Residents Bring First-Ever Park to California’s 92701 Zip Code

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Salud Heroes
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A group of Latina women in the park poor city of Santa Ana, Calif., were desperate to have a safe place for their children to play. One mom, Irma Rivera, saw a child almost get hit by a car while playing in an empty parking lot, and she vowed to do something about the lack of safe active spaces. She and other moms went to non-profit group Latino Health Access (LHA) for support and found that the group was willing to champion the cause. Through teamwork, determination and perseverance, LHA and the moms managed to get land and funding to build the area’s first-ever public park and community center for Latinos in south Santa Ana.

EMERGENCE

Awareness: Latinos in Santa Ana, Calif., struggle with poverty, language and cultural barriers, obesity, and disease—despite being part of Orange County, one of the nation’s wealthiest counties.

Playground at the new Corazones Verdes Park in Santa Ana, CA
A photo of the playground at the new Corazones Verdes Park in Santa Ana, CA. (Source: Latino Health Access)

Migrant families often work three jobs and share apartments to pay rent.

This also makes it hard for families to participate in community activities.

In 2004, Irma Rivera, a mother living in Santa Ana, had nowhere to take her children to play after school.

Because school playgrounds were locked up after school hours, her kids played in a nearby empty parking lot.

When Rivera saw a child almost get hit by a car, she decided, “Enough was enough,” something had to be done to have safer active spaces for her and others’ kids.

“At the time there were no parks or playgrounds in the 92701 zip code,” Rivera said.

Learn/Frame Issue: Rivera was part of an exercise class at Latino Health Access (LHA), a non-profit group in Santa Ana that seeks to improve the quality of life and health of Latino immigrants and underserved populations.

Corazones Verdes Park
A rendering of the Corazones Verdes Park & Community Center in Santa Ana, CA. (Source: http://bit.ly/1fLCz2E)

She found that several mothers in the group also wanted a larger space to work out, given that they had outgrown the classroom where they currently exercised.

Rivera decided to scout out some bigger locations where the group could meet. She found very few affordable options.

At the same time, Nancy Mejia, an LHA coordinator for the community engagement and advocacy department, said community health workers (known as promotores in Latino communities) had been gathering data on the neighborhood’s health status.

What they soon learned from parents was that many of them had been told by a doctor that their child was at risk for developing diabetes. This information, coupled with the lack of safe places to play, would be what set LHA and the group of moms in motion to push for a park.

DEVELOPMENT

Education: In 2005, Rivera and the ladies from her exercise group approached America Bracho, LHA’s director, and asked: “Can we organize the moms and get a park?”

According to Rivera, Bracho’s response was: “With your help, we will.”

LHA representatives then started speaking with leaders from local non-profit organizations like St. Joseph’s Health System, arguing that the park-poor Santa Ana deserved a park.

Rivera said the group of concerned moms attended legal and leadership training sessions and later approached the City Council.

TPL’s case study of Santa Ana, CA.
TPL’s case study of Santa Ana, CA. (Source: http://bit.ly/1e9HxGf) Mobilization: LHA formed a community advisory board

Mobilization: LHA formed a community advisory board to invite other community organizations to offer support and input. They also partnered with the Trust for Public Land (TPL), who with assistance from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), created maps that showed the community’s park deficit and high obesity rates.

The group soon identified some vacant lots that seemed ideal for building a park. They learned that most of the land belonged to the city and the rest belonged to a family who operated a large chain of grocery stores.

If they could get these parcels of land donated to them, then perhaps they could have their park.

Debate: Along with the park, members of the advisory board discussed getting a community center.

According to Rosalia Piñon, a community liaison for LHA, at first, it was challenging to get community residents to buy-in to the idea that they could actually make change happen.

“We come from countries where we don’t know how to have our voice heard, so we have that mentality,” she said. “But here, we can do it. So we have to believe.”

Another one of the biggest challenges was how long the process took.

According to Rivera many families came and went. For instance, Rivera was more actively involved during the first few years of the process, when the group acquired the land for their park, but individuals like Piñon took the lead during the second phase, which involved getting the funds to build the park.

ENACTMENT

Activation: Piñon said the St. Joseph Health System donated approximately $100,000 in funds for architects and some construction fees.

The Corazones Verdes Community Center
The Corazones Verdes Community Center (Source: Latino Health Access)

However, building a park and community center is not cheap. By 2007, the group still lacked funds to begin construction, but this didn’t keep Piñon and local volunteers from getting work done.

In October 2008, a group of families from LHA formed the Comité Corazones Verdes (Green Hearts Committee). The committee worked to raise funds for the park and cleared the lots in preparation for the park.

