My name is Jesse Vasquez. I am a member of Venice Family Clinic’s Patient Advisory Council, a first generation student pursuing my doctorate with UCLA and I have been a health equity advocate for as long as I can remember.

As the only fluent English speaker in my Spanish-speaking family, I spent my childhood in exam rooms translating for my grandparents and mother. I worked hard to make sure they understood their doctors—and, more importantly, that their doctors understood them. From a young age, I was responsible for coordinating appointments and answering complex medical questions.

Early on, I realized that the health inequity crisis was putting my family—and countless other people—at risk.

When my grandfather’s health began to decline, I attended all his appointments, desperate to get answers. But we were forced to wait months between visits due to staffing shortages, and even then the local clinic lacked the technology needed to properly understand his illness.

When we were finally referred to a better-funded clinic, doctors quickly discovered my grandfather had advanced prostate cancer. He was urgently admitted to a hospital in Pasadena where he finally received the kind of care we had needed all along. But by then, it was too late.

He passed away when I was just 9 years old.

Since then, I have worked to understand what caused the crisis that endangered my family and cost my grandfather his life. I remember my mother asking, “Why is our appointment so far away? Why can’t I see my doctor sooner?” As a child, I didn’t know how to answer.

Now, I’ve come to realize the answer comes down to one unfortunate thing: underfunding.

Without adequate resources clinics can’t hire enough doctors, train enough staff or afford advanced equipment. The impact of this underfunding trickles down to negatively affect every patient who walks through their doors.

Our communities deserve better. My family deserves better. And I know our state has the resources to do better.

That’s why I’m supporting Proposition 35, the vital initiative on the ballot this November that aims to address California’s most urgent health care needs by securing dedicated, ongoing funding without raising taxes. Voting yes on Prop 35 is a powerful way to ensure that families like mine don’t have to endure the same heartache and hardships.

Join me in making a difference. Vote Yes on Prop 35.