Access to safe, reliable transportation options matters, especially for health and wellbeing. A lack of options can make it impossible to keep a job, get out of poverty, and care for aging family members. In San Antonio (64% Latino), walking is not safe; therefore, public transit quickly becomes an unrealistic option, limiting resident’s transportation options and access to opportunity. That’s why the city government created a new position to develop a coordinated non-vehicular pedestrian mobility effort in its discussions about the 2019 budget.
Pedestrian Mobility Officer
Last month, city officials hired San Antonio’s first Pedestrian Mobility Officer, Timothy Hayes. This position will dedicate Hayes to enhancing the pedestrian experience by developing and ...
Last week, San Antonio’s (64% Latino) Southside Independent School District dedicated the Susan Hall Community Health Clinic, which will offer care to students, families, staff, and other district members. This is a big deal for health in the South Side of San Antonio, where residents live 15-20 years less than those on the North Side, according to the 2016 Bexar County Community Health Needs Assessment. Southside ISD has been in talks with University Health Systems (UHS) to run the clinic and is expected to vote on an agreement at its July 18 board meeting.
Health Needs on South Side
Many low-income families on the South Side lack access health care and health-promotion opportunities: 12.41% of households don’t have a vehicle, compared to 5.49% in Texas;
30.39% of ...
At least one person has been killed in a traffic crash in Texas every day since Nov. 7, 2000. That’s why Vision Zero Texas has enabled advocates to push Texas leaders, including a letter-writing campaign (with Salud America! participation) and in-person advocacy, for strategies to improve road safety and set a goal to have zero deaths on state roads. The efforts are paying off. In May 2019, the Texas Transportation Commission voted to adopt a goal of reducing traffic fatalities on the state’s roadways to zero by the year 2050!
Traffic Deaths in Texas
Nearly 3,600 people died on Texas roads in 2018. Why? Human factors, like distracted driving and speeding, vehicle factors, like breaks and headlights, and roadway factors, like access points and pedestrian crossings. ...
San Antonio has had an epic two years promoting trauma-informed care. The nonprofit Voices for San Antonio launched Early Childhood Training Workshops. East Central ISD started trauma-informed support for students. San Antonio police notify schools when kids experience traumatic events. The city itself, spurred by health director Dr. Colleen Bridger, created its first-ever coordinator for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and started a consortium for citywide trauma-informed care Now the City of San Antonio Mayor and City Council and the Bexar County Judge and Commissioners Court are expected to approve a proclamation during the first week of May to declare May as Trauma-Informed Care Awareness Month. “Through May, we will have ceremonials, proclamations, press ...
Dr. Colleen Bridger knows the devastating effects of childhood trauma, from risky behavior to bad grades, to even chronic disease. Bridger saw many childhoods ruined by abuse, poverty, and other trauma in her 20 years running three health departments and a childhood research/advocacy group in North and South Carolina. Health departments rarely coordinate with schools, healthcare providers, police, the justice system, and family support groups to address and reduce the impact of childhood trauma. Bridger wanted to change that. Since taking over as head of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health Department in 2017, she has worked to create a network of coordinated trauma-informed care for children and families facing adversity, even creating city’s first-ever job dedicated solely ...
One person is injured every 2 minutes and one killed every 2.5 hours on Texas roads. Texas (39.4% Latino) is the eighth-most dangerous state for people walking. Latinos and people of color, people in low-income neighborhoods, and older adults are in the most danger when walking. Unfortunately, it can take decades to create safer roads if there is no political will. That’s why Vision Zero Texas is asking Texans to sign a petition for safer neighborhood streets and send a letter to leaders of the Texas transportation system requesting a zero-fatality goal. Click here to sign a petition asking state leaders to allow cities to lower speed limits. Click here to send a letter asking transportation leaders to prioritize road safety to end traffic deaths. Vision Zero Texas will ...
Childhood obesity is getting worse over time, especially for Latinos. Researchers in Texas (39.4% Latino) recently released a data explorer that illustrates trends in body mass index of school-aged children in their state (52% Latino). It also reveals underlying factors in obesity, such as dietary behaviors and physical activity. The information showed many disparities, especially in the Latino community — numbers that could call for statewide, national conversation and legislation concerning childhood obesity.
Need for Obesity Reduction
U.S. Latino children have the highest rates of childhood obesity (25.8%), as compared to their black (22%) and white (14.1%) peers. In Texas, 27.3% of Latino 8th graders have obesity compared to 16% of their white peers. Obesity is ...
Latinas who live on the U.S. Southwest border have more surgical infant delivery rates than their peers in the rest of the country. Not only do those who reside on the border experience cesarean section, or C-section, more often, but Latinas have overall higher rates than white women, according to a New Mexico State University study. This was not the case six years ago. Jill McDonald, who serves as the director of the Southwest Institute for Health Disparities Research in the College of Health and Social Services at NMSU, told the Santa Fe New Mexican before 2013, Latinas had lower numbers than white women. “Now, Hispanic women are more likely to have a cesarean birth than non-Hispanic white women,” McDonald said. Maternal Disparities Latinas already suffer from ...
Diana Centeno knows kids exposed to traumatic events don’t get the support they need at school. Doug Greene knows police come across kids at crime scenes but feel unable to help them cope. So, they teamed up to start a project where patrol officers send a notification to the district if a child was present at a traumatic incident, enabling monitoring and support for the child. Centeno, a student support leader at San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD), is passionate about providing wrap-around, social-emotional services, particularly for children facing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Kids exposed to ACEs often act out in class, miss school, and fall behind, increasing their risk of dropping out, getting into criminal activities, and suffering from poor ...
