New health project comes to South L.A.

By Janice Hayes Kyser

Contributing Writer

SOUTH LOS ANGELES — Kaiser Permanente has launched a three-year commitment to improve the physical and mental health of the youth of South Los Angeles and Inglewood while exposing them to careers in health care and other fields.

The Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies, Thriving Futures program is aimed at area young people concerned about quality health care, healthy food and viable careers.

The initiative was launched in conjunction with a number of community partners.

“We’re really excited that we are drawing on the expertise and cultural competency of grassroots organizations to address issues that are important to the community,” said Andrea Azuma, community health principal for Kaiser. “There’s a real need for early intervention and holistic care and preventative support and this initiative addresses that.”

Derek Steele, executive director of Social Justice Learning Institute in Inglewood, one of the initiative’s community partners, commends Kaiser for bringing grassroots organizations together to ensure health is built into the landscape of South L.A. and beyond.

“This is not a break-away program, but more of the fabric of what Kaiser has been able to do by listening to and enlisting the community and using its platform and influence to make positive change,” Steele said. He points to Kaiser’s role in the creation of the Inglewood Farmers Market as an example of Kaiser’s commitment in action.

Azuma says the initiative will engage youth between the ages of 10 and 24 in a number of activities and programs to get them moving, improve their nutrition strengthen their mental health, develop their leadership skills and expose them to a variety of career options.

“This initiative deepens our longstanding commitment to the community and is community led,” Azuma added. “It’s further evidence of our understanding that health isn’t shaped in clinics or hospitals, but in schools and community spaces where people live and work.”

Dr. Ramin Davidoff, executive medical director for the Southern California Permanente Medical Group, puts it this way.

“Our commitment to the community goes beyond providing medical care,” Dr. Davidoff said. “Kaiser Permanente physicians partner with local schools and organizations as mentors and role models, helping young people imagine futures in medicine, sports science and health care. That kind of dedication isn’t new — it reflects our 80-year legacy of service.

“This new initiative builds on that momentum, uplifting more young people to stay healthy, confident, and active for decades to come,” he added.

According to Azuma, in addition to the youth-based programs the initiative will also conduct community wide events to engage the broader South L.A. and Inglewood communities. The youth programs will be provided by local organizations, including The Amer-I-Can Foundation for Social Change, Balance of Life Project, Chris Paul Family Foundation, Compton Community Health Professions Partnership, Crop Swap LA, Keep it Run Hundred, Social Justice Learning Institute and St. John’s Community Health.

Steele said the true beauty of the initiative is that it creates an opportunity for community organizations like his to lock arms and serve. In addition, he says it provides the next generation a chance to be the change they want to see by creating healthy, thriving communities one individual at a time.

“To me success is when our young people are creating the vision for a healthy community,” Steele added. “That’s what winning looks like in my eyes.”

Janice Hayes Kyser is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers.