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| Summer 2009 : An APIOPA Summer Harvest |
Two years ago, APIOPA was just an idea. In fact, the name did not even exist. In 2007, we were merely a group of committed individuals calling ourselves the API Obesity Workgroup who made time each month to talk about the need for change in Asian and Pacific Islander (API) health trends. Out of those meetings came a grant proposal to The California Endowment, painting a picture of what API community-driven environmental change could look like. If you have been following our quarterly bulletins, you will have an idea of what came out of that grant proposal.
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Pacific Islander CAG (SAFE) and friends |
With generous funding from The California Endowment as well as Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, APIOPA established its new identity with our current name and logo, hired two full-time staff, and started three Community Action Groups (CAGs) with API partners throughout Los Angeles County.
This month, we celebrate the completion of the pilot stage of our CAGs in the Pilippino, Japanese and Pacific Islander communities. Even though the formal relationship that these CAGs have with APIOPA will be ending, we know that this is just the beginning of bigger picture change as they gain independence. It has been an eventful two years that we are proud of. Please read on about the accomplishments of our CAGs and join us as we celebrate our healthier communities!
- Jessica Lim, Program Director |
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| Community Action Group Updates |
Pilipino American CAG update: Pilipinos Empowering Pilipinos (PEP)
The Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Los Angeles, has taken on the Food Cooperation Project launched by PEP. The Food Cooperation Project is now part of the church’s regular monthly activities! The food coop is on the third Sunday of every month from 8am to 2pm, serving the congregations attending the four mass schedules.
In July, two new vegetables were added to the mix. The Pilipino church members were offered okra and opo squash (long squash/melon).
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PEP members invite you to enjoy some fruits & veggies!
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| Produce regularly offered include eggplant (Japanese or Italian), patola (sing qua, ridge gourd or Chinese okra), ampalaya (bitter melon), sitaw (long bean), saging latundan (baby banana) and sometimes chayote (vegetable pear). |
Some of the delicious options!
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The Pilipino CAG members are now actively seeking new Pilipino churches in Los Angles and surrounding cities to expand the Food Cooperation Project. They are also in contact with Farm to Institution (FTI), an organization that builds relationships between local farmers that grow local produce and institutions such as schools and hospitals. FTI's mission is to incorporate healthy, high quality food into institutional food service. Though this linkage has never been done before, FTI and PEP are very interested in connecting local farmers to churches.
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Japanese American CAG update: GetFit
On June 23, GetFit Little Tokyo (GetFit) presented its urban fitness trail idea for the Little Tokyo Community Council (LTCC), the voice of Little Tokyo stakeholders and a key community support body. GetFit also used this opportunity to distribute exercise bands and information on how to get involved in the project. The idea was well received and GetFit will keep LTCC updated as it continues with its work. GetFit is currently meeting with the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) to develop the walking trail and come up with a “shovel-ready” plan.
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GetFit Little Tokyo at Children's Day
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GetFit is also participating in the Central City (CC) New Community Plan Program to provide input for future developments in Little Tokyo and the surrounding areas. At the June 30th community meeting, GetFit was able to voice its priorities for walkable, bikeable streets, adequate and safe green space, and other fitness-oriented development. GetFit also submitted a comment letter to the Planning Department to further outline its priorities.
GetFit now has three main tasks: To continue working with the CRA/LA to build the fitness trail, to stay involved in the CC New Community Plan Program, and to create a detailed document stating GetFit’s vision for the Little Tokyo neighborhood. For now, this document will act a reference and guiding tool for GetFit, with the potential of being shared with other groups for use or adoption of vision.
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The proposed GetFit Little Tokyo walking trail |
Other GetFit activities include tabling at a local Little Tokyo community fair, developing a blog, and sending out press releases announcing GetFit’s goals. On May 16, GetFit set up a booth at Children’s Day and Nikkei Community Day to pass out exercise bands and health information, give exercise band demonstrations, and provide private Alexander Technique consultations through partnership with a local instructor, Misako Tsuchiya.
Have you checked out GetFit’s blog? GetFit will be blogging regularly on the various fitness opportunities in and around Little Tokyo. It’s easy to subscribe.
