What happens when people get "priced out" of the homes they've lived in for decades? People like Luis Granados step up. Granados, Christopher Gil, and other leaders of the nonprofit Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) didn't stand by when a tech boom in San Francisco’s Mission District brought in higher-priced homes and threatened to push out lower-income families. They embarked on a mission to create 100% affordable housing in the area.
The rising housing costs in San Francisco
Since 1973, the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) offers free financial services to lower-income families in San Francisco’s Mission District, a 30% Latino neighborhood where most rent their homes, said Christopher Gil, the group’s senior content marketing manager. The ...
Obesity, cancer, and other health issues were increasing in the northern Colorado city of Fort Collins (11.43% Latino). In response, a community leadership group called Vida Sana formed to find ways to alleviate these issues and support residents. Dierdre Sullivan, a founding member of Vida Sana, soon recognized the best way to boost health was to use promotoras (community health workers) to teach residents how to help themselves.
People struggle with health issues in Colorado
Dierdre Sullivan, an activist in Fort Collins, Colo., has witnessed the local Latino population grow rapidly by 52% from 2000 to 2010. Sullivan said health issues increased rapidly, too. Many people here live in poverty. Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, mental health, and other health issues related to ...
Montezuma County (12.2 % Latino), Colorado, was once well known for its blooming apple orchards. Back in 1904, three Gold Medals were awarded to the county at the St. Louis World’s Fair. But for years, these fresh apples weren’t always available to kids at local schools. Now, with the help of farm-to-school leaders like Sarah Syverson and other groups, Cortez Middle School is growing a garden and an entire apple orchard to bring new fresh foods to local school cafeterias and to the school’s farmers market.
Fresh Fruit and Produce and the Community
Awareness: Sarah Syverson, director of the Montezuma School to Farm Project (MSTFP) in Montezuma County, Colo., was proud of the school garden at Cortez Middle School (CMS). Established in 2013, the schools garden was a place ...
Gaby Medina, a mom and health educator in the neighborhood of Westwood, in Denver, Colo. (79.36% Latino), didn’t have a lot of faith in the safety of local tap water when she arrived here from Mexico. Much of Denver's foreign-born population similarly distrust the safety of tap water. However, Gaby eventually learned to trust the water. She then took a big step to make sure her family, friends, and fellow residents across the community understand that tap water is far safer, healthier, and more affordable than sugary drinks.
Is tap water safe? Gabriela “Gaby” Medina is your average mom who wants to help her 10-year-old daughter and her family live happy, healthy lives. In Mexico, tap water is not always safe to drink. “Initially, yes, I was hesitant [about ...
Many people arrive from other countries to Broward County, Fla., with no community ties, no possessions, no (or little) money, and no prospects for employment. Aside from the everyday challenges of this scenario, they also often face legal questions or citizenship matters. That’s why Hispanic Unity of Florida (HUF) was founded to offer free legal aid to low-income families in their most troubling times, to relieve stress and, in turn, improve people’s health and quality of life. Magaly Alvarado, a program manager with HUF, knew that she and her organization could and should do more to help their community.
People from other countries and toxic stress
Broward County, Fla. (27% Latino), is a hub for many Latin American and Caribbean transplants. Many members of this ...
Health issues plague many people in the community of Broward County, Fla. They often lack access to healthcare due to lack of insurance coverage, language barriers, and other obstacles. Magaly Alvarado, of Hispanic Unity of Florida (HUF), works to improve the lives of this population—especially in health and wellness. They began conducting special registration events and outreach to reduce the challenges local people face in enrolling for health insurance and accessing healthcare.
Hard choices due to finances
Magaly Alvarado, program manager of the local immigrant advocate group HUF, knows that Broward County, Fla. (27% Latino), has a geographic location that has led it to become a popular entry point into the United States for many Latin American and Caribbean people. Many ...
Urbi(c)ulture Community Farms are making school lunches look a little more like a garden with their new school garden programs. Teachers plant alongside students, helping them understand what it takes to grow food, and be more open to eating a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Students harvest the fresh produce from the 6,500 square-foot garden to bring to the cafeteria for all students to try and enjoy.
The Need for Healthy Food
Awareness: Columbian Elementary School teacher Brenna Larson Brooks enjoyed gardening at home in Denver. She wanted to use her backyard for a food garden, so she reached out to Urbi(c)ulture Community Farms, a Denver nonprofit that turns donated land into gardens that grow food for the community. Urbi(c)ulture helped Brooks design and build her ...
Linda Joseph, a special needs teacher in Florida, with some of the highest drowning rates in the country, wanted to make sure her students could swim and weren’t afraid of the water. As someone who values whole-child health, Joseph knows that water safety boosts confidence and opens doors to many water-based physical activities and associated brain and body benefits. She went to a nearby pool for information and learned about and enrolled her students in free water safety education lessons through SWIM Central.
Fear of Drowning is High in Florida Linda Joseph, a special needs teacher at Lauderdale Lakes Middle School, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (13.7% Latino), lost both of her parents to a drowning accident when she was 16. She became fearful of water and didn’t learn ...
In the past 15 years, the drowning rate of school-age children in Broward County, Fla., has plummeted thanks in part to SWIM Central, a program that provides free water safety education classes and transportation for public school children. However, drowning rates remain the No. 1 cause of death among children younger than 5. SWIM Central’s manager and primary funder, the Children’s Services Council, teamed up to develop a voucher program for parents to get their children under 5 into water safety education classes for free or very low cost.
Drowning is No.1 Killer in South Florida Cindy Arenberg Seltzer and Jay Sanford have long been advocates for water safety education for children in Broward County, Fla. (27.5% Latino). Seltzer is president and CEO of the ...
