Walk for Health Trail

Walk for Health Trail Opens
The Walk for Health Trail is one of the most scenic fitness opportunities in Los Angeles. The trail – located in the Baldwin Hills - takes you on a one to three mile walk through a natural area with spectacular views. Colorful trail signs help you discover plants and animals along the way, and provide helpful pointers on health and exercise. Walking this trail is a big step towards a healthy lifestyle. Walking can help you lose weight, improve muscle tone and reduce stress. Walking can also reduce your risk of cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes, which are all on the rise nationwide.

After more than two years of collaboration between CCI, the County of Los Angeles, a blue-ribbon steering committee and the California Endowment, The Walk for Health Trail opened in Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area on Saturday, November 15, 2003. The L.A County Department of Parks and Recreation, L.A. Department of Health Services, Kaiser Permanente and CCI organized a Health and Fitness Fair to celebrate the trail opening. The event was a huge success.

Why a “Walk for Health Trail?" Click here to find out.

Latino and African-American Populations:
The Growing Health Crisis
The health disparities facing African-American and Latino communities have reached epidemic proportions:

• In LA County, African-Americans have the highest mortality rate from heart disease and are twice as likely to die from a stroke.
• Obesity is the second most preventable cause of death.
• The prevalence of diabetes is 70% higher in African-Americans.
• The prevalence of diabetes in Latinos is nearly double that of whites.
• The number of overweight children has doubled in past decades.

CCI convened a Steering Committee comprised of elected officials, state, county and city park staff, health service providers, and health advocacy groups to identify ways in which the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area could be used to address the serious health problems plaguing surrounding African-American and Latino communities. The “Walk for Health Trail” was identified as the highest priority park-based solution to reduce the health problems of at-risk communities.

The California Endowment
The California Endowment, established in 1996 as a private foundation, provided funding for the Walk for Health Trail. Its mission is to expand access to affordable, quality health care for under-served individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. For more information visit: www.calendow.org.

Parks for Health Steering Committee
CCI collaborated with a committee of key health services and parks leaders. This committee provided expertise and advice to develop strategies for reducing health disparities within the surrounding Baldwin Hills communities through park-based prevention and intervention opportunities

• Donna Andrews, President, Lee Andrews Group
• Cassandra Bailey, Director, Oasis Senior Center
• Karen Bass, Executive Director, Community Coalition
• Lori Bennett, Regional Recreation Director, County of Los Angeles, Department of Parks & Recreation
• Honorable Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, Los Angeles County Supervisor
• Sister Regina Clare, Vice President, Mission & Philosophy, Daniel Freeman/Tenet HS
• Sylvia Drew-Ivie, Executive Director, T.H.E. Clinic/County Health Commission
• Belinda Faustinos, Executive Director, Rivers and Mountains Conservancy
• Susana Fernandez-Jacomet, Vice President, Programs, American Lung Association – Los Angeles
• Timothy Gallagher, Director, Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation
• Jean Gilbert, Director – Public Affairs, Kaiser – West Los Angeles Medical Facility
• Dr. Eloisa Gonzalez, Director, Los Angeles County Physical Activity Program
  
• Rosalie Gotz, Director, Culver City Senior Center
  
• Honorable Carol Gross, Mayor, City of Culver City
• Lark Guilliam, Executive Director, Community Health Councils
• Loretta Jones, Executive Director, Healthy African-American Families
• Joyce Jones-Giunyard, Project Director, REACH 2010
• Dr. Francine Kaufman, Children’s Hospital, President, American Diabetes Assoc.
• Dr. Neal Kaufman, Commissioner, Los Angeles County Prop. 10 Commission
• Valerie Loduem, Director of African-American Programs, American Heart Association – Los Angeles
• Luis Mata, Director, MAHEC/REACH 2010
• David McNeill, Executive Director, Baldwin Hills Conservancy
• Honorable Kevin Murray, California State Senate
• Dr. Keith Norris, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science
• Jim Park, Assistant Director, Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation
  
• Honorable Mark Ridley-Thomas, Los Angeles City Councilmember
• Matt Robinson, Director, Inglewood Department of Parks and Recreation
• Don Rodgers, Culver City Parks Department
• Dr. David Sloane, USC School of Policy Planning and Development
• Winston Smith, Director, American Association of Retired Persons – Los Angeles
• Dr. Belinda Towns, Area Health Officer, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
• Steve Treanor, Chief Southern Division, State Department of Parks and Recreation
• Gwen Walden, Senior Program Officer, The California Endowment
• Honorable Herb Wesson, Speaker, California State Assembly
• Dr. Toni Yancey, UCLA School of Public Health
• Jan Yergan, Director of Business Development, Centinela Hospital/Tenet HS
  
  

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