a local approach to a national problem
by Niiobli Armah, City Hall Fellow Houston '09
City government matters for a number of obvious reasons. Any individual who doubts the productivity of its municipal government should ask themselves several questions such as: where does the water come from when they take a shower or flush the toilet, or who picks up their trash from their residence. Believe it or not, last time someone got pulled over for a speeding ticket, that too was municipal government at work. Outside of the obvious reasons mentioned, the importance of City Government transcends the everyday tangibles.
One debate that captures this is occurring throughout the political discourse of America: the “Health Care Crisis.” This crisis we are in has been brewing for quite some time. No matter what side of the argument you fall on one thing for sure is, Americans must live healthier lives. The fact is the crisis we are in is directly linked to the cost of our health care system, costs primarily related to a number of preventable diseases. Local government is uniquely postured to urge citizens to live healthier lives, while equipping them to do so.
Upon beginning my City Hall Fellows journey I never would have imagined that I would have the opportunity to become an advocate in the arena of one of the most important issues facing our country. Becoming an advocate taught me how much City Government matters today, and how much more it will matter tomorrow.
The last thing I expected upon beginning my work as a city hall fellow was to be given a project in its embryonic stages. The Mayors Wellness Council in Houston was founded in 2005 to address Houston’s ranking by Men’s Fitness magazine as the “Fattest City in America”. The mission of the council is to leverage the auspices of the Mayor’s Office in collaboration with public, private, and non-profit sectors in the Greater Houston area to encourage and motivate Houstonians of all ages and abilities to make wise choices regarding healthy eating and regular physical activity through education and participation in fun activities. The Mayors Wellness Council is an example of the impact that municipal government can have on the health of the entire nation.
Neighborhood Wellness Teams (NWTs) is project that was birthed in the Mayor’s Wellness Council that came to being through the work I did with the employees of the Recreation and Wellness Division of Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD). The goal was simple; to create small entities of citizens to engage, educate and initiate a culture of wellness across the city if Houston. Twelve pilot sites where chosen across the city in which NWTs were created. The Neighborhood Wellness Team model utilizes a grassroots approach to engaging citizens and implementing wellness programs. The model suggested citizens work together in their communities to put on health fairs and festivals, health education classes, health awareness and advocacy programs, nutritional eating seminars, running and cycling events, walking clubs, walking school buses, wellness events, and wellness challenges.
The Mayor’s Wellness Council observed that communities offered unique opportunities to engage citizens in the wellness discussion. Yet, they discovered that an efficient model for community-based wellness did not exist in Houston. Consequently, the Mayor’s Wellness Council chose to focus on programming in neighborhoods - the final (or sometimes first) level though which civic participation occurs. Many residents do not have access to worksite-based or school-based wellness programs; even in households where parents are participating in worksite wellness programs and students are participating in school-based wellness programs, a neighborhood-based wellness program provides the missing link to connect the entire family to wellness activities together.
Houston’s municipal government is at the fore front of innovative practices that will ultimately affect the quality of life for the citizens of their city. Houston has created a model that is serving as a catalyst to change the way that everyday citizens think about their health. In some areas of Houston Wellness Block Parties have replaced ineffective health fairs, and in other parts of the city access to farmers markets in low-income areas is coming to fruition.
City Government Matters: the wellness gap in Houston is slowly subsiding due to the work of municipal leaders and employees. Motivating individuals to make behavioral changes is not an easy task for any government agency, but it is possible. Houston is proving that when municipal government gets in the trenches and motivates citizens to help the city help themselves, benefits will be reaped. A healthier, more engaged population with a higher quality of life is just the beginning. If more municipal governments choose to step up to the plate and shift resources into establishing community-based Wellness programs, the return for both citizens and cities can be enormous and the importance of municipal government will be realized.
City government matters for a number of obvious reasons. Any individual who doubts the productivity of its municipal government should ask themselves several questions such as: where does the water come from when they take a shower or flush the toilet, or who picks up their trash from their residence. Believe it or not, last time someone got pulled over for a speeding ticket, that too was municipal government at work. Outside of the obvious reasons mentioned, the importance of City Government transcends the everyday tangibles.
One debate that captures this is occurring throughout the political discourse of America: the “Health Care Crisis.” This crisis we are in has been brewing for quite some time. No matter what side of the argument you fall on one thing for sure is, Americans must live healthier lives. The fact is the crisis we are in is directly linked to the cost of our health care system, costs primarily related to a number of preventable diseases. Local government is uniquely postured to urge citizens to live healthier lives, while equipping them to do so.
Upon beginning my City Hall Fellows journey I never would have imagined that I would have the opportunity to become an advocate in the arena of one of the most important issues facing our country. Becoming an advocate taught me how much City Government matters today, and how much more it will matter tomorrow.
The last thing I expected upon beginning my work as a city hall fellow was to be given a project in its embryonic stages. The Mayors Wellness Council in Houston was founded in 2005 to address Houston’s ranking by Men’s Fitness magazine as the “Fattest City in America”. The mission of the council is to leverage the auspices of the Mayor’s Office in collaboration with public, private, and non-profit sectors in the Greater Houston area to encourage and motivate Houstonians of all ages and abilities to make wise choices regarding healthy eating and regular physical activity through education and participation in fun activities. The Mayors Wellness Council is an example of the impact that municipal government can have on the health of the entire nation.
Neighborhood Wellness Teams (NWTs) is project that was birthed in the Mayor’s Wellness Council that came to being through the work I did with the employees of the Recreation and Wellness Division of Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD). The goal was simple; to create small entities of citizens to engage, educate and initiate a culture of wellness across the city if Houston. Twelve pilot sites where chosen across the city in which NWTs were created. The Neighborhood Wellness Team model utilizes a grassroots approach to engaging citizens and implementing wellness programs. The model suggested citizens work together in their communities to put on health fairs and festivals, health education classes, health awareness and advocacy programs, nutritional eating seminars, running and cycling events, walking clubs, walking school buses, wellness events, and wellness challenges.
The Mayor’s Wellness Council observed that communities offered unique opportunities to engage citizens in the wellness discussion. Yet, they discovered that an efficient model for community-based wellness did not exist in Houston. Consequently, the Mayor’s Wellness Council chose to focus on programming in neighborhoods - the final (or sometimes first) level though which civic participation occurs. Many residents do not have access to worksite-based or school-based wellness programs; even in households where parents are participating in worksite wellness programs and students are participating in school-based wellness programs, a neighborhood-based wellness program provides the missing link to connect the entire family to wellness activities together.
Houston’s municipal government is at the fore front of innovative practices that will ultimately affect the quality of life for the citizens of their city. Houston has created a model that is serving as a catalyst to change the way that everyday citizens think about their health. In some areas of Houston Wellness Block Parties have replaced ineffective health fairs, and in other parts of the city access to farmers markets in low-income areas is coming to fruition.
City Government Matters: the wellness gap in Houston is slowly subsiding due to the work of municipal leaders and employees. Motivating individuals to make behavioral changes is not an easy task for any government agency, but it is possible. Houston is proving that when municipal government gets in the trenches and motivates citizens to help the city help themselves, benefits will be reaped. A healthier, more engaged population with a higher quality of life is just the beginning. If more municipal governments choose to step up to the plate and shift resources into establishing community-based Wellness programs, the return for both citizens and cities can be enormous and the importance of municipal government will be realized.
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