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| GetFit has learned a lot about community planning and working with community politics. We’re excited to see what GetFit accomplishes as it launches out on its own! |
Pacific Islander CAG: SAFE (Safe and Active Family Environments)
On July 8, 2009 SAFE met with Regional Recreational Director, Gary Liebsack at the Los Angeles County Department of Parks & Recreation South Agency. At that meeting, SAFE presented their park improvement recommendations:
- Extend stadium lighting at Victoria Park to 10pm everyday
- Create a walking path at Victoria Park with adequate lighting and landscaping
- Designate a space for a community garden
- Adopt SAFE designation of county parks with the following criteria. Once criteria are met, provide official signage for designation. Criteria:
a. Extended lighting hours to 10pm daily
b. Clean and well-lit walking path
c. Bathroom access during park hours
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Staff presence during park hours
e. Adequate programming for all age groups
f. Established Community Park Council consisting of volunteer community members
After negotiations, SAFE acquired a verbal agreement for establishing a Community Park Council for Victoria Park (Recommendation 4f), as well as Lennox Park. Lennox Park was brought up because it is another park at the heart of the Pacific Islander community (specifically the Tongan community). |
SAFE at the County office
Stadium lights at Victoria Park
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Having Tongan representation on the Lennox Park council also paves the way to improve Latino/Tongan relations as the park lies in an area of racial tension.
SAFE was also verbally granted meeting space at Lennox park every 1st Tuesday of the month and at Victoria park the remaining Tuesdays, with the last Tuesday being a Victoria Park Community Park Council meeting.
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Visit Victoria Park and watch it change!
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Because SAFE would be a security presence, the County verbally agreed to leave the lights on at Victoria Park until 10pm on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month while SAFE meets (partially fulfills Recommendation 1).
Recommendations 2 and 3 were discussed but tabled for now due to lack of funding. SAFE will continue to build its relationship with the County Parks & Rec and push for full fulfillment of these recommendations. In the mean time, SAFE plans to hold cultural festivals to bring the Samoan and Tongan community together at Victoria park, and the Latino and Tongan community at Lennox park.
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| Once the budget stabilizes and funds become available, SAFE envisions well-used, well-lit, secure parks with community gardens and teen programming, community members using the walking trails, and greenery representative of the Pacific Islands. |
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| Other News |
Present at the next APIOPA Quarterly Meeting! |
Would you like to present at the APIOPA's October Quarterly Meeting?
APIOPA cordially invites you to present about your own work in the field of obesity at our next quarterly meeting:
Wednesday, October 21, 2009,
10:00am – 12:00pm
The California Endowment
1000 N Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Who can present: Community organizations, academic institutions, and government agencies who share our goal of eliminating the obesity epidemic.
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If you would like us to reserve 5 minutes at the quarterly meeting for your agency to present on your obesity prevention project, please email Jessica Lim at jlim@ltsc.org by October 1, 2009.
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APIOPA’s July 2009 Quarterly Meeting
On July 21, 2009, APIOPA held its summer Quarterly Meeting at The California Endowment. Each Community Action Group (CAG) gave updates on their projects and took questions from APIOPA partners. Dr. Gilbert Gee of UCLA School of Public Health presented his compelling research on “Racial discrimination and obesity among Asian Americans.” The next APIOPA Quarterly Meeting will be on October 21, 2009. Contact Jessica Lim at jlim@ltsc.org for more details. Download the CAG presentations. Download Dr. Gee’s presentation. |
Dr. Gee presents on race and obesity |
Goodbye Mon!
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Farewell to Project Assistant Monica Sakata
At the end of August, we bid Project Assistant Monica Sakata a bittersweet farewell. Monica has been with APIOPA for a full two years as APIOPA’s first project assistant as well as the community liaison for our first CAG in Little Tokyo. She has graced us with her sunny demeanor and enthusiastic newsletters about Japanese American healthy living. Monica showed great leadership in reaching out to the Nikkei community, performing health workshops, recruiting volunteers, and building partnerships with local organizations.
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Behind the scenes at APIOPA, Monica also played a key role in designing our first website, planning logistics for our quarterly meetings and providing support to APIOPA’s project director and steering committee.
