The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently awarded five U.S. communities the Culture of Health Prize for making big strides in improving local health; three are rural.
Gonzales, California, is the first rural winner. About 94 percent of the Salinas Valley town of about 8,400 is Latino (most of them farm workers), and over a third of the residents are under 18. "Young residents are seen as an asset and empowered to act on their ideas. Voters supported this focus on youth when they approved a half-cent sales tax in 2014 to pay for activities like after-school programs and summer camp; improvements in parks and recreational places; and summertime career training," according to the RWJF website. "The money also funds mini-grants of up to $5,000 that allow residents to suggest ideas and lead projects that will improve the town’s quality of life—small but important steps, such as upgrading a food pantry or adding new hydration stations for filling water bottles at schools."
The second winner is Lake County, Colorado, a former mining community whose residents have been working hard to turn the local economy around over the past decade. In 2010, the county got a wakeup call when an annual statewide survey noted that children and teens in the county faced poor health outcomes. "For two years, county government, local nonprofits, and youth worked to create a plan of action for improving young people’s well-being and futures. Released in 2013, it set goals for boosting academic achievement and post-secondary training, reducing substance abuse and teen pregnancy, improving access to parks and volunteer opportunities, and strengthening economic opportunity," the website reports. "Today, the efforts set in motion by that plan are paying off. Teen birth rates have dropped. The percentage of teens who report being physically active and eating breakfast every day have increased. More high schoolers are taking classes for college credit."
Sitka, Alaska is the third winner. The community of over 8,647 is spread among 4,811 square miles on a chain of islands in the state's panhandle. "Isolated and bound together by geography, the community has recognized that the only way to ensure better health for all is to move forward collectively, across cultures and sectors. To that end, a dozen years ago, partners formed the Sitka Health Summit. They came from local nonprofits and the community’s two health care providers—Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, the region’s tribal health organization, and city-owned Sitka Community Hospital—which merged this year," the website reports. The Sitka Health Summit has proved effective in addressing the community's health needs and empowering local citizens to be part of the process.
Winning communities receive a $25,000 prize.
from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/34QgUHG Three 'Culture of Health' prize winners are rural - Entrepreneur Generations
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