Welcome to the first edition of APIOPA’s quarterly bulletin!  We are so proud of the way our projects have developed and grown over the past year and we are excited that we now have a better way of sharing our progress with you.  When our group started in 2005, we had no funding for programs, just a great commitment to our mission:

To empower the API community to improve their health by recognizing health disparities and to improve/address social, cultural, environmental, and political factors that contribute to the growing rates of obesity among API residents in LA County.

Now that we are more than half way through our two-year pilot project among the Pilipino, Japanese and Pacific Islander communities, we have three amazing community action groups (CAGs) with ongoing stories to tell you about.

1. Pilipino community – This CAG, based out of Asian Pacific Health Care Venture in East Hollywood, is creating a model for produce cooperations in Pilipino faith-based communities to increase access to nutritious lifestyles. After implementing this co-op at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, the CAG will offer their model for replication at other churches to encourage a growing culture of health in the Pilipino community.
2. Japanese community – This CAG, based out of Little Tokyo Service Center in downtown Los Angeles, is changing orientation policies among work places and residences in Little Tokyo so that communty members can integrate into the physical activity culture of Little Tokyo early on. The CAG will develop a fitness direcory with plans for marketing, distributing and sustaining this resource to improve access to physical activity in Little Tokyo.
3. Pacific Islander community – This CAG, based out of Guam Communications Network in Long Beach, is developing safety policies for public space in a neighborhood where a relatively large percentage of Pacific Islanders live. By extending the hours that lights stay on at Victoria Park, Carson residents will have the opportunity to play or exercise long after the sun goes down.

Through this bulletin, you will get to explore hot topics in the field of API obesity, learn what our CAGs are up to, and keep informed of new ways to get involved.  We would love to hear what you think, so let’s make this a two-way process.  E-mail us, call us, and ask questions.  The purpose of this bulletin is to generate discussions on how together we can make the API community healthier!

- Jessica Lim, Project Director

Pilipino Community Action Group: Fresh and Affordable Produce!

The Pilipino American Community Action Group (PA CAG) is working with the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Los Angeles to start a fresh produce cooperation (co-op) that can be replicated at other churches. Their goal is to encourage parishioners to engage in a healthier lifestyle by offering convenient, affordable, Pilipino-appropriate fresh produce at the church twice a month. Parishioners will be able to worship, socialize, and acquire healthy food at a

The JA CAG having dinner together

Japanese American Community Action Group: Get fit, Little Tokyo!

The Japanese American Community Action Group (JA CAG) found through a survey that many workers and residents of Little Tokyo are interested in receiving support to increase their physical activity level. In response, the JA CAG will create a Little Tokyo fitness directory and integrate the directory into welcome packets for newcomers to LT. The JA CAG wants to build a systematic way for folks to learn about the fitness opportunities in Little Tokyo, and build a

community mentality of fitness and health. There are many groups that walk together, do Tai Chi, Qigong, yoga, dance, martial arts, aerobics, hike, etc., but no central resource to make everyone aware of how to gain access to these activities. The JA CAG plans to print and distribute this directory at local businesses, churches, offices, and residential buildings and make it part of the welcome packet that residents and workers receive when they begin a job or first move in. Posters promoting the directory and a healthy lifestyle will accompany the release of the fitness directory. Future phases may involve a web-based version. The JA CAG hopes to release the first edition of the directory in Spring 2009.

On September 23, 2008, the Los Angeles City Council granted the Little Tokyo Service Center a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to build a much-anticipated multi-use recreation center in Little Tokyo. The rec center will be located on Los Angeles Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets near the Little Tokyo Library. The JA CAG is very excited about this future site of fun, physical activity, and is brainstorming how the two projects might supplement each other. The idea is still a work in progress so look forward to updates! Click here to visit the Little Tokyo Rec Center site.

Pacific Islander Community Action Group: Making Victoria Park SAFE

The Pacific Islander Community Action Group is excited to announce it’s new name: SAFE (Safe and Active Family Environments). By its name, you could probably guess SAFE’s vision.

