It’s a fact. Where you live greatly affects your health. Live near a major road? A power plant? Or a densely populated neighborhood? Are you close to a supermarket? All of these factors – and more – impact your health on a day-to-day basis. For many low-income and Latino families, live in areas that have been classified as food deserts, with little to no access to healthy food options, safe places for physical activity, or access to quality health care. Many of these highly segregated areas are high in crime and poverty. The data analyzation web site, Niche, has compiled a ranking of the “Safest Places to Live” for 2017. How does this list impact Latinos?
Most and Least Safe Cities in the U.S.
By studying FBI reports on numerous crime factors in cities (9,932 of them) ...
As temperatures blaze this summer, don't forget the water and the sunscreen! Latinos, who face a shockingly high risk of skin cancer, should wear head covering, sunglasses, and sunscreen to protect against the sun. What if you can't afford find or afford sunscreen, though? A cool new initiative in New York City (28.9% Latino population) offers free sunscreen dispensers in all five city boroughs, CityLab reports. “The mix of raising awareness about the problem of melanoma and providing a free preventive measure [sunscreen] is an easy step towards reducing skin cancer,” said Bright Guard CEO and Co-Founder Ryan Warren told CityLab. The Myth of Latinos and No Skin Cancer It is true that skin damage from the sun, which can lead to skin cancer, affects those with lighter ...
California educates about one in eight U.S. students. In 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) into law, which is the most comprehensive school funding system in 40 years. The LCFF provides more equitable school funding with local flexibility and greater community engagement with the goal of reducing the achievement gap in education. Early child education provides the highest impact in preventing achievement gaps. Many families in California feel like they aren't being adequately served by local early child care providers and want school districts to step up and take responsibility for early child education. However, funding requirements and expectations are complex, and many school leaders don't understand what is available to them or ...
Since its inception, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has become the most important anti-hunger program in the United States. The program has helped benefit millions of low-income Latino families out of poverty and support them by providing an “adequate diet.” Overall, Latinos have a higher poverty rate than the national average. According to a survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2016, nearly 1 in 5 Latinos (21% overall) lived below the federal poverty line. This compares to the national average of 1 in 7 people. Latino households are also more likely to experience food insecurity on a regular basis compared to the national average. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees SNAP benefits, recently announced awards of nearly $17 million to ...
While still on the rise, the annual growth rate of the U.S. Latino population has dropped from 3.7% in 2006 to 2% in 2017, according to new stats from Pew Research Center. U.S. Asians now account for the highest growth rate (3% in 2017). The black population rose slightly (0.9), while whites slightly decreased. Why the leveling off of Latino population growth? "Following a Hispanic population boom in the 1990s that was driven by immigration and high fertility rates, the Hispanic population’s annual growth rate peaked at 4.2% in 2001," according to Pew's Jens Manuel Krogstad. "It then started to decline as fertility rates fell and immigration slowed, a trend that accelerated during the Great Recession." But that doesn't mean the Latino population is in decline. Rather, ...
Where you live matters. There is no escaping how important that housing impacts an individual’s life. Where someone lives affects their income and education levels, their access to opportunities, and their overall health. In many “big cities” in the United States, housing costs force some low-income and Latino families to make difficult financial decisions. Many forgo medical expenses, utilities, and sometimes food in an effort to pay rent or mortgages each month. The city of Austin, Texas (34.5% Latino population), has earned a reputation as one of the most segregated cities in the country. In an effort to combat this unfortunate trend, the Austin City Council approved a resolution to “better spread affordable housing throughout the city,” reports the Austin ...
School supplies. New clothes. Meet the teacher. Are you ready for back to school?! Well, you may not be, if you also haven't scheduled eye exams for your family. Good vision and overall eye health are vital to learning and other aspects of health, yet Latino children are more likely than their peers to have vision problems. To celebrate Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month in August, let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017, to tweet about the latest on Latino children’s eye health and how parents and others can improve children's vision! WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat "Children's Eye Health and Safety Month"
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludAmerica
Co-Host: American ...
Latinos have historically lagged behind whites in education. They have made strides, like a declining dropout rate and increased college enrollment, but are still more disconnected (not in school, not working) and lag in college completion. Education is key to health, income, and the economy. That's why the financial website WalletHub analyzed 150 U.S. metro regions with nine factors—like public school quality and college graduate rates—to find the "most educated" and "least educated" areas. Unfortunately, the five least-educated areas were all heavily Latino. The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area in South Texas (85.77% Latino) was the least educated city in the country. The area came in 150th on the Educational Attainment and 104th on the Quality of Education & ...
Even as the unemployment rate continues to drop around the country – which is a clear positive sign for the economy – the situation for many Latino and low-income families is still very bleak. Approximately 1 in 6 households have zero or negative net worth, according to the financial website Prosperity Now. In the state of Nevada (27.53% Latino population), the financial situation for many families mirrors what is happening nationally. Large numbers of Nevada families are struggling with low-wage jobs that do not allow them to save, according to a report from Northern Nevada Business Weekly. Of the households in Nevada, nearly 44% are considered “liquid asset poor.” This means that they have so little funds saved that they could not live at the poverty level for three months ...
