Through The Lens: Immigrant Perspectives on Health in Southeast Minnesota

Policy makers in the United States may be unaware of immigrants’ health-related priorities due to barriers (e.g., language, voting restrictions, or exclusion from political parties). In response, Rochester Healthy Community Partnership (RHCP) collaborated with 14 Hispanic/Latino and Somali immigrant leaders in southeastern Minnesota and used Photovoice to document their health-related assets and needs.

Through a five-session workshop, leaders learned a process called Photovoice to document the health issues they see in our community. Each session included a photography lesson, group reflections, and instructions for the following session. After taking photos, the leaders reflected, discussed the issues revealed in their images, and developed policy recommendations (read recommendations here). Their words and photographs illustrate stories of discrimination, stress, and exclusion but also immense fortitude, resilience, and pride.

Collectively, we want to ensure that immigrants have a voice in shaping the policies and decisions that impact our health and lives. Leaders exhibited their photographs and shared recommendations with decision makers and the public on March 5, 2024. The public exhibit then traveled around Rochester, Minnesota between March and October 2024 to St. Mary’s University, Hawthorne Education Center, the Rochester Art Center skyway display cases, and Northrop Community Education Building.

To view the exhibit as a slide show, click on a text box or photo below. You can advance through the slideshow by clicking anywhere. You can exit the slide show by selecting the X in the upper right-hand corner.