A blueprint for health and safety. (Health Care Industry Spotlight).

When United Way of Greater Los Angeles investigated the most significant trends affecting the quality of life in the San Fernando Valley, the health and safety of at-risk residents was a key challenge requiring innovative solutions.

As a result, Building Healthy Communities is a primary component of United Way's Community Agenda, a strategic plan for addressing and impacting the most pressing issues facing Los Angeles County's working poor. Building Healthy Communities represents a commitment to providing uninsured and at-risk families with affordable and accessible healthcare and to enhancing overall community safety.

United Way first identified the need for increased community investment in the health status of L.A.'s working poor population in its 1999 social report, A Tale of Two Cities: Promise and Peril in Los Angeles County. This unique report revealed that approximately 28% of the county had no health insurance. In the San Fernando Valley that impact translated to 352,000 adults and 87,000 children lacking insurance, with employment at jobs that offer no health benefits being a key reason for non-coverage.

Building Healthy Communities helps meet these pressing health needs by strategically funding services like VNA Care, an agency providing home health, nursing and therapy to patients, regardless of their ability to pay. Located in Glendale, but reaching throughout the San Fernando Valley, VNA Care provides at-home care for 2,499 people. In Van Nuys, the United Way funds PTSA -31st District, which supports pediatric health services for 1,042 children and dental care for 807 children.

Various forms of abuse also play a measurable role in the health and safety of San Fernando Valley residents, with over 14,900 domestic violence calls reported by police last year and nearly 7,500 reports of child abuse for children in foster care. Substance abuse is also a concern, with 129,316 cases of illicit substance abuse in the past year in residents over the age of 12.

Through partnerships with agencies like Haven Hills in Canoga Park, which provides emergency transitional services for adult and child victims of domestic violence, United Way is helping create safe havens for 4,167 of the agency's clients. By providing services for 672 people facing issues associated with substance abuse, the United Way funded Verdugo Mental Health Center in Glendale helps people regain control of their lives and make fresh starts.

United Way's Building Healthy Communities works because it focuses resources on the most important issues surrounding the health and safety of the working poor and all San Fernando Valley residents. United Way services in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys provided help to a total of 659,629 people in 2000, thanks in part to the generous donations of individuals contributing through workplace fundraising appeals, which last year raised over $66 million.

For more information on the United Way. visit www.unitedwayla.org. To support United Way through a workplace campaign or a personal gift, contact John Dakin, VP Resource Development, at [phone]