San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg will be a special guest at a town hall on October 30 that will feature presentations and a panel discussion about two programs being underwritten by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: The Culture of Health Prize and the San Antonio LGBTQ Resiliency Study.
This year, San Antonio received its second Culture of Health Prize which is awarded annually and “honors and elevates American communities making strides in their journey toward better health.”
A profile of San Antonio on the RWJF website offers insight on the city’s efforts to initiate a “health renaissance” for its citizens:
Over the last 20 years, the community has made a strong commitment to sustainable change, with groups rallying around such challenges as reducing food insecurity; lowering teen pregnancy; improving mental health services; and facing the intertwined problems of homelessness, substance abuse and incarceration. The work extends to changing policies and entire systems in order to create the conditions for healthful living for the next generation of San Antonians.
Complimenting the city’s Culture of Health award is the San Antonio LGBTQ Resiliency Study. Over the course of the next three years, a San Antonio team, led by Dr. Amy Stone, Dr. Phillip Schnarrs and Robert Salcido, is working on a research project with the theme, “Building a Stronger Community: Resilience Among LGBTQ+ People in South Texas.”
The Strengthening Colors of Pride research team: Robert Salcido, Phillip Schnarrs and Amy Stone. (Video capture via KSAT)
This summer, the team, who has named its project San Antonio Strengthening Colors of Pride, distributed a short online questionnaire throughout the city’s LGBTQ community and chose 82 individuals for face-to-face interviews.
Dr. Stone told Out In SA that the interviewees, who were of diverse ethnic backgrounds and gender identities, answered questions about their families, faith, health, employment, relationships and the life challenges they face which require them to remain strong and resilient.
Next spring, the team will conduct a larger community-wide survey in which they plan to reach out to 1000 people from San Antonio’s LGBTQ community.
The town hall will feature opening remarks by Mayor Nirenberg, a presentation about the Culture of Health Prize, and a progress report on the Resiliency Study.
The program will be followed by a panel discussion with Kimberly Berry from the Rape Crisis Center, Naomi Brown from Pride Center San Antonio, Greg Casillas from the Thrive Youth Center, and Jamie Zapata of Coldwell Banker D’Ann Harper Realtors.
LGBTQ+ Resiliency Town Hall & Discussion, hosted by San Antonio Strengthening Colors of Pride and Pride Center San Antonio, Tuesday, October 30 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Carver Branch Library, 3350 E. Commerce.
