Feb. 24--NEW HAVEN -- Mechelle Craddock-Spence has a way of connecting with people, an asset that got her invited into the homes of hundreds of residents, as she walked some of the city's poorer neighborhoods in search of health data.
What she found in her walkabout this fall for the Community Alliance for Research and Engagement, a collaboration between the city and Yale University, shocked her.
She was part of a team of 20 surveyors charged with tallying personal behaviors and how residents' access to healthful foods, safe streets and a place to exercise impacted that behavior.
"We found homes with not just some nutrition, but no nutrition. We found neighborhoods in Newhallville and neighbors who didn't know that they had community gardens ... we found wonderful bike trails along these sections that they didn't know existed either," Craddock-Spence said.
She said they went beyond collecting data by immediately connecting people with food sources and medical resources, and reached out to more than 1,200 families, with 85 percent of those approached agreeing to participate in the survey.
What they also found, however, across six neighborhoods, was that 31 percent of respondents were regular smokers (50 percent higher than the national average), while more than half did not participate in regular exercise, drank sugar-sweetened beverages daily and reported some stress in their lives.
On the plus side, 62 parks and gardens were identified in the neighborhoods. While there were 107 convenience stores nearby, they mostly offered "junk food."
"The social determinants of health are important to consider, whether people have access to fresh food, whether they have access to safe streets, and that they engage in physical activity is very important," said Dr. Chisara Asomugha, community services administrator in New Haven.
Alycia Santilli, assistant director at CARE, said going forward the key is to offer incentives to grocers to provide fresh fruits and vegetables, while also working on safe streets to encourage exercise and encourage people to get involved in neighborhoods.
She said two-thirds of those surveyed felt it is unsafe to walk at night in the six areas: Fair Haven, Dixwell, Newhallville, West River, Hill North and West Rock.
CARE's aim is to fight chronic illness, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, by promoting healthful lifestyles that deal with diet, exercise and tobacco use.
A community meeting is scheduled in each of the six neighborhoods, with Dixwell at 6:30 tonight at the Dixwell-Yale Community Center, 101 Ashmun St., to touch base with residents on how best to move forward.
New Haven is the first U.S. city to participate in this research study, which also is being conducted in China, India, England and Mexico.
Dixwell did better than other neighborhoods on some criteria, worse on others. No restaurants in Dixwell promote themselves as having healthful options, while it also lacked grocery stores; four out of its five stores were package stores.
Other community meetings being held: Fair Haven, March 3, NeighborWorks New Horizon, 311 Popular St.; West River, March 17, NeighborWorks New Horizon, 730 George St.; Hill-North, March 31, Wilson Library, 303 Washington Ave.; Newhallville, April 14, Stetson Library, 200 Dixwell Ave.; West Rock, April 28, West Rock Development Center, 260 Wilmot Road. All meetings are 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
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