Central Region

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Map of Central Region The Central Region in San Diego County is located on the San Diego Bay, and includes downtown San Diego and outlying urban communities, including North Park, College Area, Encanto, Paradise Hills, Barrio Logan, Hillcrest, Mission Hills, and University Heights. In 2013, 490,080 people resided in this densely populated region, representing 16% of the San Diego County population.

Population Characteristics

Residents of the Central Region are highly racially and ethnically diverse. In 2013, two out of every five residents was Hispanic, while one out of every ten was black and one out of every seven was Asian. Slightly more than half of all residents spoke English only; one-quarter were bilingual and about one out of six spoke Spanish only.

In the Central Region, almost one quarter of the population lives in poverty, which is about 60% more than the rate of the county overall. One out of every two households earned incomes less than $50,000, and about 7% earned incomes greater than $150,000.

Community Leadership Team

CRLT Meeting

Working Together to Improve Central Region Communities

Live Well San Diego regional leadership teams tie together the collective efforts of community groups in each region and provide a central point for planning and organizing collaborative action. The Live Well San Diego Central Region Community Leadership Team was formed in June 2010 to help guide planning for health and safety priorities in the region and to foster information sharing and connectivity among group members. This collaboration includes community leaders, stakeholders and residents who are actively working together in the HHSA Central Region to fulfill the vision of Live Well San Diego to create a region that is Building Better Health, Living Safely and Thriving.

To learn more about the Live Well San Diego vision, visit the About page.

Leadership Team Meetings

Pending partners are encouraged to attend to learn more about the Live Well San Diego vision. For more information about the Central Region's Community Leadership Team or to be included on the e-mail list, please contact HHSA.Communities@sdcounty.ca.gov.

Central Region Community Leadership Team Committees

Building Better Health
Improving the health of residents and supporting healthy choices.

Reduce chronic disease and health disparities through:
- A prevention approach
- Tobacco control
- Behavioral health
- Social justice
- Active living
Increase access to healthy food through school‐based and retailer‐based programs and interventions
Utilize existing health centers, County programs, and community‐based efforts to reach specialized populations and community members in need
Build residents’ knowledge of and capacity in supporting healthy living for families

Living Safely
Ensuring residents are protected from crime and abuse, neighborhoods are safe, and communities are resilient to disasters and emergencies.

Create more “safe passages” for the community, including Safe Routes to School and pedestrian infrastructure
Reduce gang involvement and prevalence
Strengthen the foster care system by:
- Reducing family separations, where possible
- Providing more support to foster families
Expand crime‐free housing initiatives and programs
Expand community collaboration in public safety programs
Reduce graffiti in the community

Thriving
Cultivating opportunities for all people and communities to grow, connect, and enjoy the highest quality of life

Increase community capacity for leadership and civic engagement in a range of priority areas including:
- Family strengthening and parenting
- Neighborhood development
- Youth development
- Community improvement and clean‐ups
- Cultural competence
- Volunteering
Utilize anchors and community facilities to engage residents including:
- Cultural institutions
- Education facilities
- Parks and recreation facilities and programs
Strengthen the connections between housing development and transit services
Expand career development opportunities for local residents with existing and future businesses
Focus on serving the needs of youth and families
Expand community involvement and promotion of the community’s diversity
Increase support for community members re‐entering society from incarceration

Community Health Improvement Plan

The Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) outlines an action plan to address several strategic focus areas that are based on community health and safety needs in the Central Region identified by the Community Health Assessment. The CHIP helps health officials and community members’ work together to set priorities, direct the use of resources, and develop and implement projects and programs to improve community health and wellness over the long term.

The CHIP is continually guided by the Central Region Community Leadership Team, a group of community leaders who help to support the plan.

Live Well San Diego Central Region Leadership Team Summit

On May 26, 2015, the County of San Diego hosted the Live Well San Diego Central Region Leadership Team Summit. The event brought together Live Well San Diego recognized partners, community organizations, and the public at large in the Central Region to strengthen existing partnerships and programs that support healthy, safe and thriving communities.

The CHIP is informed by the 3-4-50 Chronic Disease Briefs and the Community Health Assessment featured below.

3-4-50: Chronic Disease in North Central

3-4-50 are the three numbers that led to the inception of the Live Well San Diego vision and serve as the cornerstone of the Building Better Health strategy. Three behaviors contribute to four diseases that cause over 50 percent of deaths worldwide and 55% of deaths in San Diego County’s Central Region.

Community leaders have partnered with County representatives in the Central Region to better understand these trends and to begin planning for ways to change health behaviors, which in turn could help to prevent these chronic conditions.

3-4-50 Central Region Brief

Community Health Assessment (CHA)

A Community Health Assessment (CHA) is a collaborative process of collecting information to help educate and mobilize communities, develop priorities, secure resources and plan actions to improve a region’s health. The Community Health Assessment in Central Region set the framework for developing the Central Region Community Health Improvement Plan.