Author: Andrea Nasser, County of San Diego, Health and Human Services Agency

The Lemon Grove HEAL Zone, funded by Kaiser Permanente and convened by Community Health Improvement Partners, works to empower residents of Lemon Grove, CA to lead healthier lives by advocating for policy changes that lead to healthier environments, as well as promoting public health education.

This partnership has led to community transformations that positively impact the health and safety of residents living in the City of Lemon Grove allowing them to thrive.

A few of the transformations include:

• Engaged 1,000 residents of Lemon Grove (out of a population of 26,000) in HEAL Zone activities, including a Healthy Kids Day event last April.

• Installed exercise equipment in local parks, improving residents’ access to healthy living activities in safe environments.

• Activated local youth groups to assess conditions in local parks that led the city to replace lights, fix broken water fountains, and make other “quality of life” improvements—the youth groups even spearheaded the painting and cleaning of restrooms in these parks.

To see a full list of the community transformations, click here.

The partnership between Community Health Improvement Partners, the Lemon Grove HEAL Zone, the City of Lemon Grove and community residents shows how health and wellness can be improved when individuals and organizations work together.