In King County, Washington, the Community Counts Partnership led a community-driven process to select health indicators that reflect the social determinants affecting community members
Alameda County, California experiences severe disparities in health outcomes and related disparities in education, poverty level, and housing. The depth of these disparities was first documented in the Alameda County Health Status Report (CHSR) 2000, and reiterated in the subsequent 2003 and 2006 Status Reports. Data from the CHSRs have sparked debate among residents and policy makers, and guided the Alameda County Public Health Department leadership to accelerate conversations about broadening the department's efforts to work more closely with community partners to address the social conditions that create health inequities. Funding for this report was provided by Public Health Foundation.
In California, the West Modesto King Kennedy Neighborhood Collaborative has facilitated a partnership between Heifer International and Project UpLift, an after-school mentoring program.
Through funding from the Federal Office on Violence against Women, the Idaho Coalition against Sexual & Domestic Violence has engaged the public health community--birthing hospitals, pediatricians, OB/GYN, nurses--in the "Four out of Five Babies Go Home to a Safe, Loving Family. Let's Help Number Five" statewide prevention campaign.
African Americans in Louisville, Kentucky, as in the rest of the U.S., experience greater health inequities compared to other racial and ethnic groups. This population, in particular, disproportionately experiences illness, violence-related injuries and premature death. In response, the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness's Center for Health Equity is tracing the pathway from illness and injury to the community conditions, norms and root factors that lead to poor health and inequity in the first place. By building capacity among historically disenfranchised neighborhoods, CHE is leading an urban movement to promote equal opportunities for health and safety.
A parent-led walking group serves as the resident task force to the Get Moving Kern coalition and is reversing barriers to healthy eating and safe walking in their rural, predominantly Latino community of Kern County, California.
Located near North Richmond, California, the goal of EcoVillage Farm is to develop urban youth, and involve their families in an urban movement. EcoVillage programs and initiatives specifically target the North Richmond community, largely home to persons of color and low-income families.
Hurricane Katrina was a recent memory when food scarcity became a frightening reality for many residents who already lacked easy access to healthy foods before the disaster. A food mapping effort started out as a short-term response to residents' need to get access to soup kitchens, grocery stores, or food pantries and now has become a tool for understanding
In an effort to improve health outcomes for children, youth, and families, the City of Salinas joined together with the Violent Injury Prevention Coalition (VIPC) and their foundation, Partners for Peace, to launch a community collaborative planning process. The resulting framework, Cultivating Peace in Salinas, focuses primarily on reducing youth violence but also addresses overall community well being.
Improving community environments requires a comprehensive approach that creates bridges across sectors. Over a period of roughly two years, stakeholders in the western unincorporated area of Alameda County (also called "The Eden Area") came together to identify, discuss, and debate the most important issues facing their communities and to develop a collective vision of livable communities and a prioritized set of actions.
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