Winter 2009 Newsletter

Humboldt Park Health Forum Participants, Photo courtesy of RHAMC 

Letter from the Director

Dear Community of Wellness Members, Friends, and Supporters:

We have had a very busy fall here at the Community of Wellness.  One major project was the planning and execution of the Humboldt Park Health Forum, held on October 23rd at Association House of Chicago.  Both state and local leaders spoke at the day-long event including Senator Willie Delgado, State Representative Cynthia Soto, Joe Harrington from the Chicago Department of Public Health, Dr. Jose Lopez of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Dr. Lee Francis of Erie Family Health Center, and Dr. Steve Whitman of the Sinai Urban Health Institute.   

If you didn't have the opportunity to attend, please read an article about the forum here. The event was a great success- in large part because of the participation of so many Humboldt Park organizations and residents.  Thank you to all who attended!  I would like to extend a special thanks to the Respiratory Health Association of Metro Chicago for helping to organize and fund the event.   

The Forum was meant to serve as a starting point for developing an advocacy agenda around the different health priorities of the Greater Humboldt Park Community of Wellness.  Since early November, our Task Forces have been working to develop many of the ideas generated during the breakout sessions of the Forum.  At the next Quarterly Meeting of the Community of Wellness: Wednesday, February 17 at 1pm (location to be determined), the Task Forces will be presenting the advocacy plans that they have developed.  We hope to see you then!

Wishing all of you happy holidays and a peaceful new year,  

Juana Ballesteros BSN, RN, MPH
Executive Director 

The Active Lifestyles Task Force has been funded by the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago's Children (CLOCC)to complete a project that focuses on assessing the "walkability" of Humboldt Park.

The Task Force recently hired a Coordinator for the project who will organize community groups to evaluate their blocks from a pedestrian perspective and will work to connect these groups with the tools to begin making their block and community more walkable.  If you are part of a group that would like to participate please contact Marilyn Pitchford at 773-213-6317or marilynp6214@sbcglobal.net

One out of every three Puerto Rican children is likely to have asthma- the highest rate reported in the US. The goal of Project La CURA(La Comunidad Unida Retando el Asma or The Community United to Challenge Asthma)is to reduce this tremendous health disparity by helping children get better control of their asthma.

La CURA is currently looking for participants:
Those eligible to participate in the project are Puerto Rican children 5-18 years of age with Asthma that is poorly controlled. 

For more info about the project or to sign up, call: 312-563-4735

La CURA is a partnership between Rush University, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, the Near Northwest Neighborhood Network, the Greater Humboldt Park Community of Wellness, and the Sinai Urban Health Institute. 

The Block by Block Campaign is an aggressive community-driven block-by-block program to create awareness and education, improve early diagnosis, and provide resources to improve diabetes self-management. 

Erie Family Health Center Presents:
Sharing Smiles Roundtable 

Learn more about community oral health services and education!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010
9:30AM-1:30PM (Registration begins at 9:00AM)
at Wilbur Wright College
1645 N. California Ave.—Room 314
Chicago, Illinois 60647
(Behind Erie Dental Health Center—Humboldt Park)
 
The Sharing Smiles Roundtable is open to community health workers and those interested in improving the oral health of our community. The overall goal of the Roundtable is to teach community health workers how to provide oral health education effectively to their community members.
 
Participants will:

• identify oral health disparities experienced by low- income, minority populations in Chicago;
• understand the link between oral health and overall health;
• become familiar with the oral health care resources available in the community; and
• gain access to effective teaching tools and materials for community oral health.