Manuela Lopez, a member of LHA and the Comité Corazones Verdes, said they did everything they could to raise money for the park.

They held a local kermes, or festivals, with food, games, raffles, music and prizes.

The group also started working on Saturday and Sunday mornings to clean the land that they hoped would one day become their park.

Then businesses and organizations donated their time and resources. For instance, one Saturday morning a local construction company showed up with equipment to clear the land— a job that would have taken the committee weeks to do on their own.

Then in 2008, they learned about a grant opportunity from the California state parks and recreation department. The grant was highly competitive, yet the group already had:

• a community advisory board;
• an architect’s renderings for what they wanted their park to look like;
• data to support their need for a park; and
• a community that was supportive of maintaining the park.

Therefore, the team applied for the grant. Later they sent a request for support to U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez.

Members of the Comité Corazones Verdes
Members of the Comité Corazones Verdes with their children. (Source: http://bit.ly/1fLCz2E)

Frame Policy: According to a case study from the Trust for Public Land, LHA’s message to the community changed over time. Although obesity was an important issue to residents, they were also concerned about high crime rates.

So the group re-framed their message to include topics like neighborhood safety and decreased crime rates in addition to physical activity.

Change: Negotiating with city officials paid off—because after three years of hard work and several meetings with City Council members, in March 2007, the city agreed to an agreement to lease the land to Latino Health Access for $2 a year.

The owners of the rest of the land, Northgate Gonzalez Markets, were generous enough to donate their portion for the park. and U.S Rep. Sanchez also allocated funds toward park development.

Then about six months after applying for the parks and recreation grant, LHA got word that they had been chosen to receive the $3.5 million grant to build their 2,500-square-foot community center and half-acre park.

Their new park would feature a basketball half court, a toddler playground, an adolescent jungle gym, a walking path, outdoor lighting and benches for the elderly.

IMPLEMENTATION

Grand opening of their new park and community center
Latino Health Access celebrates the grand opening of their new park and community center. (Source: Latino Health Access)

Implementation: Grant funds were distributed in late 2010. Construction of the Corazones Verdes Park and Community Center began in 2011.

In June 2013, more than 500 members from the community finally celebrated the grand opening of their park. The ribbon-cutting ceremony featured music, dancing, singing and recognition of those who had worked so long and hard to get this park for the community.

According to Piñon, Lopez, and Rivera, the community now maintains the park and provides their own programming.

“We don’t have funds for programs but the beautiful thing is that we have people here who are offering to donate their talents,” Piñon said. “So there’s a Zumba class, morning physical activity, activity with kids, a leadership group, ballet folklorico, and several cultural events.”

Equity/Sustainability: The Comité Corazones Verde also continues to use their leadership and advocacy skills to bring more physical activity opportunities to the community.

“We realized that we couldn’t always work on a project to project basis, so we worked to get an ordinance that would ensure our access to healthy places,” Piñon said.

More recently, the group has participated in the development of a “Wellness Corridor” in downtown Santa Ana and helped bring a second community center to Latinos in Santa Ana. In the future, they hope to contribute to the city’s master plan to create healthy spaces for this generation and those to come.

Additional Links:
Latino Health Access
Mothers Score Victory for First Park in a Santa Ana Neighborhood
Commentary from the Journal of Preventive Medicine: “Pushing” physical activity and justice
The Trust for Public Land Case Study: Santa Ana, CA Parks Deficits and Opportunities Assessment
Latino Health Access: A Model of Community Action (HBO: The Weight of the Nation)
Los Angeles Times: “Little Park Expected to Pack a Big Punch in Santa Ana”

This success story was produced by Salud America! with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The stories are intended for educational and informative purposes. References to specific policymakers, individuals, schools, policies, or companies have been included solely to advance these purposes and do not constitute an endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation. Stories are based on and told by real community members and are the opinions and views of the individuals whose stories are told. Organization and activities described were not supported by Salud America! or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and do not necessarily represent the views of Salud America! or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Salud America! The RWJF Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The program aims to educate researchers, decision-makers, community leaders, and the public in contributing toward healthier Latino communities and seeking environmental and policy solutions to the epidemic of Latino childhood obesity. The network is directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

For more information, visit http://www.salud-america.org.

By The Numbers By The Numbers

33

percent

of Latinos live within walking distance (<1 mile) of a park

This success story was produced by Salud America! with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The stories are intended for educational and informative purposes. References to specific policymakers, individuals, schools, policies, or companies have been included solely to advance these purposes and do not constitute an endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation. Stories are based on and told by real community members and are the opinions and views of the individuals whose stories are told. Organization and activities described were not supported by Salud America! or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and do not necessarily represent the views of Salud America! or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

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