Buses don’t run to a Latino mobile home community outside Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Instead, people there are forced to rely on cars─dangerous, expensive, polluting cars─ when they need to get to jobs, food, and healthcare. This isolates them from opportunities for health, jobs, and affordable housing, just like many other suburban and rural parts of our nation. Fortunately, planned public transit improvements will enable more buses across the Twin Cities, including the mobile home community. But how? Will it work for Latinos and all vulnerable neighborhoods?
Twin Cities Growing in Population, Traffic
The area to the east of the Twin Cities─the Interstate 94 (I-94) corridor─is expected to see a 24% increase in population and a 30% increase in jobs by 2040, according ...
Denver's lack of affordable housing is reaching crisis level. Teachers, police officers, and health care workers were getting "priced out of a city with a glut of quality housing, something many U.S. communities experience today," Next City reports. A group of finance and equity specialists, deal-makers, and policy folks wanted to help. They created a first-of-its-kind initiative called LIVE Denver (Lower Income Voucher Equity). The program, with $1.2 million in city funding, will bring hundreds of 21,000 brand-new, vacant apartment units within financial reach of severely rent-burdened families. Will it help solve the affordable housing crisis in Denver and elsewhere?
Affordable Housing and Health
Access to affordable, safe housing is a priority for maintaining good ...
Sonja Trauss hated her commute. Driving her car a long way from home to her job as a math teacher was unproductive, wasted time. It was expensive. It was stressful, harming her physical and mental health. And it was dangerous. Yet this was Trauss’ reality with no affordable housing near her job. But Trauss grew tired of paying so much time, money, and stress to drive a car because of a shortage of affordable housing in Marin County (16.1% Latino) in California’s San Francisco Bay Area. She decided to make a stand. Trauss formed a group to push for more affordable housing and challenged developers, decision-makers, and opposition to affordable housing in this region. Did it work?
Transportation Costs Matter for Affordable Housing
Behind housework, the daily car ...
Food insecurity affects at least 1 in 6 U.S. children. In states like Texas, 15% of children go home from school wondering where their next meal will come from. Sadly, food insecurity is linked to behavioral and developmental problems. It also contributes lower performance on tests, absenteeism, and grade repetition. But there is good news! Texas public schools can address food insecurity and reduce food waste thanks to a new law that allows schools to redistribute food to students by starting its own School Food Pantry! Register for our webinar on Aug. 28 to get free tools to help you start a School Food Pantry in your school. Or bring food pantries to many schools in your district! Our webinar will feature two Salud Heroes, Texas State Rep. Diego Bernal and Jenny ...
Health starts and is sustained in the communities we live, work, and play. However, in many places, affordable housing is not available, subjecting families to unstable, inferior, and crowded housing while isolating them in areas with limited access to education and employment opportunities. This reduces their ability to stay healthy. It increases their risk of physical and mental health issues. Achieving and maintaining good health requires the efforts of urban and transportation planners, housing experts, elected leaders, educators, and many more. UPDATE: View a recap of this Tweetchat on Wakelet. Use #SaludTues on August 21, 2018, to tweet about why affordable housing matters for health, and what you can do to create healthier places to live! WHAT: #SaludTues ...
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) wants your input to shape transportation planning and spending across the state for the next 10 years, in what is known as the Unified Transportation Program (UTP). The UTP will guide construction, development, and related activities for 13,000 projects. However, the program prioritizes congestion relief over safety, connectivity, and economic development, says nonprofit Farm & City. You can speak up for transportation that prioritizes Texans’ wellbeing! Copy one of the model public comments drafted by our Salud America! research team, click the “submit” button, and paste the comment on txdot.gov’s comments website by Aug. 20, 2018. Be sure to click “No” in the required field asking if this is a complaint.
Model ...
A leading pediatricians’ group is warning families on chemicals in processed food and the use of plastic food containers, while encouraging more whole fruits and vegetables, according to The New York Times. Previous studies have shown how chemicals used in an array of fast food packaging can be dangerous to consumers. Now the American Academy of Pediatrics, which represents 67,000 of U.S. children’s doctors, have released a statement and technical report that is concerned about rising evidence "that certain chemicals that enter foods may interfere with the body’s natural hormones in ways that may affect long-term growth and development." The pediatrician’s group is asking for further rigorous testing and regulation on the countless of food additive chemicals as well as ...
Does your town have a farmers market? If not, you might miss out on healthy fresh produce. Farmers may fail to engage in the local economy. To celebrate the Farmers Market Coalition's National Farmers Market Week on Aug. 5-11, 2018, we at Salud America! are showcasing the benefits of farmers markets as a way to increase access to fruits and vegetables among Latino and all populations!
Farmers Markets Can Help Latinos
Latinos frequently live in food swamps. In these swamps, Latinos have no easy access to supermarkets and farmers’ markets, while abundant access to fast food and corner stores. This results in overconsumption of unhealthy foods, according to a Salud America! research review. The number of U.S. farmers’ markets has more than doubled. But many of these markets ...
Want to help help Latino and all kids achieve good health? Check out new research that identifies several key ways to reduce sugary drink consumption among children ages 0-5. The research, published in July 2018 in the journal Obesity Reviews by Healthy Eating Research, analyzed 27 studies that assessed an intervention to decrease sugary drink consumption is high-income countries. "Overall, evidence suggests that interventions successful at reducing SSB consumption among 0- to 5-year-olds often focused on vulnerable populations, were conducted in preschool/daycare settings, specifically targeted only SSBs or only oral hygiene, included multiple intervention strategies, and had higher intervention intensity/contact time," according to the research.
Strategy Suggestions From The ...
