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Building Healthy, Equitable Communities
Building Healthy, Equitable Communities
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May 2018 Newsletter
A Place to Call Home

Newsletter

Register for Healthy City Profiles and Updated Data Portal Webinar 
We recently released the Healthy Cities profiles on 31 jurisdictions in San Mateo County to make it easier for partners to understand why some places might be healthier than others. Our hope is that the social, environmental, and economic factors that determine people’s health outcomes will be used to inform policies so we can prevent diseases from happening in the first place. We have updated our data portal, and we are working on a web tool that will enable partners to see how one jurisdiction compares to another. To learn more about the profiles and data portal, join a webinar with live navigation demonstrations on Thursday, June 28, 2018 from 10 – 11 a.m. Register here by 6/27.

Save the Date! 2019 Get Healthy Community Implementation Funding RFP August 7, 2018 
This is our annual funding opportunity for local organizations and agencies working on place-based health equity projects that seek to advance health through policy and/or systems change. We will be hosting a live webinar on August 13 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. to provide information on the RFP and answer questions. More information to come via our upcoming newsletters. Stay tuned!

Big Changes Are Coming for San Mateo County Voters 
San Mateo County voters now have more days and ways to vote in the upcoming June election. Neighborhood polling sites are being replaced with Vote Centers, where San Mateo County residents can vote in person before election day, drop off ballots, receive translation assistance, and register to vote. Nine Vote Centers are already open, and there are 29 additional Ballot Dropbox locations. Every registered voter will receive a Vote-By-Mail ballot, which residents can either mail or return to any Vote Center or Ballot Dropbox. Unregistered voters can register at any Vote Center and cast a ballot on the same day, even on Election Day! Civic participation is an important health determinant, and ensuring resident engagement in local decisions affecting their health will help build stronger communities. Voters and community organizations can learn more about when, where, and how to vote at voterschoice.org. 

Items to include in this newsletter

Health by Numbers

Rent-burdened Households

Rent-burdened households spend 30% or more of their income on rent and other housing costs, diverting wages away from important needs such as health care and healthy food. Redwood City and Daly City have some of the highest percentages of rent-burdened households in San Mateo County. One neighborhood in Redwood City has 78% of renters experiencing rent burden, the highest in the county. Learn more here.

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Affordable Housing Week: #ForwardTogether 

Every year, for one week, those in the affordable housing community get a chance to celebrate, reflect on, and recalibrate actions to continue to build momentum for affordable housing. This year Housing Leadership Council (HLC) hosted another outstanding series of events that showcased new affordable housing developments, elevated the discussion on how to find sustainable sources of funding for affordable housing, and explored the state and the future of local police control in California.

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Home For All Mobility Convening

The Home For All (H4A) Mobility workgroup held a convening to highlight housing and traffic research from the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) at San Jose State. Home For All contracted with the MTI to explore new transportation options and share traffic and parking solutions. The convening brought together city and elected officials and staff, housing developers, transportation professionals, non-profit members, and housing and transportation advocates.

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North Fair Oaks/Redwood City’s First Neighborhood Leadership Group Convenes

On the evening of May 24th at the Fair Oaks Community Center, residents and stakeholders gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges that face young people in the North Fair Oaks/ Redwood City community. The event marked the first local meeting of the Community Collaboration for Children’s Success initiative and was an opportunity for people who intimately understand the challenges facing young people in the area to share their knowledge of local resources and assets as well as weigh in on the best ways forward.

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Update from California Conference of Local Health Officers Adverse Childhood Events Conference

Research linking the incidence of childhood traumatic experiences and poor health outcomes later in life is well documented in the medical community. In a large 1997 study known as the ACEs study (for Adverse Childhood Experiences), researchers found that childhood abuse and neglect leads to poor health, running the gamut from increased risk factors such as smoking and drug use to an increased chance of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

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Youth Commission: Mentorship Opportunity and Scaling Up Impact

The San Mateo County Youth Commission, a project supported by San Mateo County’s Health Policy and Planning Program and Supervisor Groom’s Office, and facilitated by Youth Leadership Institute, has been busy expanding opportunities for the local youth! On Wednesday, April 18th the Human Rights Committee of the San Mateo County Youth Commission was joined by over 35 women of all ages and backgrounds for an evening filled with networking, mentoring, and community building.

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EMS Corps Still Recruiting SMC Residents 

Applications to join Emergency Medical Services Corps are still open. San Mateo County young men of color between the ages of 18 and 26 are invited to join this renowned training program, which prepares underrepresented and disadvantaged young men to become emergency medical technicians. Participants will receive a $5,000 student grant to complete the training and the site is BART accessible.