Abbey People is a community gardening club rooted in the East Barnwell Centre in the Abbey ward of north-east Cambridge. In doing so, it shines a light on the bigger issues facing maybe the city’s poorest neighborhood. As a result, the ward’s residents face dire health disparities. Their life expectancy is 12 years less than the people who live in Cambridge’s richer southern half. This grim disparity begs the question of what is driving our health outcomes and highlights the need for immediate, targeted action.
The Abbey ward, an area marked by high socioeconomic disadvantage, experiences low connectivity and access to other resources that lead to good health. Healthy life expectancy, or the number of years people can live in good overall health, is unknown for this region. The reality is that for many residents, systemic barriers are preventing them from living a healthier lifestyle.
The UK government currently intends to pump £78 billion into the UK economy. Cambridge has been recognized as a top priority for these projects, so it stands to benefit immensely from this investment. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a series of investments in January, including funding for new homes in the city centre, lab space, and enhancements to East West Rail. Disparities remain, particularly among Black and Indigenous women. A 2017 report by the Centre for Cities declared Cambridge as the most unequal city in the UK.
With Abbey ward residents enduring the 5th highest cost of living in the UK this makes a serious situation even worse. The kinds of jobs they’re able to get directly impact their health. Low-income jobs generally come with less stability and less health benefit provision, impacting life expectancy.
Sally Cartwright, the county’s director of public health at Cambridgeshire County Council, emphasizes that access to affordable, nutritious food plays a critical role in these inequalities. She further points out that steep gym membership costs prevent low-income Walker residents from having access to spaces for physical activity.
“You just need to not lose sight of these inequalities. It might not be a one-size-fits-all; whether someone is working, or the type of job they have or what sort of housing they live in can contribute to life expectancy,” – Sally Cartwright.
Community advocate Mercy Horsoo says the community has faced years of neglect. She advocates for less criminalization and more investment to bridge these gaps, seeking a bolicultural change to improve equity.
“I think it’s high time the incentives are evenly distributed,” – Mercy Horsoo.
Our Abbey ward resident, Lisa Connolly, describes the desperate impoverished reality that so many of her neighbours are having to endure. She paints a picture of her family’s day-to-day fight to just get by.
“We’re living day-to-day. We’re just above water, but if anything was to go wrong financially, we’d go down,” – Lisa Connolly.
Nicky Shepard, local advocate and leader of the walk, reinforces this sentiment by calling attention to the dangers poverty creates on people’s bodies. She points to a community-wide mistrust of authority, which causes residents to avoid or wait longer to seek assistance.
“Being in poverty is hard on people’s bodies. There’s a distrust of authority here, so people delay in getting help,” – Nicky Shepard.
As the government seeks to address some of these issues through economic investment and infrastructure development, the real question remains: will these efforts be enough to bridge the gap in healthy life expectancy?
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