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Volunteering for Christmas and New Year’s helps other people and is proven to give the volunteer an emotional boost, too.
So why not volunteer your “voice”?
Speak up with these six actions to promote health equity for Latino and all families this holiday season!
1. Start ‘Handle With Care’ So Police Alert Schools if Kids Are Exposed to Trauma!
60% of U.S. children have been exposed to violence, crime, or abuse.
These kids still have to go to class. They carry a burden of trauma that can interfere with their behavior and grades. And schools don’t know there’s an issue at home.
Enter “Handle With Care.”
Download the free Salud America! “Handle With Care Action Pack” to start a Handle With Care program. In the program, police notify schools when they encounter children at a traumatic scene, so schools can provide support right away.
The Action Pack contains materials and technical assistance to start a conversation and plans for implementing a Handle With Care program. Over 65 U.S. cities have started such a program.
The Action Pack was created by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Salud America! Latino health equity program at UT Health San Antonio, with help from Andrea Darr, director of the West Virginia Center for Children’s Justice, which started the first Handle With Care program in 2013.
2. Subscribe to the Only Latino Health Equity Podcast!
The “Salud Talks” podcast, the latest venture from Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, is now live!
Each week, listeners hear from health equity experts—from grassroots movements to national organizations—on topics ranging from cultural representation, climate change, childhood trauma, mental health, and more.
Episodes of “Salud Talks” are released every Wednesday morning.
Each episode is available wherever fine podcasts are downloaded, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud.
3. Start a School Food Pantry!
About 1 in 6 children are food insecure. They don’t know where their next meal is coming from.
Your school can help these kids!
Try the Salud America! “School Food Pantry Action Pack.” The pack is a free guide to help school personnel talk to decision-makers, work through logistics, and start a School Food Pantry to help hungry students and reduce local food insecurity.
A School Food Pantry accepts, stores, and redistributes donated and leftover food to students.
The Action Pack was created by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio.
Dr. Ramirez had input from Jenny Arredondo, nutrition director at San Antonio ISD. Arredondo started school food pantries on 10 campuses in 2017-18, based on a Texas law change led by Diego Bernal.
4. Share Your Town’s Health Equity Report Card!
Why not be a part of the health solution?
Get a “Health Equity Report Card” for Your Area!
Select your county name and get a customized Health Equity Report Card by Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio to see how your area stacks up in housing, transit, poverty, health care, healthy food, and other health equity issues compared to the rest of your state and nation.
The Health Equity Report Card auto-generates local data with interactive maps and comparative gauges, which can help you visualize health inequities.
You can email your Health Equity Report Card, share it on social media, and use it to make the case for community change to boost health equity, where everyone has a fair, just opportunity to live their healthiest.
Get your health equity Report Card!
5. Think “Water Bottle Fountains”
Water Bottle Fountains are better than traditional water fountains.
These filtered water dispensers can easily fill and refill water bottles. They help kids stay hydrated while saving families money from buying bottled water. They also help the environment by reducing waste.
Salud America! wants to help you get Water Bottle Fountains at your school with our custom-for-you Water Bottle Fountain Action Pack with Coaching!
GET YOUR WATER BOTTLE FOUNTAIN ACTION PACK!
6. Create a Trauma-Sensitive School!
About half of U.S. children suffer abuse, poverty, parental incarceration, and other traumas. These kids face deep physical and mental scars that impair development, learning, and health.
How can schools support and help students dealing with trauma?
The Salud America! “Trauma Sensitive School Action Pack” is a free guide with coaching to help school personnel talk to decision-makers, build a support team, craft a system to identify and support traumatized students, and more!
The Action Pack was created by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Salud America! Latino health program at UT Health San Antonio. John Hernandez, who created a unique system to help traumatized students at East Central ISD in San Antonio, also gave input.
Thank You!
Our Salud America! team, led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, is thankful for the opportunity to drive messages of health equity across the nation.
Thank you for visiting our website. Thank you for your strong interest in health equity.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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