San Antonio public health leaders get national support
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From left, the San Antonians selected for the 2023 Aspen Institute's Healthy Communities Fellowship: Veron Blue, Stephen Lucke, Sara Masoud and Alex Bailey. Photos: Courtesy Aspen Institute
Four San Antonians who are building new tools to support better health and wellbeing among their neighbors are being recognized for their work with a national public health fellowship.
Why it matters: Local leaders are stepping in to improve the physical and mental health of communities that are historically underserved by government and medical institutions. Now they're getting resources to further their work.
- Communities of color often experience a disparity in health outcomes. For example, Black and Hispanic men in Bexar County are twice as likely to die from diabetes than white men, per a recent Metro Health report.
Driving the news: This is National Public Health Week, which promotes public health solutions.
The San Antonians selected recently for the Aspen Institute's Healthy Communities Fellowship are:
- Alex Bailey, executive director and founder of Black Outside Inc., which offers outdoor programming for Black youth.
- Veron Blue, executive director and founder of Faith & Community Wellness Center. Blue is a local pastor and mental health coach who helps faith communities on the Northeast Side with mental health challenges.
- Stephen Lucke, founder of Gardopia Gardens, a nonprofit that connects the East Side and other areas with fresh food and gardening education.
- Sara Masoud, program manager for Caring for the Caregiver, a UT Health San Antonio initiative that supports family caregivers looking after people with dementia.
How it works: The Aspen fellowship aims to support leaders in communities disproportionately affected by economic and health disparities. Fellows receive leadership and media training, networking opportunities and more.
What they're doing: Bailey started Black Outside in 2019 after spending time at a national park and noticing a lack of diversity among visitors, he tells Axios.
- The nonprofit has three offerings: an overnight summer camp for Black girls, a program for young people whose parents have spent time in prison and a mentorship opportunity for Black boys.
- Connecting young people with nature can help them process their emotions and think of outdoor spaces as their own, Bailey says.
- "For some kids, their first outdoor experience may not have to be the Bear Grylls experience," Bailey tells Axios. "Just kayaking on the San Antonio River can really get them connected."
What they're saying: The Aspen fellowship helped show Bailey how his work connects with that of others in San Antonio and across the country, he said.
- "This work is super important in a city like San Antonio that is not known for being an outdoorsy city," Bailey tells Axios. "But that's kind of a myth."
Details: Lucke founded Gardopia Gardens in 2015 to create solutions for a community impacted by higher rates of obesity and diabetes.
- Gardopia's main community garden is on the East Side, where neighbors can volunteer to grow and take food home for free. The group also organizes gardening volunteer days across the city and educational classes for young people and adults.
- "We don't have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, especially communities of color," Lucke tells Axios. "It's not just enough to give you fresh fruits and vegetables — you have to cultivate a desire within the community to consume that. Gardening brings you closer to that."