Solano County has been awarded a $3.69 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prevent chronic diseases, and $750,000 in federal grants to reduce domestic violence, officials announced Thursday.
Dr. Michael Stacey, Solano County’s deputy health officer and chief medical officer, described the CDC grant to Solano County Public Health as a three-year Partnership to Improve Community Health (PICH) award.
“We are extremely pleased to be selected from applicants nationwide for this highly competitive grant,” Stacey said.
“This money will support innovative efforts with our chronic disease prevention and tobacco education partners to increase access to healthy foods and beverages, increase tobacco and smoke-free environments and provide free Healthier Living workshops to the public,” he said.
“Public policies can profoundly improve health behaviors, environments, and thus the overall health of our community,” said Linda Seifert, chairperson of the Solano County Board of Supervisors and Benicia’s District 2 supervisor.
Stacey said Solano Public Health’s Partners for Healthy Solano project (P4HS) that will be underwritten by the grant will launch Tuesday. Much of the grant money will go to area partners, he said, such as community-based and nonprofit organizations, local businesses and schools that can join the county health department in working on policies and ways to improve residents’ health.
Robin Cox, health promotion and community wellness bureau chief and principal investigator for the county’s PICH grant, said that nationally, chronic diseases are blamed for seven of every 10 deaths, and for more than 80 percent of the $2.7 trillion spent nationally on medical care.
“Current spending on medical care is not sustainable,” Cox said. “The PICH grant provides an opportunity to mobilize our communities to create environments that support healthy choices.”
Cox described Solano County’s situation, saying, “Twenty-seven percent of all adults are obese, 9.8 percent are diabetic and 21.3 percent still smoke, compared to the state rate of 14 percent.
“Unless we as a community take decisive action to decrease these rates, for the first time in U.S. history the current generation of children may have a lower life expectancy than their parents,” Cox said. “We want our children to have a better quality of life and look forward to using these funds to create environments that support health and increase healthy options and choices.”
U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, the Napa Democrat who represents Benicia in the House, said, “These funds will make our community a healthier place to live, work, and raise a family. By reducing chronic illnesses and promoting healthy lifestyles we can lower the costs of health care spending and save lives.”
U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, the Democrat who represents other areas of Solano County that are not in Thompson’s district, said chronic illnesses lead to “deteriorating lifestyle outcomes and expenses that are passed to us all. The front line to combat these illnesses is through prevention and education.”
He continued, “I’m excited for Solano County in earning this important grant. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
In addition, $750,000 in federal grants have been awarded to the Solano County Office of Family Violence Protection, and will underwrite support programs that help keep safe the victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and child and elder abuse.
Carolyn Wold, Solano County’s family violence prevention officer, said domestic violence has become a major national topic since the National Football League, its fans and others have been reacting to the recent release of a video from the Revel Casino, Atlantic City, N.J., that shows Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee, Janay Palmer, in February, apparently knocking her unconscious.
The couple married March 28.
Rice, a running back, has been placed on indefinite suspension by the NFL and has been released by the Baltimore Ravens, which drafted him in the 2008 draft.
Both he and Palmer were arrested Feb. 15 and charged with assault. A grand jury indicted Rice on third-degree aggravated assault, but the charges were dropped when Rice agreed to enroll in court-supervised counseling.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell initially suspended Rice two games in a controversial decision, then extended the suspension indefinitely as the governing body re-examines its policies.
Nationally, about 5.3 million cases of domestic violence occur each year among American women 18 and older, causing 2 million injuries, Wold said.
“The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women has been incredibly supportive of our work to address domestic violence in Solano County over the past dozen years,” Wold said. “These recent awards will help us continue to provide critical services at the Solano Family Justice Center.”
In January, the Office of Family Violence Prevention received $65,000 from the Avon Foundation for women to start a victim empowerment program at the Solano Family Justice Center, Wold said.
A second award is a three-year grant for $300,000 that will support the Solano Family Justice Center in Fairfield.
Wold said the center houses a coalition of community and government agencies in one place, which Wold said makes it easier for victims to obtain needed services.
The third grant is a two-year, $450,000 grant from the federal Justice for Families program, Wold said.
That money will be used to expand the Safe Harbor for Kids supervised visitation program so it can accommodate supervised exchanges, she said.
These services, often ordered by the court, occur when a judge is concerned about victim and child safety, and parents are no longer together but share custody of children. “This program provides a safe, nurturing place where visits with noncustodial parents take place,” Wold said.
Safe Harbor for Kids operates by appointment after hours and on weekends at the Solano Family Justice Center.
The Solano County Office of Family Violence Prevention is the lead agency on the Family Justice Center Project and the Safe Harbor for Kids program, Wold said.
The office has secured partnerships with the community-based domestic violence shelter agency LIFT3 Support Group, Child Haven, Catholic Social Services, the Solano County Sheriff, Youth and Family Services, Children’s Nurturing Project, Solano Health and Social Services, Kaiser Permanente, North Bay Healthcare and service providers, she said.
Those interested in learning about the office’s services may call 707-784-7635 or visit www.solanocounty.com\stoptheviolence.
“I’m extremely excited to continue our relationship with the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women,” Wold said.
“Their support over the years has made a tremendous impact on our ability to provide critical services to victims and their children.”
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