On August 6, 2008, the Carson Samoan community held its annual Samoan Flag Day celebration at Victoria Park. During the festival, shooting broke out between rival Pacific Islander gangs. Three bystanders were shot and wounded. One of the gunmen was killed by a uniformed security guard hired to patrol the festival. Download the full story here.

The PI CAG at Guam Communications Network

Violence in the community scares parents into keeping their children close to home. This unfortunately means fewer opportunities for families to get physical activity. Incidents such as these motivate SAFE’s work.

SAFE hopes to improve the safety of Victoria park through a campaign to extend the length of time lights are on in the evening. Lights currently shut down around 8:45pm, throwing the park into pitch-blackness--an environment for gang and other illicit activity. Other parks however, such as Wilson Park in Torrance, keep their lights on till at least 10pm. SAFE hopes to work with the Sheriff’s department and get the support of local officials to enforce park safety while the lights are on. SAFE will also garner community support to strengthen the project’s relevance and effectiveness. With extended evening lighting, people will have the option of jogging along the paths, playing a game of basketball, or tossing around a Frisbee after a busy day. The project will bring the community together and get them excited about physical activity.

Restaurant Nutrition Facts and Vending Machine Specifications in California

On September 30, 2008, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed California State Senate Bills (SB) 1420 and 441. SB 1420 requires chains with 20 restaurants or more to post calorie counts and nutrition information. SB 441 requires vending machines on state property to comply with specific nutrition guidelines. Read the governor’s press release here.

For more on SB 1420: Nutrition Facts for Restaurant Chains

For a discussion on restaurant nutrition facts in the U.S., click here.

For details on why the bill is useful, click here.

To read the chaptered bill, click here.

For more on SB 441: Nutrition Guidelines for Vending Machines on State Property

To read the chaptered bill, click here.

To read analysis on the bill, click here.

Los Angeles City Mayor’s Office organizes Summer Night Lights Program

Los Angeles City decreases gang violence by leaving the lights on at city parks. Read more here and here.

“Prevalence of Childhood Obesity among Asians and Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County: Secondary Analysis Results of the California Physical Fitness Testing Program”

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in partnership with APIOPA and the UCLA School of Public Health is holding an event to report disaggregated API childhood obesity data.

“Classification of Asian and Pacific Islanders together in a broad category has masked the rising prevalence of obesity within sub-ethnic groups, concealing disparities in what is arguably one of the most diverse group of peoples.”

Friday, November 7, 2008
2pm-4pm
Ferguson Auditorium
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
5555 Ferguson Drive, Commerce, CA 90022

RSVP with Jessica Lim at jlim@ltsc.org or 213-473-3022. Click here to download the full flyer.

APIOPA Quarterly General Meetings

Save the date! Come to APIOPA’s first General Quarterly Meeting!

Come to our general quarterly meetings to discuss hot topics in the field of API Obesity, hear guest lecturers, get an APIOPA update, and dialogue on how government and community based organizations can address the issue of API Obesity. More information to come.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009
10am-12pm.
The California Endowment’s Center for Healthy Communities
1000 N. Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

RSVP with Jessica Lim at jlim@ltsc.org or 213-473-3022.

“Making Health Happen,” a quarterly bulletin produced by the Asian & Pacific Islander Obesity Prevention Alliance (APIOPA), provides the latest APIOPA project news. Please send “Making Health Happen” comments and questions to msakata@ltsc.org. Your feedback and input is greatly appreciated!

APIOPA is a collaborative of community-based organizations, county, state, and federal health agencies.

Our Mission: To empower the A&PI community to improve their health by recognizing health disparities and to improve/address social, cultural, environmental, and political factors that contribute to the growing rates of obesity among A&PI residents in LA County.

APIOPA is fiscally sponsored by the Little Tokyo Service Center, CDC.

APIOPA is funded by Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and The California Endowment