While we will miss Monica’s cheerful presence at the office, we wish her the best as she prepares for graduate school. We know that she has a bright future ahead of her and that she will use her higher education towards improving the lives of people in our community. |
Tina Hayashi: APIOPA Summer Intern
This past spring, college sophomore Tina Hayashi contacted APIOPA asking if she could volunteer as a summer intern. Not only did Tina have a strong background in nutrition and sociology, but she even made the effort to find a grant to pay for the internship so that it would not be a financial burden on APIOPA. Needless to say, we have been glad to have Tina join our team for the summer. While Tina is usually away during the school year at Seattle Pacific University (SPU), she has spent the summer getting acquainted with Los Angeles’s diverse API population. Tina has helped us research obesity trends in the Chinese and Cambodian communities, find tasty recipes with Pilippino vegetables for our CAG, and prepare workshops for API families.
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We love Tina! |
| Tina has also helped coordinate lunchtime walks and fresh produce sales for the staff at Little Tokyo Service Center. We thank Tina for the many hours she freely gave to APIOPA over the summer and wish her a great junior year at SPU! |
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Join APIOPA’s Facebook group
Find announcements about our events, links to affiliated groups, and connect with others who are passionate about living healthier. Feel free to post ideas about getting fit or recipes for tasty, healthy dishes. It's easy to join!
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What Lies Ahead for APIOPA
As we have completed our pilot project, we would like to expand our scope of work to include more ethnic enclaves while continuing to provide technical assistance to existing CAGs. APIOPA is also interested in exploring workplace wellness programs and other strategies for creating healthier environments for the API community of Los Angeles. Since the APIOPA staff will be reduced to one full-time employee for the time being, we would appreciate help recruiting steering |
APIOPA advocates for workplace wellness? |
| committee members, referrals to appropriate grant-making sources, and ideas for partnerships. For more information, please contact Jessica Lim at jlim@ltsc.org. |
APIOPA Steering Committee & friends |
APIOPA Steering Committee
Do you or someone you know have what APIOPA’s Steering Committee needs? This group is comprised of professionals, leaders, advocates, and activists who are commited to addressing factors that impact the growing obesity rates in the Asian & Pacific Islander (API) community. APIOPA Steering Committee members must be dedicated to the mission and goals of APIOPA, and preferably have some expertise in the areas of obesity, chronic disease, health care, |
| research, fund development or API community. The Steering Committee’s roles include leadership and policy setting, resource development, public relations and representations, and fiscal management. Time commitment includes a two-hour monthly meeting with email discussions in between. If you would like more information, please contact Joyce Nakashima at Dietitian2001@hotmail.com. |
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| Upcoming Events |
2009 CA REACH US Conference
"REACHing Ahead, REACHing for Change:
Redefining the Health Landscape for 2010 and Beyond"
Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health
Conference Goal: To continue to build and strengthen partnerships, identify opportunities and effective strategies to improveaccess to health and achieve health equity for racial and ethniccommunities.
September 23-24, 2009: Long Beach Hyatt Hotel
200 South Pine Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802
For additional information about the conference, please contact Lupe Rivas-Lopez at (323) 757-7244 ext 233. For Abstracts please contact Jonathan Nomachi at (323) 295-9372. |
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| Thank You TCE and Kaiser! |
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We would like to express our deepest gratitude to The California Endowment and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals for their generosity these past two years. Without their financial support, we would not have been able to impact so many people’s lives and work towards making our community a healthier place. |
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| About APIOPA |
“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 jlim@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 Asian & Pacific Islander (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 Los Angeles County.
APIOPA is fiscally sponsored by the Little Tokyo Service Center, CDC.
APIOPA is funded by Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and The California Endowment
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| Ways to Help APIOPA |
Get to know APIOPA at www.apiopa.org.
Help spread the word about "Making Health Happen." Forward this e-newsletter to your family, and co-workers and let them know it's easy to subscribe.
If you would like to get more involved, please come to our quarterly general meetings. For more information, contact Jessica Lim at jlim@ltsc.org and 213.473.3022.
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