Thanks to support from the Sisters of St. Joseph Healthcare Foundation, the Imperial Valley Wellness Foundation has enabled five organizations representing underinvested communities to form a Learning Exchange. This collaboration includes the North End Alliance (Niland, Calipatria, and Bombay Beach), Westmorland Community Presbyterian Church, and San Pasqual ISD in Winterhaven, along with established institutions Innercare and The Rise Center of San Diego State University. The partners will meet six times between January 2023 and July 2023, where the underinvested communities will share their daily health challenges.
Priorities identified include:
1. Improve access to mental health services.
2. Reduce economic stressors for low-income families.
3. Increase local community-driven research.
4. Increase healthy behaviors through alcohol and drug treatment and cessation.
5. Increase food security.
The next step is to present their findings and recommendations to Imperial Valley stakeholders and funders with a call to action.
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