I’ve been in choir since I was in kindergarten, and am now on my 14th year, having the opportunity to perform on numerous stages, ranging from a little one at church all the way to Carnegie Hall. One thing as a singer that is very important to our health and our performance is air quality. If the air is dirty, toxic, and/or has smoke in it, a singer cannot perform well and risks a lot of damage to their voice in the short term, and more long term damage (if the singer has repeated exposure to the bad air) to their lungs, immune system, and overall health. Thankfully, I’ve been able to avoid living in areas with large amounts of air pollution, however, when touring the different communities for seniors living below the poverty line, it was clear that having clean air is not a guarantee even if the seniors are able to secure some form of housing.
Some seniors are more fortunate. For those living in the Potiker Family Senior Residence, there was a walled in courtyard and a walkway that allowed air to flow more freely throughout the buildings in the complex. The most fortunate, of the places we visited, was the North Park Senior Apartments. When the architects were designing the complex, they had envisioned utilizing as much space as possible to be open and free-flowing, with lots of sunlight and outside communal spaces. For example, at the outside of the building was a patio, where people could sit out and interact with each other. Even more notable is the courtyard, which was beautifully laid out and had lots of seating. Even the game room was designed for airflow, with a glass garage door that would open up the game room to an outside space.
Others were far less lucky. At the Sara Francis Hometel, the air was rancid, smoky, and stale. I was only inside walking through the hallway for two minutes and my eyes were tearing up, my nose was running, and I was coughing. I can’t imagine what it would be like to spend an hour in there, much less, live there. When we were touring, one woman told a classmate to “never move here” and that it was “disgusting”. While I did not see the inside, I would agree with her that the air was “disgusting” and it made me wonder how people with chronic lung caner, asthma, bronchitis, or any other respiratory disease manage. The air is not conducive to anyone’s health and for those who have trouble breathing it must exacerbate their condition and make it even worse. While the people living there were safer off the street, the dank and depressing air and atmosphere could be improved to help them live richer lives.
Some seniors are more fortunate. For those living in the Potiker Family Senior Residence, there was a walled in courtyard and a walkway that allowed air to flow more freely throughout the buildings in the complex. The most fortunate, of the places we visited, was the North Park Senior Apartments. When the architects were designing the complex, they had envisioned utilizing as much space as possible to be open and free-flowing, with lots of sunlight and outside communal spaces. For example, at the outside of the building was a patio, where people could sit out and interact with each other. Even more notable is the courtyard, which was beautifully laid out and had lots of seating. Even the game room was designed for airflow, with a glass garage door that would open up the game room to an outside space.
Others were far less lucky. At the Sara Francis Hometel, the air was rancid, smoky, and stale. I was only inside walking through the hallway for two minutes and my eyes were tearing up, my nose was running, and I was coughing. I can’t imagine what it would be like to spend an hour in there, much less, live there. When we were touring, one woman told a classmate to “never move here” and that it was “disgusting”. While I did not see the inside, I would agree with her that the air was “disgusting” and it made me wonder how people with chronic lung caner, asthma, bronchitis, or any other respiratory disease manage. The air is not conducive to anyone’s health and for those who have trouble breathing it must exacerbate their condition and make it even worse. While the people living there were safer off the street, the dank and depressing air and atmosphere could be improved to help them live richer lives.