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Get Healthy San Mateo County

Building Healthy, Equitable Communities
Building Healthy, Equitable Communities
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November 2015 Newsletter
Where can we give more?

Newsletter

How can our website work better for you?

We want to be more helpful to you and can’t do it without your input. We are in the process of redesigning and improving our website and want your input to help inform our redesign process. Take this quick survey and share your feedback by Thursday, December 3.

We’re on the strategic plan circuit

With our strategic plan hot off the presses, we’re presenting to groups across the county on how to help advance the 4 priorities for healthy, equitable communities: healthy housing, neighborhoods, schools, and the economy. If your group would be interested in a presentation on the strategic priorities, let us know!

That’s a lot of progress

We received over 30 proposals to our Community Implementation Funding RFP and the review process is well underway. We’ll be making final funding decisions on December 18 – stay tuned! We thank all those who took the time to apply!

Items to include in this newsletter

Health by Numbers

San Mateo County’s population increase

San Mateo County’s population is 752,751. Between 2010 to 2060, the population of SMC is expected to increase 30%. By 2050, Latinos will surpass Whites as the largest race/ethnicity group and by 2060, the Asian population will also surpass the White population. As our county demographics change, the way in which we communicate for healthy policy change and the types of policies we advocate for will need to reflect our growing population across ethnicities/races. 

Staff Perspective

Sharing and Caring

As a Communications Specialist with Get Healthy San Mateo County, I help strategize how to communicate our four priorities for building healthy, equitable communities for all in San Mateo County to create policy level change. I have the privilege of working with a smart, dedicated team of public health practitioners who work hand-in-hand with you – our cities, partners, county agencies, hospitals, schools, and leaders – to help San Mateo County residents live longer and better lives.

News

Our Top Doc talks housing

How is public health impacted by the housing crisis? San Mateo County Health Officer Dr. Scott Morrow discusses how when we create healthy places it can sometimes increase housing costs and push out the very people whose health we are trying to improve. Read more in his recent article in the Journal Race, Poverty, and Environment here or read the latest journal issue online.

News

Riding to parks in NFO

The Siena Youth Center Bulldog Riders presented their great work to the North Fair Oaks Community Council last Thursday! They told the Council about the need for safer routes to parks in their community and shared their ideas for maps and signage to help people ride safely to open space. These youth are educating policy makers about how to make the community better. Go, Bulldog Riders!

News

Fewer lanes, more safety 

Have you been on Farm Hill Blvd lately? The Redwood City street got a facelift and went on a road diet, and is looking pretty darn good. Congrats to local residents for advocating for safety and livability of their street and for the City Council for taking action to ensure their safety.

News

Who is the most hungry 

A recent study from the USDA Economic Research Service looked at household food insecurity – and whether someone lacked access to enough food for a healthy, active life – and found huge disparities based on race and ethnicity. In the US in 2014, 1 in 10 whites were food insecure, while over 1 in 4 blacks and 1 in 5 Latinos were food insecure during that same time period.

News

Learning outdoors

Students in Pacifica got their hands dirty and designed their own outdoor garden classrooms with Get Healthy Community Implementation funding. Teachers received training to use gardens for learning via garden-based education curriculum. Congrats to all teachers and families in Pacifica who now can reap the harvest and learning about where their food comes from!

News

Free education 

Catch the new documentary Raising of America free online through the end of the month! It’s a great documentary series made by the same folks who created Unnatural Causes. Get inspired to help all of our children grow up in healthy schools.

News

Healthier schools, here we come

Thanks to all for a great discussion on teen health at our School Wellness Alliance meeting. The Alliance also heard more about our four strategic priorities and our renewed emphases on educational attainment as a key strategy for promoting healthy schools.