Moment of the Month

Moment of the Month April/May 2022: Food, Framing, and Freedom Changing the Language and Approach to Addressing Food Apartheid & Celebrating Good Food News Perhaps two of the most well-known, wide-ranging, and difficult to overcome social and environmental factors that impact health are oppressive forces (like racism) and barriers to basic needs (like healthy foods). Both are parts of people’s lived experiences that are at once private and personal but also consistently brought out into the public spotlight for debate and decision-making often without the consent or input of those most directly affected. Because of this, these [...]

Moment of the Month January/February 2022: From Moments to Movement Reaffirming Commitments to Racial Justice and Healthy Communities Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the National Cathedral on March 31, 1968 | Image from cathedral.org/ “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution.” Speech given at the National Cathedral, March 31, 1968. New years often kick off with individuals and organizations assembling plans and setting intentions. Reflecting on the length of road [...]

Moment of the Month December 2021: Accelerating Active Transportation Cities of Niles, Warren Adopt Active Transportation Plans & WRTA Expands, Enhances Services From L to R: US DOT Secretary Pete Buttegeig, US Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) Almost one year ago to the day, when U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was still a nominee, he was questioned by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), a co-sponsor of the National Complete Streets Act of 2019 and 2021, to share his position, and hopefully support, for a more complete approach to transportation policy: SCHATZ: Many local transportation [...]

Moment of the Month November 2021: It's Time to "CHA-CHA," again Representatives from Mahoning & Trumbull Counties Kicked-Off the Start of the Next Community Health Assessment Andy Williams popularized the song now signaling the start of the holiday season. It’s that wonderful time again. No, not that wonderful time. It’s time for our public health and healthcare partners to begin to update the Community Health Improvement Plans (a.k.a. CHIPs) and launch a new Community Health Assessment (a.k.a. CHA). Not quite as glittery and glamorous, but it is an incredibly valuable, priceless process that is a [...]

October 2021 Moment of the Month: Healthy Community Partnership Members Participate in the Ohio Community Development Corporation Association's Annual Conference Several HCP members presented, participated in conference activities and made connections between public health and community development. Social Drivers of Health Graphic from UCLA Health Many multi-sector collaborations across the country have been working together to recognize and reckon with the unsettling fact that what goes on outside the walls of a healthcare facility (ex: housing, employment, education, food, transportation, public policy, social and institutional norms, etc.) has an outsized impact on our health. When accounting [...]

September 2021 Moment of the Month: NLAPH Coach, Dr. Arthur Chen, "Visits" the Valley HCP & Mahoning Valley Highlights for National Leadership Academy for the Public's Health Virtual Visit A bright spot at the end of an otherwise dark year was the announcement that members of the Healthy Community Partnership were accepted into the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Leadership Academy for the Public’s Health (NLAPH).  NLAPH began in 2011 to provide training to four-person multi-sector teams from across the country to advance their leadership skills and achieve health equity in their community. [...]

August 2021 Moment of the Month: Celebrating State & Federal Investments in Nutrition Incentives Partners and Community Leaders Commemorate Funding Secured for Healthy Foods, Families, and Futures  Highlights from the Press Event at the Warren Farmers Market on 08/31/2021 “It always seems impossible until it’s done”— Nelson Mandella There’s always a model, a map, or a method to find, follow, and finesse to overcome, overtake, or out-maneuver all obstacles, large and small. For the Healthy Community Partnership, we’ve built our Roadmap for Change and Bold Goals from raw materials provided by Collective Impact, Policy, Systems, [...]

HCP-MV Moment of the Month: Victory at the Finish Line  Funding Secured for Healthy Foods, Families, and Futures in Ohio Budget What We Won in the Ohio Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Budget Cycle for the Partnership's Focus Areas All advocacy  victories should be cherished and celebrated | Image by  Pietro Rampazzo Active Transportation $70 million annually for public transportation Parks and Greenspaces $1.5 million for brownfield remediation |commercial and residential demolition, revitalization efforts Healthy Food Retail $500,000 annually for Produce Perks nutrition incentives Removal of the following harmful policies targeting families receiving SNAP benefits: Requiring change reporting [...]

HCP-MV Moment of the Month: Turning the Tassel Student Researchers Complete Capstone Projects “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” – Nelson Mandela In order to achieve the Healthy Community Partnership’s ambitious, Bold Goals and mission to improve health, wellbeing, and health equity in the Mahoning Valley, the following items must be included in the mix:  New, fresh perspectives, data, and leadership Time and other hard to come by resources So, whenever the Healthy Community Partnership is asked if we would want to work with  students who are curious and care [...]

HCP-MV Moment of the Month: Progress & Produce Led by Healthy Food Access Coordinators, Mahoning Valley Community Store Initiative Marks More Milestones Food access, more so the lack of it, has been an all too familiar talking point, tension point, and point of contention in the Mahoning Valley for some time. As has been shared in previous stories (Putting Food Access Resources on the Map & Collab-blog: Collaboration in a Time of Crisis—Thinking Inside the Box), the pandemic underscored and highlighted barriers that exist between healthy food and families.  While the barriers to food access are many and [...]