Community Health in Our City
Hi neighbors,
This is Laura Sánchez-Parkinson, your Ward 3 City Councilor, representing parts of the Old North End and Downtown.
As a former director of a nonprofit organization supporting the mental health of young people of color, I approach safety through a health equity perspective. This is not always simple, but it allows us to put people first and think about root causes, while addressing immediate implications for our community.
Last month, as the chair of the Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging City Council committee, I facilitated a series of community health and safety discussions. We heard from local and national experts, service providers and health practitioners, and those with lived experiences. Across our three meetings, we engaged over 50 community members and my hope was to offer a space of curiosity and learning for city councilors as we make decisions impacting our community.
For those interested in this area of work, I’d like to offer an overview of how the city approaches community health:
Across our city, we have a number of departments that touch on our community’s health including parks and rec, city planning, and water resources. William Ward, Director of Permitting & Inspections is our official Town Health Officer. He regulates public health hazards and building inspections. Director Ward is also the lead staff for our City’s Board of Health, a five member advisory group. The Board of Health aims “to educate the citizens of Burlington and to promote, improve and protect their health and well-being.” You can learn more, attend a meeting, and consider applying (next year there will be at least one opening): https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/537/Board-of-Health
In addition, the City also funds critical local social services such as the Howard Center Street Outreach Team, Turning Point Center, and Steps to End Domestic Violence.
Cities across Vermont don’t have their own municipal health departments, instead, we work with the State’s Department of Health, including the Office of Health Equity, who sometimes fund municipal programs and services such as Vermont CARES. These state initiatives are critical and my hope is that we can continue to strengthen state-city health related partnerships.
This week, I was pleased to see the launch of a new city webpage on community safety and health. The framework offers three core areas:
– Immediate Safety & Emergency Response (e.g. EMS and Fire)
– Connecting People to Support & Fair Accountability (e.g. Overdose Prevention Center)
– Advancing Regional & State Solutions (e.g. legislative advocacy and coalition building across municipalities)
Visit the webpage to learn more: https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/871/Community-Safety
Through these efforts in the last few months, I identified one clear opportunity: making it easier for City staff and elected officials to draw on our local expertise from UVM and UVM Medical Center when developing programs and policies.
We already have examples to build on. Burlington’s Fire Department is partnering with UVM Medical Center’s new Street Medicine initiative to bring medical care and connections to services directly to people where they are, with the goal of reducing reliance on the emergency department. UVM faculty are also serving in our Board of Health and have offered consultation on the Overdose Prevention Center discussions.
I want to give a shout out to Dr. Alan Rubin, a Ward 3 resident. With his partnership, we’ve begun discussions with UVM leaders about creating clearer pathways for collaboration. Burlington is home to a major hospital, a medical school, and a wide range of health expertise and we have the opportunity to strengthen those connections.
As always, I welcome your questions, ideas, and feedback.
Laura Sánchez-Parkinson, Ward 3 City Councilor
IG: @sanchezparkinson_btv
