Healthy Living Matters Connects Youth with Policy Change

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In September of 2011, the Houston Endowment awarded a grant of $2.5 million dollars to The Harris County Healthcare Alliance to fund a local private-public partnership called Healthy Living Matters (HLM).

The partnership consists of a multi-sector group of local leaders, engaged in a two-year planning initiative to curb childhood obesity in Houston/Harris County by using policy action to enact system and environmental change.

HLM has partnered with students in undeserved areas to address needs in their communities. The students went out into the community and took pictures of things that make healthy living difficult and then presented their findings in at a summit that gathered health professionals, academics, and community members. The students also made policy recommendations based on their findings. Check out their presentations!

By the end of 2013, Healthy Living Matters will conduct an assessment of food access and built environment within Houston/Harris County, provide learning opportunities related to childhood obesity, its impact on the community, and policy strategies to address it, scan and monitor federal, state and local policy trends and developments, identify local issues and prioritize policies that have an impact on childhood obesity, and develop a Community Action Plan, which serves as a road map for policy implementation. Although pretty ambitious, Healthy Living Matters encourages the city of Houston and Harris County to continue to make strides in reducing childhood obesity.

HLM is very active on social media! Connect with them on Facebook and Twitter and join the conversation on how to bring good health to all parts of Harris County.