A partnership of a handful of community organizations in Grand Rapids, Mich. (15.6% Latino), has been working to improve maternal-child health in communities of color since 2005, through a Spectrum Health community program called Strong Beginnings. It was developed to address health equity and maternal-infant health in the African-American community in Kent County, Mich. With support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in 2014-$4.2 million over five years-Strong Beginnings will expand maternal-infant health services to Latinos in Kent County (10.1% Latino) through Familias Fuertes y Saludables. Strong Beginnings works to address issues affecting maternal-child health like poverty, unemployment, limited transportation and a lack of affordable housing. Through community health workers, ...
Latino kids NEED more more places to be active. WATCH and VOTE for your favorite “#SaludHeroes of Active Spaces" by Nov. 11, 2015, and be entered in a random drawing to win a FREE T-shirt and jump rope! #SaludHeroes are: Health at Your Fingertips. Baker Harrell and others created an app to bring real-time, geo-located fitness opportunities to people’s phones in Austin, Texas. Move it, Move it. Angela Mora and other city and community leaders teamed up to bring new walking trails to El Paso, Texas. Unlock the Gates. Susan Elizabeth and other leaders unlocked school playgrounds and fields—and the community showed up to use them in Earlimart, Calif. Complete Streets. Pedestrians and cyclists have safer streets and walkways thanks to the city’s “complete streets” ...
Stephanie Pitsirilos-Boquin, founder of Zoe Health, is using comic relief to talk about serious health issues in the Latino community, from breastfeeding and obesity prevention to affordable housing and gentrification. As the program manager for Choosing Healthy & Active Lifestyles for Kids (CHALK) and as a consultant with Zoe Health, she has helped businesses in Inwood (74% Latino) in northern Manhattan, NY, bridge commerce and community by modifying their services to provide healthier options for the past 10 years. She is a public health crusader working to build healthier homes, schools and communities to reduce Latino childhood obesity. In order to better develop health messages to resonate with Latinos, she is turning to the narrative. "In order to be an advocate, I ...
You've probably heard stories of how a Latino youth achieved success and overcame poverty, unsafe neighborhoods, discrimination, and other barriers. But how can more youth find such success? A new report by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) examines the personal, environmental, and cultural factors that help resilient youth to learn from adversity and excel. The report mines several success stories and suggests these five steps: Tap into the natural resiliency of Latino youth. These qualities include optimism, perseverance, social skills, empathy, a strong willingness to give back to their communities and family and cultural traits such as responsibility and family solidarity. Help their families escape poverty through living wages and affordable housing. One-third of ...
SaludToday Guest Blogger: Barbara Ferrer
Chief Strategy Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation Migration of Latino families to America is an inspiring story of men, women and children leaving their native countries, often searching for better opportunities and safety for their families. Yet, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s recent poll of Latino families also reveals that a different narrative develops - frustration from racism and discrimination is wearing down Latinos over time in the United States. The newest Latino immigrants are brimming with hope, as they pursue opportunities to better educate their children, improve personal finances and find affordable housing. Meanwhile, those who have travelled a similar path – Latinos with generations of family roots in the U.S., as ...
When a small grocery store in York, PA closed in order to make way for more affordable housing, the neighborhood was left without a local shop to buy fruit and vegetables. Two years later, the small store is opening for business inside the housing property, giving low-income folks who live there and nearby a place to get fresh, healthy produce. Green Food Market is set to open this weekend in a city where almost 30% of residents are Latino. Larry Richardson, president of the Y Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit affiliated with the York YMCA, said that his group is working with local health experts and the owner of Green Food Market to stock the corner store with healthy options. Richardson, who is also president and CEO of YMCA of York and York County, said his ...
In Austin, Texas principle investigator Harold “Bill” Kohl, a joint faculty member at the University of Texas in Austin and the University of Texas School of Public Health, is investigating how community design can boost one's fitness and encourage participation in physical activity. The Mueller Neighborhood which was designed to promote green living has wide sidewalks and many trees, which may encourage residents to walk and bike more. Results from Dr. Kohl's study will serve to create policy recommendations for developing active living communities across the nation. In this blog, researcher Bill Kohl explains the importance of creating environments that are conducive to physical activity. Dr. Kohl is currently investigating how community design can encourage physical ...
Residents from the Crestview Neighborhood Association and the Brentwood Neighborhood Association in Austin, Texas expressed a desire to use a 5.5 acre, city-owned, piece of land, for a new park. According to an agenda from the Austin City Council, a resolution to evaluate the feasibility of using property located at 6909 Ryan Drive, for the creation of a pocket park, was brought before the council. The council approved the resolution and the result is a report which outlines the community vision, the current regulatory authority, existing conditions and development scenarios, and open space opportunities, among other items. More Information Austin City Council Agenda, January 17, 2013 The Austin City Council discussed item (no. 54) on the agenda, a resolution which asks the city ...
In the east central area of Austin, what once use to be the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, has now become a popular neighborhood designed to promote walking and active living. The community which lays on 700 acres of land features more than 140 acres of park space and an easy to reach farmers market. At completion the Mueller community will contain more than 5,700 homes and of these, 25% will belong to the affordable housing program. ...
