The State We're In
The State We’re In is a podcast that explores themes related to health, health equity and community. In these episodes we’ll examine what it means to have fair and just opportunities to be healthy in our communities and share stories related to root causes of preventable death and disease: commercial tobacco use, lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating.
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Check out the latest episode:
EPISODE 11: Healthy Together Willmar: Stories from the Idea Fund
In this episode, we focus on the great work of Healthy Together Willmar, and their mission to help create a future where all members of the Willmar community have access to the resources and opportunities needed to achieve their best possible health.
In Willmar, achieving good health is met with considerable barriers, which are often experienced most by an increasingly diverse and aging population. To address some of these barriers, the Healthy Together Willmar initiative launched the Idea Fund, creating an opportunity for community members to submit ideas to affect change.
Now in its second round of funding, more than $264,000 was awarded to community groups in Willmar to offer support and solutions related to physical, mental and behavioral health, community connections, access to dental care, the availability of culturally based childcare and more.
Older episodes:
Episode 10: Sacred Tobacco, Culture is Prevention, Part 3
In these three episodes of the State We’re In, we dive deep into the history of commercial tobacco marketing tactics and the impact on the Native American community, especially in Minnesota. This series was inspired by our work with community partners and the TPT documentary, Reclaiming Sacred Tobacco.
Part 3: Healing Generations
This episode focuses on cultural traditions and the holistic view of health in the Lower Sioux community. We talk to Mat Pendleton, Lower Sioux Youth Recreation Director, Darin M. Prescott, CEO of the Lower Sioux Health Care Center and Kara Siegfried, Assistant Tribal Planner/Grant Writer for Lower Sioux.
Episode 9: Sacred Tobacco, Culture is Prevention, Part 2
In these three episodes of the State We’re In, we dive deep into the history of commercial tobacco marketing tactics and the impact on the Native American community, especially in Minnesota. This series was inspired by our work with community partners and the TPT documentary, Reclaiming Sacred Tobacco.
Part 2: Culture is Prevention
In this episode Sharon Day and Suzanne Nash from the Indigenous People’s Task Force talk about sacred tobacco traditions for Ojibwe people, and the impact that sharing these practices has on their families and community.
Episode 8: Sacred Tobacco, Culture is Prevention, Part 1
In these three episodes of the State We’re In, we dive deep into the history of commercial tobacco marketing tactics and the impact on the Native American community, especially in Minnesota. This series was inspired by our work with community partners and the TPT documentary, Reclaiming Sacred Tobacco.
Part 1: Commercial vs. Sacred
Chris Matter, Senior Program Manager at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and CoCo Villaluz, Senior Community Development Manager for ClearWay Minnesota cover some history.
Episode 7: Showing Up and Standing in Truth
In this episode we take a closer look at what we mean by “systemic inequities,” and talk with two people deeply engaged in this work in two large health institutions in Minnesota: Vayong Moua, Health Equity Director at Blue Cross, and Maria Sarabia, Racial and Health Equity Administrator at Ramsey County. They both serve on the Cultural and Ethnic Communities Leadership Council in the state of Minnesota’s Department of Human Services (DHS).
Episode 6: Independence and Interdependence
In the most recent episode of The State We’re In podcast, we talk with LaTricia Vetaw and Jill Chamberlai— two health equity professionals— about the roles of the community and individuals, access to healthy spaces and more.\
Episode 5: Changing the Narrative
Stories surround all of us, and the way they are told shapes how we make decisions in both conscious and unconscious ways. What influences the stories we see and hear? Whose voices are heard the most and who is being left out?
In this episode we examine these questions through the work of ThreeSixty Journalism, a nonprofit that uses principles of strong writing, reporting and media production to help diverse Minnesota youth tell the stories of their lives and communities.
For the second year in a row, during the summer of 2018, ThreeSixty and the Center for Prevention partnered together to conduct a one-week TV Broadcast Camp for high school students. The theme was health equity, with the goal of inspiring more active participation in creating more equitable, healthier communities. This work illustrates how changing the narrative, who is telling stories and how they are created, is an integral part of this goal.
Episode 4: Special Edition: Leading Change in Health Equity
Anika Ward, director of the Center for Prevention, has a conversation with her brother, Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, about his leadership in Saint Paul, and the City’s role in the health of its residents. They talk about bringing all voices to the table, especially those who have been excluded, to undo the policies and systems that have created the gaps we see in health, wealth, and education, and what it will take to create healthy and strong communities for generations to come.
Episode 3: Trauma and Repair
In this episode we’re focusing on Trauma and Repair: how trauma threatens health and well being for individuals and communities. It’s an important issue for us at the Center for Prevention, as it feeds into the health disparities we see in Minnesota. It’s not an exaggeration to say that unaddressed trauma generates lifelong consequences that can end in early death.
Episode 2: Belonging and Othering
The factors that play the greatest role in Minnesota’s heath inequities– race, income and ZIP code– reflect the policies, systems and environments in place that prevent people from taking care of themselves. Looking at these influences and creating solutions is critical to creating healthy, strong and thriving communities for generations to come.
Episode 1: Trends and Traditions
The factors that play the greatest role in Minnesota's heath inequities— race, income and ZIP code— reflect the policies, systems and environments in place that prevent people from taking care of themselves. Looking at these influences and creating solutions is critical to creating healthy, strong and thriving communities for generations to come.