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Building Healthy, Equitable Communities
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March 2018 Newsletter
Supportive Environments for Good Health

Newsletter

New! 15 Priority Schools Identified in New Safe Routes Equity Analysis 
Traffic collisions are a public health priority given the related injuries and fatalities that follow, particularly impacting the most vulnerable road users: people walking and biking. Nearly 50% of students who live within a quarter-mile of their schools walk and bike to campus. One in four people walking or biking involved in a collision was under the age of 18. Get Healthy SMC analyzed collisions within a quarter mile of public elementary schools, taking a particular look at high poverty areas which experience elevated health inequities. We prioritized 15 priority schools for improved safety. These schools accounted for nearly 30% of all collisions involving someone walking or biking, even though they account for less than 10% of all public elementary schools in the county. If we can support our most vulnerable kids to walk or bike to school safely, we can prevent disease and build a culture of health for everyone in our county. Click here to read the full report. Please share the report with interested partners and parents!

Did You Check Out Our Get Healthy SMC Video Series: Health and Place? 
“One out of four residents struggles with chronic heart disease. What are the earliest strategies we can adopt that actually prevent the root cause of problems from developing?” says Louise Rogers, Chief of the San Mateo County Health System, in one of the five short videos Get Healthy SMC recently launched. In case you missed the announcement of our Get Healthy SMC video series earlier this month, you can find them here. We developed this video series to share the community-identified priorities of Get Healthy SMC and expand awareness of what it takes to build healthy, equitable communities. Please help us get the word out by sharing these videos with your networks!

Items to include in this newsletter

Case Study

Restorative Justice Practices Case Study

An individual’s academic achievement is closely linked to their health outcomes. The higher level of education that a person attains, the more likely they are to live a longer, healthier life. But in order for students to succeed at school, they need to be able to attend class regularly. Read more here.

Health by Numbers

Suspension Rates in San Mateo County

San Mateo County’s overall suspension rate (3.0%) is slightly lower than the State’s suspension rate (3.6%).  Yet, the following school districts in the county have higher suspension rates than the state average: Jefferson Union High 6.6%, South San Francisco Unified (5.8%), Ravenswood City Elementary (5.8%), Bayshore Elementary (5.5%), Sequoia Union High (5.5%) and San Mateo Union High (3.8%).

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Boards & Commissions Vacancies

Daly City Planning Commission Seat: Residents of Daly City are encouraged to apply for the Planning Commission seat available. For more information, visit here.

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Building Bridges to Improve Safety When Walking or Biking

Students are healthier when they have safe active transportation choices such as walking or riding their bikes to school. Policies like Vision Zero that includes a goal to eliminate traffic deaths through investing in capital improvements such as safer street design are critical elements in promoting safe and active transportation.

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South San Francisco Increases Housing & Active Transportation Opportunity

South San Francisco is considering increasing the maximum allowed residential density in the downtown area, which is near the Caltrain station and accessible by multiple public transportation options. This increase in residential zoning will allow for the opportunity to build more housing near public transportation and afford residents the option to walk or bike to transit, increasing active transportation and lowering congestion. The planning commission approved the proposal on February 1, 2018, and the City Council approved it February 27th.

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Learning the Relationship Between Children’s Trauma and Restorative Practices 

Children often don’t have the skills to cope with the trauma they’ve experienced. Using a trauma-informed framework, teachers can be better equipped to support students that have experienced trauma. On March 1st, nearly 50 educators, school administrators, and community partners came together for the first San Mateo County School Wellness Alliance meeting of 2018 to discuss the relationship between trauma-informed practices and restorative justice practices.

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Keeping Kids Fed During the Summer 

Summer is coming, and it is a particularly vulnerable time for families, as access to free and reduced-priced meals is limited on school breaks. If you are having summer programs at your sites, please consider offering free, healthy meals for your kids and teens. Contact Second Harvest Food Bank at meals4kids@shfb.org for additional information.

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Community Collaboration for Children’s Success Has Launched

The CCCS project is a community planning effort working with young people and their families to identify assets, barriers to success and potential interventions to help bolster youth success in targeted neighborhoods in the county. Two factors were used to identify areas for community planning: a Youth Need Index, shown in the map above in red, and a Youth Planning Readiness Index, shown in blue. The colors are darker in higher scoring areas, and areas with high scores for both are shown in purple.