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The original item was published from 7/16/2019 5:18:51 PM to 7/16/2021 12:05:01 AM.

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Posted on: July 16, 2019

[ARCHIVED] Kenosha Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families to hold diaper drive, Health Equity Forum

Kenosha Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families logo

The Kenosha Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families is highlighting Minority Mental Health Month throughout July, with a drive to collect diapers for families in need and a Health Equity Forum.

Diaper drive/infant health and safety event:

Diapers are now being collected at the Kenosha County Division of Health and the Prevention Services Network Family Resource Center within the Kenosha County Job Center building, 8600 Sheridan Road, Kenosha.

Girl Scout Troop 7037 is also collecting diapers; please call Lisa Jenewein at 262-909-9294 for drop-off times and locations.

Donated diapers will be distributed at the Infant Health and Safety Informational Session on Sept. 13 at the Job Center. Families interested in attending the event and receiving diapers must first register. Please call 262-605-6769 for more information.

“The Infant Health and Safety Informational Session is a great way for our home visitation nurses to touch families in the community who don’t otherwise participate in our program,” said Lori Peters, Home Visitation Nurse team leader in the Kenosha County Division of Health. “The topics we’ll present will help parents to learn ways to build strong, healthy families, giving their babies the best imaginable start in life.”

Health Equity Forum:

The Health Equity Forum will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Thursday, July 18 at the Civil War Museum, 5400 First Ave. This panel discussion including local and state community partners will focus on the next steps toward eliminating racial and ethnic health inequities.

A presentation by Lola Awoyinka, epidemiologist and coordinator of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ Minority Health Program, will precede the panel discussion.

“The KLIHF Healthy Equity Forum holds great importance to the community,” said Josie Garwood, a project assistant intern working on the project. “It starts conversations and encourages collaboration between community members and the health care field in order to advance all local individuals toward fair and just opportunities to be as healthy as possible.”

Registration, available online at http://bit.ly/KLIHFforum, is required to attend. The deadline to register is 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 17.

About the Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families:

The Kenosha Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families Collaborative is working to reduce the disparities and to educate and engage the community in efforts to improve birth outcomes.

KLIHF is a collaborative of more than 20 agencies in the community that has been meeting since 2010 to increase awareness, improve birth outcomes and help families have healthy babies. Infant mortality occurs among African-American families in Kenosha nearly three times the rate of white families.

The leading causes of infant mortality is pre-term birth and low birth weight. Many other contributing factors of IM include medical, health or social economic reasons, like diet and nutrition, poor neonatal care, tobacco use, stress, poverty and/or unsafe sleep conditions.

More information about KLIHF is available on its newly revamped website, at http://bit.ly/KLIHF. KLIHF is also on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and will soon debut a regular podcast at http://klihf.podbean.com.

KLIHF essay contest findings:

KLIHF last year sponsored an essay contest asking local students from grades 4-8 to write on the theme “What’s a Healthy Community to You?”

Students from five schools submitted 246 essays, from which a panel of judges selected four winners. The students’ essays were also reviewed for themes, with responses broken down into Assets that Make a Healthy Community and Concerns that Negatively Affect a Healthy Community.

The Assets that Make a Healthy Community referenced in the essays were led by Sports/Exercise (36.6 percent), followed by Respecting/Helping/Equality (36.2 percent), Safety/Safe Communities (31.3 percent), Nature/Lakes/Beaches (26.4 percent), Parks/Playgrounds (26 percent), Grocery Stores/Shopping (24.4 percent) and Education/Teachers (23.6 percent).

Concerns that Negatively Affect a Healthy Community were topped by Pollution/Littering (26.4 percent), followed by Crime and Violence (26 percent), Health Concerns/Diseases (24.4 percent), Drugs/Alcohol (23.6 percent), Harming Animals (14.6 percent),

Smoking/Tobacco/Other (13.8 percent) and Lack of Healthy Foods/Grocery Stores (12.6 percent).

A four-page summary of the essay findings, including a school-by-school breakdown, is attached to this news release.

Video contest now underway:

This summer, Kenosha County students in grades 4-12 are invited to participate in the “How Do You Help Your Community” video contest.

Entrants are encouraged to record a short video answering that very question, “How do you help your community?” The goal is to promote a healthy and positive community, in the words of our youth.

It is recommended that these videos be no longer than two minutes, although lengthier videos will not be disqualified. Winners will receive prizes and will have their videos spotlighted on the KLIHF YouTube channel.

The deadline to submit videos is Friday, Sept. 6. An entry form, which must be submitted along with the video submission, is available here: http://bit.ly/KLIHFVideoContest.

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