South Los Angeles is one of the most disenfranchised,
underserved communities in the nation. With over 1 million people lacking
convenient access to healthy food or open space for physical activity, it is
not surprising that residents disproportionately suffer from high rates of overweight
and obesity (over 70% of adults) and other chronic diseases. A traditional
approach to the health disparities here might be to impose sweeping changes on
systems already in place, but when we asked the people who make up this
community what they needed in order to lead a healthy lifestyle, the answers
were much closer to home.
This
last summer, "The BUILD Health Challenge,"* a prestigious national program, announced the
Youth-Driven Healthy South Los Angeles partnership as one of the inaugural grant
awardees. The South LA partnership will work together in developing a
comprehensive community-based action plan for South Central and Central Alameda
neighborhoods of South Los Angeles. The goal of the plan is to identify which
key community factors that promote healthy living, also referred to as
“upstream solutions,” could be implemented to improve the health of these two
communities. The partnership includes National Health Foundation (NHF) along with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and California Hospital Medical Center.
This program incorporates lessons learned from NHF’s
transformative work with Jefferson High School and the “Health Academy” where youth are engaged in participatory action research to
bring about community change supporting healthier lifestyles. Essential to the
project’s success, youth are engaged in understanding and tackling complex
socio-health problems in the community. Similar to other NHF programs, the
Youth-Driven Healthy South LA program trains youth within the community as
Community Health Liaisons. These youth participate in community discussions and
gather input on what changes can be made to improve social determinants of
health, which often include changes in economic
landscapes, regulation and public policy, the built environment, transportation
and infrastructure, educational attainment, public safety and housing.
In
the months since the program’s announcement, NHF staff and the community’s
youth pored over available data and research to gain a comprehensive
understanding of the communities’ health-related issues, current assets and
opportunities ripe for adoption and expansion. In the coming months, NHF and
its youth ambassadors will be soliciting input from the community on ideas for
improving access to healthy food and safe, outdoor space.
Levering
the ongoing work of the BUILD project, NHF obtained funding from the Los
Angeles City Mayor’s office for “YES(Youth Envisioned Streets) for a Healthier South LA,”
a youth-driven event on Central Avenue (in the same target neighborhood) that
demonstrated how public space can be reimagined as safe, vibrant and active for
all members of the community. YES is a collaboration between NHF, A Place
Called Home, Coalition for Responsible Community Development, Los Angeles Walks,
and Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.
Focusing on the area surrounding
Central Avenue in South Los Angeles, the YES team, which was driven by youth
and their ideas, reviewed community data and created a “reimagine the streets” survey
that was administered to community members at in-person meetings and community
events. The results were unveiled at the recent “GreatStreets” event on Central Avenue. For one day,
Central Avenue between East 33rd Street and East Martin Luther King
Jr. Boulevard was transformed into the very space that the community envisioned.
Three potential configurations were demonstrated: 1) the street with a
protected bike lane, 2) the street with extended sidewalks through parklet
activation, and 3) the street with an unprotected bike lane. The street was
flanked with new way-finding signage indicating the distance to local points of
interest and community landmarks, and there were places for families to play,
learn about gardening and connect with the active health resources within their
community.
The community’s response to this event
was overwhelmingly positive with a chorus of “This is just what we wanted” and
“We can finally have some family fun in our neighborhood” and “Central Avenue
is so much safer with space for pedestrians and safe bike lanes.” During the
event, 280 community surveys were collected indicating which street
configuration neighbors preferred: 54% preferred protected bike lanes; 28%
preferred unprotected bike lanes; and 18% preferred extended sidewalks. But not
only was this event an exciting time for the community, it greatly informed the
tangent work of NHF’s Youth-Driven Healthy South LA project, which continues
through this summer.
By
engaging youth to be a part of the decision-making in both “Youth-Driven
Healthy South LA” and “YES,” they have become the agents of change and have learned
how to successfully engage their parents, teachers and other community
stakeholders. These projects democratize the planning process and create a
participatory environment marked by innovation, creativity and cultural
inclusion. By bringing together empowered youth, their communities and
organizations seeking to deliver active health options, we are able to begin
bridging gaps in health disparities that previously have not be crossed.
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* The
BUILD Health Challenge brings together an unusual set of funding partners in
The Advisory Board Company, the de Beaumont Foundation, the Colorado HealthFoundation, The Kresge Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The
partnership comprises three not-for-profit foundations and a publicly traded
firm, and their missions range from improving the practice of public health to
expanding opportunities in America’s cities. By forging this collaboration,
these partner organizations hope to inspire similar teamwork between diverse
organizations at a community level, adding to the knowledge base for community
health and discover new best practices for the field.
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