Reach Out – Strengthening California's Inland Empire

It is an election year, as we are all reminded now at every turn. While we know that what happens in our nation's capitol is important, we wanted to take a moment to remind you that what happens on the local level is important too. And as residents, we have so much more control over local-level decisions than we might believe. We are driven at Reach Out by the knowledge that real change starts here. It was our NICC tagline this year for a reason. As you watch the rolling tide of Democracy push through the country this November, don't allow yourself to feel disempowered. Because real change? It begins at the local level, and that is power that you have. #LocalElectionsMatter #EmpowerYourCommunity

Dr. Shemineh Davari is a program director at Reach Out who spoke at the recent National Innovative Communities Conference. Dr. Davari reminds us all of the critical importance of training and education of our youth to provide opportunities for them to take the reins as our region expands faster than any other in California. With growth comes both opportunities and challenges, and Dr. Davari points out that now is the time to plan, ahead of the population growth expected for the Inland Empire between now and 2028. This is why the Healthy Cities Institute is so exciting. As opportunities grow in healthcare, cities that are planning ahead will be able to ensure those jobs remain in their communities and have the greatest impact possible. #DrSheminehDavari #NationalInnovativeCommunitiesConference

Working together with the city of Jurupa Valley, we've been able to bring in well over $10M in funding - in part because healthy cities are funding magnets. This money was in direct dollars, not including auxiliary business investments. Seeing significant investment in infrastructure and having a formal vehicle for community health initiatives gives credibility to grantmaking entities. Reach Out and the city managers have used this credibility to partner as they look for funding opportunities. Because Reach Out is a non-profit, a partnership with us opened the door to many grant opportunities the city might not otherwise have been eligible for. #JurupaValley #CommunityHealth #HealthyCities #FundingSuccess

When cities partner with grassroots organizations, they benefit from the years of credibility those organizations have built with the communities they serve. Due to the nature of our work in the Inland Empire over the past twenty years, Reach Out has access - and more importantly, trust - with community members who might historically not be very trustful of government officials. That trust allows us to help cities move forward, embracing the residents they serve and demonstrating how new initiatives benefit them directly. We serve as a bridge between city government and communities - a job we don't take lightly. #CommunityPartnerships #GrassrootsImpact #LocalTrust

There are many reasons for Inland Empire cities to partner with Reach Out through our Healthy Cities Institute if they are considering launching healthy city initiatives. ✅ Partner cities gain access to our partner organizations. This means that in many cases, instead of starting a component from scratch, they gain the benefit of a ready-made solution they can implement, saving time and money. ✅ Partner cities have access to Reach Out staff. Beginning a healthy city initiative takes time, and we understand that many cities are understaffed as it is. We coordinate much of the engagement and initial set up for our partner cities, taking on the burden of outreach and development. ✅ Partner cities get an inside look at success stories (and less successful ventures) undertaken in other cities. By partnering with Reach Out, cities aren't beginning from the ground up. They implement over a decade of learnings we've gathered from previous efforts. #HealthyCities #InlandEmpire #ReachOutPartnership

Do city leaders believe that prioritizing and funding health creates economic loss? We have seen that the exact opposite is true. A comprehensive report from 2022 looking at funding of a wide range of public health initiatives points to greater investment resulting in: ✅ Lower mortality rates ✅ Better mental health ✅ Higher birth weights ✅ Reduced health care costs overall In fact, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2024 suggested that every $1 invested in public health yields up to $88 in improved health status and benefits to society. The Inland Empire is set to experience record growth - in fact most of the growth occurring in the state of California in the coming years will occur here. Now is the time to set the tone. Will that growth be an opportunity? It can be, if we put the right foundation in place now. Learn more about building healthy cities at our Institute for Healthy Cities Initiative luncheon on September 26. (See comments). #PublicHealth #HealthyCities #EconomicGrowth

Have you ever looked at an urban mural and wondered what its real purpose might be? It might surprise you to learn that murals, green spaces, and other beautification projects have been shown to have a direct link to lowering crime. Where in the past, city managers and those with tight budgets might have looked at beautification projects as “fluff” or “nice to haves,” but the reality could not be more different. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Criminology in 2022 states: "The results show that the greening intervention reduces total crime, public order offenses, drug offense, aggravated assault." Risk Management and Healthcare Policy also published a study that pointed to the need for green spaces and parks in urban environments because they had specific, measurable benefits to mental health and social connection within the communities. Next time you wander through a community garden or take a run on a trail that winds through a public park -- or maybe next time you see that mural -- consider that these assets were thoughtfully placed by your city managers to benefit the communities we live in. The built environment is just as critical as the natural environment, and it's a key part of our work on healthy city initiatives. #UrbanMurals #BeautificationProjects #CrimeReduction

Have you ever thought about what kinds of neighbors you have, and what kind you'd like to have -- especially if an emergency should arise? Many of us thought about this more during COVID. Were there people who checked in on you? Did you check in with your elderly or isolated neighbors? What about right now, when homes are being evacuated throughout Southern California due to raging wildfires? Do you jump in your car and go? Or do you check in with your neighbors to see if they know about the evacuation order, or to see if they need help? 👉 Which kind of neighborhood would you rather live in? 👈 This is one of the unplanned benefits we've seen from instituting healthy city initiatives. When neighbors begin to go above and beyond for one another, when they begin to share and care just a little bit more... it isn't part of the programming. It's a natural outcropping of building a healthy community. We'd love to share more about healthy cities with citizens, funders, and city managers. Join us for lunch September 26. (See comments!) #HealthyNeighbors #CommunitySupport #EmergencyPreparedness

How does a healthy city initiative take shape? In the case of Healthy Jurupa Valley, it was done very intentionally. We knew that community involvement would be the key to success--without it, the programs we put in place would fail, no matter how great the concepts might have been. The initial invitation went out to community leaders, policymakers, business leaders, funders, and others who were already leading within the communities, and through those first 2000 people, others began to take interest. A series of meetings was held to elicit input about what a healthy city looked and felt like in the minds of these residents, and that was the seed that eventually took root. We set up action teams based on what the community members said they wanted, and a community member sat at the head of each team. In every step, we made sure that what was being done was what the community wanted, what they asked for, and for the most part, these initiatives sit in their hands to execute. #HealthyCity #CommunityInvolvement #HealthyJurupaValley

Supporting community members from a policy level means much more than offering exercise classes or creating green spaces. It also requires creating opportunities for citizens to help themselves, to build businesses, to create income to support their families, and to grow wealth to support themselves and their loved ones. What kinds of programs would you like to see your city provide to support the economic efforts of your neighbors? Want to learn more about creating healthy cities? Join us at our luncheon on 9/26. (Check comments for more info!) #HealthyCities #CommunitySupport #EconomicEmpowerment