When San Antonio native Shirley Gonzales earned a business degree years ago, she immediately went to work to find new locations to expand her family's local business, Bill's Pawn Shop. Gonzales studied the city's historic, largely Latino Westside. She loved the area so much, she moved her family there. But she found it hard to navigate the city’s complex procedures for opening and expanding businesses—an experience that eventually led her to run for, and earn, a seat on the San Antonio City Council. Now Gonzales is pushing to revitalize business on the Westside and helping residents find better, more affordable homes to live in, too. “There is so much about this community that is good,” Gonzales said. “It has great history, great people living here, strong ...
Austin, Texas (34.83% Latino population) is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. It is a rich and diverse city, complete with a thriving economy that has attracted a large number of new residents. According to data from the Internal Revenue Service, the total household income these new residents bring is $2,359,803,000. With this new growth comes changes; for many long-time residents of the city, these changes have them concerned. A local community group is now looking to bring light to the challenges faced by the city’s established Latino community. Gilbert Rivera is a longtime East Austin resident and president of the Rosewood Neighborhood Contact Team, a group of residents and property owners in the Rosewood neighborhood of Austin invested in the development and ...
A study from the Center for Outcomes Research and Education (CORE) determined links between housing and health outcomes. The report, focusing on the Portland, Ore. area (9.64% Latino population). The researchers found when Medicaid-covered residents moved into 145 different affordable housing properties their healthcare experiences changed dramatically. This study closely studies the link between affordable housing and health care. It utilized the metrics of having better connections to primary care, emergency room visits, access to and quality of health care, and costs. In the year after moving into the housing, residents increased their utilization of primary care by 20%. The affordable housing residents studied also reported that their access to health care and its quality ...
The Denver Botanic Gardens run a community supported agriculture (CSA) program at their farm in Chatfield. In addition to growing food for their members, in June 2014 they began taking the food off the farm and into the hands of folks who live in Denver area food deserts, low-income areas without a full-service grocery store near by. The farm stand debuted on the first Friday in June near Denver Human Services, in the Sun Valley neighborhood, and will continue to operate there on the first two Fridays of every month through October. The second location is downtown on the 16th Street Mall, where it will operate for the second two Fridays of the month. To make their farm-grown fruits and veggies accessible to everyone, all the stands ...
Not everyone has equitable access to places to play or be physically active. That is why a housing agency advocate, fueled by locally targeted research and focus groups of homeowners, created policy to include sidewalks, hike/bike trails, and a playground to plans for an affordable housing neighborhood in a colonia, an impoverished, highly Hispanic region of South Texas.
Why Is Obesity an Issue in Colonias?
Research indicates an obesity rate of 18.1% among Mexican-American preschool -aged children living in colonias—small, impoverished settlements that often lack proper infrastructure along the Texas-Mexico border. Colonias tend to lack sidewalks, street lights, places for recreation, and running water. Ann Cass, director of Proyecto Azteca—a non-profit organization that ...
ChangeLab Solutions recently updated their interactive web tool, Undoing the Drivers of Health Inequity, with new resources to support policy strategies to advance health and justice. The tool points to five fundamental drivers of health inequity. “The fundamental drivers of health inequity are systemic factors that shape people’s physical and social surroundings in ways that create barriers to health,” according to ChangeLabs Solutions. “[We] use legal and policy strategies to undo the drivers of inequity by changing the distribution of resources and power.” Let’s explore this tool and how it can help Latino communities!
1. Structural Discrimination
Some people, especially Latinos and other people of color, face health barriers because of structural and systemic ...
We know you care about the health of people in San Antonio. Watch our webinar, “All of Us in Alamo City Matter: Where You Live Impacts Your Health,” at 10-11 a.m. CT, Wednesday, March 20, 2024! The webinar explored the state of social determinants of health (SDOH) in San Antonio and how we can leverage the All of Us Research Program to promote health equity in health research. Some studies suggest that SDOH plays a role in about 30% to 55% of our health outcomes. This means that nearly half of our health issues are a result of our environment and life circumstances. Hear more from our expert panelists, including representatives from South Texas Blood & Tissue, Mexican American Unity Council, and Salud America! at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health ...
Obesity Care Week 2024 (#ObesityCareWeek) is here! From March 4-8, 2024, Obesity Care Week is an annual public awareness effort to end weight bias, as well as raise awareness, educate and advocate for a better world for people living with obesity. Also, World Obesity Day is March 4, 2024. Our Salud America! Latino health equity team at UT Health San Antonio is happy to serve as an Obesity Care Week Champion to support this awareness week. "Unlike most other diseases, obesity is one that continues to be stigmatized. Those impacted struggle to receive any care in many cases, let alone adequate care," said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio and a leading health disparities researcher. Salud America! research has found that U.S. Latinos face ...
National Healthy Weight Week is recognized on the third week of January every year and focuses on achieving and maintaining healthy weight through healthy eating, physical activity, optimal sleep, and stress reduction. Obesity affects more than 40% of Americans, placing them at higher risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Latino adults and children have among the highest rates of obesity. With this in mind, let’s explore resources that can help you start achieving a healthy weight and improve your health!
Get Help Changing Your Habits for Healthy Weight
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) provides a guide, “Changing Your Habits for Better Health,” in English or ...
