HOUSTON – In KPRC 2′s ‘Our Town’ coverage of Acres Homes we are looking at the health issues many people in the area have to deal with. Health reporter Haley Hernandez explains the struggles and unique effort to bring change.
While that can lead to dangerous complications like cancer, MD Anderson tells KPRC 2 that a lot of it is derived from metabolic issues. In Acres Homes 46% of the population is obese. That compares to about 38 % in Houston. But helping to improve the health of these neighborhoods has a big impact on all of us.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Join us for the ‘Our Town’ Acres Homes Resource Fair, offering free assistance and resources to residents
This is the message Rain Eatmon wants her fellow neighbors in acres homes to hear.
“We know this is a scary topic, but you’re not in this alone,” she said. “Because when you look at a community as underserved as Acres Homes, it has been a long time of - lack of resources, lack of information, siloed information that has made it harder for residents to get access to things that have been openly free for the vast majority of the city of Houston.”
One organization noticing the need for change: MD Anderson.
“We’re really interested in ways to make improvements to health, to help people be more physically active, to help them, eat a healthier diet and have access to healthy foods so they could do that,” said Karen Basen-Enquist, from MD Anderson.
Karen Basen-Enquist leads the MD Anderson ‘Be Well Communities’ project in Acres Homes. This initiative of MD Anderson is in collaboration with Harris Health System, Memorial Hermann Community Benefit Corporation, UT Health School of Public Health, and more than 30 community organizations united together with residents of Acres Homes.
The program installs workout equipment, local gardens with fresh foods and sometimes sidewalks, to make the neighborhood a healthier and safer place to work out. Eatmon helps make sure people use it, plus provides feedback on things her neighbors actually want like a popular Zumba class.
“They really wanted to make sure that when they approached this community, it was really for the community and by the community,” said Eatmon.
“We know that diseases like cancer, like diabetes, like heart disease are they’re often called lifestyle behaviors, but they’re also really influenced by the communities that we live in,” said Basen-Enquist.
And if you think this doesn’t affect you, for example, if you don’t have health problems, or maybe you live far away, think again.
“If we wait to act until after somebody has a disease, it’s tremendously more expensive than putting in sidewalks and playgrounds and gardens and making sure people have healthy food. So we need to consider the impact that prevention can have on our, you know, health care economy.”
For people like Eatmon who grew up in Acres Homes with asthma, it was a vicious cycle that she couldn’t safely exercise but without exercise, it led to further health complications.
That’s why she’s taking a strong stance now, hanging on tight to people like Dr. Basen-Enquist who is willing to help, and pulling everyone else on track with her.
“When you try to tackle them all at once as an individual, it does become debilitating. But then you have community, trusted community partners to say, hey, we don’t have to go to the extreme. We can start by incorporating you and a walking group every day. We go every day. Just walk with us for a little bit,” said Eatmon.
More than 50 local, regional, and state organizations are actively engaged on Be Well Communities steering committees, guiding the implementation of each action plan in partnership with residents in each community.
Check out everything we are doing for the ‘Our Town’ Acres Homes.