues, pauses or delays in her family life and career, financial strain, and more. The literature on homelessness has emphasized the multidimensional challenges that the population faces and the urgent need for improved healthcare accessibility and substance use intervention, including reducing to***co use. There is a distinct link between homelessness and a significantly increased risk for cancer and dying from cancer overall, and breast cancer was the second leading cancer incidence and cause of cancer death among homeless women in one large recent study. Combining this information leads to the logical conclusion that if each of the experiences of breast cancer and homelessness is painful, complex, and often traumatic in itself, then the experience of being homeless with breast cancer is likely, simply put, a living nightmare that, without intervention, may lead to a horrific, lonely death.

-Eva Dittrich, Founder, Shobha

When cancer hits the streets

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5486377/

When cancer hits the streets Toby had been living rough, sleeping on the street until his cancer-riddled body could no longer tolerate the cold. He was proud to have found housing for a few months before he died. He lived in a 10×12-foot room, on a mattress on the floor. His diet consisted of two cans of Boost daily (traded fo...

Good news! I've heard back from a large women's mission on Skid Row LA to connect me with several ladies there struggling with breast cancer. Biggest barriers to appropriate treatment reported so far are mental health, lack of self-worth, and health insurance issues. We have a safe place to meet downtown and do interviews to assess their needs and get to know them so that I can start fundraising and gathering resources on their behalf. Now I need a professional filmmaker/team to come with me and record interviews of these women, then edit into cohesive individual stories. Must have your own equipment and follow through on producing polished work as a volunteer. Please email me at [email protected] for more info and to chat. Thank you!!!