Five grants given to make daily physical activity easier

 

For Immediate Release:                                                       

July 22, 2008                                                                          

 

LA County Department of Public Health Partners with Cities and Community Organizations to Promote Physical Activity

Five grantees will work to improve opportunities for physical activity countywide

 

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health PLACE Program (Policies for Livable, Active Communities and Environments) is announcing its selection of five grantees from across the county who will work towards making daily physical activity easier for county residents. Grantees will pursue public policies that make neighborhoods friendlier to physical activity, such as better sidewalks, bike paths, trails, and streets that accommodate all users.  

 

“These grants represent a new direction for our thinking about promoting physical activity,” said Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, Director of Public Health and Health Officer. “Many people think they don’t have time to get the recommended 30 minutes of moderate physical activity each day. Just walking to public transportation, or walking your children to school, or biking to the grocery store contributes to your good health. By making our neighborhoods more conducive to these activities, we can help improve health.”

 

The grantees include the non-profit organizations Pacoima Beautiful and the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and the cities of El Monte, Culver City, and Long Beach. The PLACE Program grants, which total $1.65 million, are one of several strategies Public Health is implementing to improve physical environments through policy change.

 

Each grantee, funded at $330,000 over a three-year term, will pursue a policy change and a related project that make it easier for people to walk or bike to work, school, or on errands. The grants were awarded after a countywide competitive selection process and will be administered by the PLACE Program. As part of the Department of Public Health Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, PLACE is dedicated to fostering policy change that supports the development of healthy, active environments for all Los Angeles County residents.  For additional information, see www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/place. 

 

The Department of Public Health is committed to protecting and improving the health of the nearly 10 million residents of Los Angeles County. Through a variety of programs, community partnerships and services, Public Health oversees environmental health, disease control, and community and family health. Public Health comprises more than 4,000 employees and an annual budget exceeding $750 million. To learn more about Public Health and the work we do, please visit www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

 

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