Where you live has an undeniable impact on your overall health. Lack of access to spaces for physical activity, healthy food choices, and health care options often plague those that live in low-income neighborhoods. This includes many Latino families. This confluence of conditions often lead to residents becoming overweight and/or obese and suffering from diabetes, respiratory illnesses, and heart disease. In recent years, cities – often finding governments working with residents – have begun exploring ways to make cities healthier. This has included improving access to repairing sidewalks, adopting shared use agreements, and creating physical activity opportunities in public spaces. All of these efforts have not gone unnoticed. The fitness tracking application, Fit Bit, has ...
Since 2010, Detroit Swims has taught more than 5800 kids how to swim and aims to teach all kids in the Metro Detroit. Swimming is excellent for mental and physical health, as well as academic achievement, but of f the 120,000 children in the city, it’s estimated 100,000 of them can’t swim, according to one source. Detroit Swims is a nonprofit started by lifeguards in 2010 at the Boll Family YMCA to reduce disparities in swim ability. The lifeguards contributed $2000 out of their paycheck to teach the first 35 kids how to swim. Latino kids across the country often lack access to pools and swimming lessons, thus face higher rates of drowning and obesity related chronic disease compared to white kids. Detroit Swims has expanded to over six locations, and works with local ...
Free and reduced-price school meals help make sure that over 21 million kids get at least two meals a day, but what happens during the summer? That’s where the No Kid Hungry program can help. They created a resource where families can text ‘FOOD’ (for English responses) or ‘COMIDA’ (for Spanish responses) to 877-877 and receive locations providing summer meals nearest the zip code entered. Without programs like these, 6 out of 7 kids who are able to get free and reduced-price lunches during the school year might not have access to nutritious meals in the summer. Of those enrolled in nutrition programs at school, Latino children make up 32% of kids receiving free lunches and 29.7% of kids receiving reduced lunches. For more information, go to NoKidHungry.org or text ...
Health equity can be a hard-to-understand concept. A new report has a clear, simple definition: "Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be healthier." Achieving health equity means removing obstacles to health. Obstacles like "poverty, discrimination, and their consequences, including powerlessness and lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, quality education and housing, safe environments, and health care," according to the report. The report is by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the University of California, San Francisco. Unfortunately, health equity sometimes doesn't exist. Latinos and other minority and low-income groups suffer health inequities and disparities. These are deeply rooted in socio-economic ...
Latinos are the youngest major racial or ethnic group in the United States. About 1 in 3 of the nation's Latinos are younger than 18, and nearly 6 in 10 Latinos are either millennial (ages 18-33) or younger, Pew research shows. But, as Latinos and all millennials become a larger portion of the U.S. workforce, the reality of the "millennial wage gap" is growing, Fortune reports. The average wage for millennials is the highest, $40,046 a year, in Washington, D.C. (10.16% Latino population). The lowest by far, $16,999, is in Mississippi (2.9% Latino). The national average is $40,356 for workers ages 35-65. "Millennials may act as if they’re entitled to ultrahigh salaries, but in most parts of the U.S. they still don’t earn them," Fortune reports.
How Much Do Latino ...
For many immigrant families, the current political climate adds a great deal of stress to their lives. Many Latinos already face inequities in health care; they are still the largest uninsured population in the U.S. In South Carolina (5.2% Latino population), this stress is now manifesting in even harsher ways. According to a report in The Post and Courier, many immigrant families in the state are not only foregoing health care services for the adult family members, but also their children. “We’ve gotten calls from the health department of mothers not coming to ... appointments, not showing up for immunizations,” said Julie Smithwick, executive director of the Latino assistance group PASOs. The statewide group connects Latino patients to health care resources across South ...
Latinos are the youngest major racial or ethnic group in the United States. According to 2014 Pew Research study, about over 17.9 million of the nation’s Latino population is younger than 18. Nearly 25% all Latinos are Millennials (ages 18-33 in 2014). Overall, nearly six-in-ten Latinos are Millennials or younger. As Millennials become a larger portion of the American workforce the reality of the wage gap becomes clearly apparent. The differences between the average wage for Millennials across the United States is staggering. In Washington, DC (10.16% Latino population), the average wage for Millennials is by far the highest at $40,046 annually. The lowest by far is Mississippi (2.9% Latino population). According to Fortune, North Dakota (which is the second-highest average for ...
Summertime means fun time for kids. Well...it's supposed to. For Latino kids, it can also lessen already minimal opportunities to get healthy food or access safe places to play, according to Salud America! research. That's why we are spotlighting three heroes who are saving summer for Latino families!
Melissa & Mary
Rescuing Fruit for San Antonio Families Many families in San Antonio (63% Latino) live in food deserts. Ironically, there are lots of fruit trees in people's yards—but fruit often falls and rots. UTSA grad students Melissa Federspill and Mary Minor saw this waste. They wanted to harvest fruit trees to share with families. So they mapped local fruit trees online. They met with neighbors. They recruited volunteers to pick trees. And they contacted ...
Across the country, Latinos suffer vast differences in health conditions than whites. These health disparities manifest themselves in several ways. These inequities are rooted in social disadvantage and affect educational attainment, income and personal wealth, housing, and mental and physical health. Chicago (29.09% Latino population), the third largest city in the U.S., has an unfortunately long history with racial inequities. A new report by the University of Illinois at Chicago sheds light on the current state of these inequities. The report, entitled “A Tale of Three Cities: The State of Racial Justice in Chicago,” tells about the “divergent conditions” of blacks, Latinos, and whites in terms of housing, economics, education, justice, and health. “On virtually ...
