Stockton, CA Advocating for healthier communities through the lens and voices of youth

I see a big crack! DANGER! This makes it hard for kids to be active. This affects young kids because they are not active as they could be. This challenges community members because they feel this is not safe for kids to ride their bikes, skateboards or scooters. We can try to add concrete or try to smooth it out; make it even. This makes me feel scared for younger kids. Jazmine, Age 17, Stockton, CA In this picture I see a lot of junk food and no healthy food whatsoever! One can also see more junk food in the background. This picture makes it a challenge for everyone to eat healthy. This is very challenging to our community because there are corner stores everywhere and teens go after school or during lunch for a snack. We can try to put less junk food and more healthy food. This picture makes me want to buy some cookies and forget about a fruit or salad. I see some yummy fruits and veggies yet I see the organization is bad. I don’t think Clorox next to food makes the fruit appetizing. This does makes us want to eat fruit. This has a positive impact to us because it’s a healthy choice. This is somewhat a positive impact but it could improve if the boxes of Clorox were moved somewhere else. We can start by reorganizing everything and putting MORE fruit in the store. I don’t think I would buy fruit there because of the set up. Advocating for healthier communities through the lens and voices of youth

In this photo you can see tagging. It makes being active hard. It makes the playground look unsafe. It’s a challenge because of the tagging parents may not want to let small children play in the park. We can try to stop it. We can work with the police to stop it. The playground is nice, but the tagging has got to go. Carmen, Age 16, Stockton, CA In this photo you see rows of very unhealthy snacks. (candy, sodas, chips) This photo shows unhealthy snacks, which is a big challenge because there are a lot. It affects us because its harder to get healthy snacks. It’s a challenge because you can find unhealthy snacks everywhere. We should make a blow up poster showing how many calories are in each one of the snacks. It makes me want to buy one of them, even though I know better. In this picture It shows healthy choices. Yes, its healthy and good. Fruit makes us healthy. It is a challenge because there aren’t many stores that offer fresh fruit. MAKE MORE FRUIT AVAILABLE. It think it’s a great photo. It’s a good thing if fruit were actually available. Good quality fresh fruit makes people want to eat it. Advocating for healthier communities through the lens and voices of youth

I see a hazard. There are cars parked on the sidewalk. This is a challenge to being healthy and active. This affects my life because it is annoying when I see cars and I cant even pass through with my bike. People do not obey the laws because you cannot park your car on the sidewalk. We can report them to the police officers. I feel bad because they don’t allow others to walk by safely. Jacqueline, Age 16, Stockton, CA I see an old, rusty, and unsanitary water faucet. It is a challenge because we cant drink water at the park when we are thirsty. This affects my life because I am always playing in the park and I am always thirsty. The park maintenance staff are not taking proper care of our parks. We can petition to get a new water fountain. I feel disgusted because there must be a lot of parasites and diseases on this fountain. I see graffiti on many of our park tables. The tagging gives a negative effect to the park. I would not want to play in this park. This challenge exists because of gang members. We can report taggers to the police. I feel angry that people tag on our beautiful equipment and they make it ugly. Advocating for healthier communities through the lens and voices of youth

In this picture it shows a good example to start good eating habits with children. This baby is happy and satisfied with her cucumber. More children should have the opportunity to eat fresh fruit and vegetables each day. In my community that is not always possible, because stores stock more junk food than healthy food. Samantha, Age 16, Stockton, CA I see cars parked on the sidewalk and a lot trash on the street and sidewalk. This picture makes the street look bad and abusive and violent. This affects my life but not as much as it affects others. It makes the streets look bad. This challenge exists in my community because it makes everyone who lives near not want to go out and be active. We can clean it up and tell residents to move the cars off the sidewalks. I feel enclosed and angry. In this photo I see a what was once a perfectly good bench and table ruined by people tagging and vandalizing them. This picture shows that there are people who want to vandalize and ruin the community and it scares children. This makes people not want to go to the park. It’s a challenge because it gives off bad vibes to visitors. We can clean it up and keep or park safe and clean. This angers me. Advocating for healthier communities through the lens and voices of youth

I see graffiti on the handball court. It makes it feel like an unsafe gang related area. There are a lot of gangs and tagging that make going outside to exercise unsafe. Kids and adults don’t have anything else to do. We should have more things to do for young people so they don’t get caught up in bad influences I feel threaten and unsafe. Yarixa, Age 15, Stockton, CA I see a dog running loose. It makes being active hard. It affects my life because I or somebody in my life could be chased or bitten by a dog. Dog owners should have responsibility for their dogs. Help keep dogs home and safe. I feel bad for the dogs and for the people scared of them. I see a lot of advertisement for unhealthy drinks. It makes you want to drink unhealthy drinks, even though you know they are not good for you. We are surrounded by it and want to drink it sometimes. Sometimes unhealthy drinks are more affordable than healthy drinks. Reduce unhealthy drinks or at least advertise less of them. This makes me feel angry and taken advantage of. Advocating for healthier communities through the lens and voices of youth

Edelmira, Age 17, Stockton, CA Advocating for healthier communities through the lens and voices of youth This fast food place is an example of the many other places there is available around this neighborhood. We try to prevent obesity by informing everyone how eating fast food on a daily basis can affect your health drastically. Many families are in such rush that they decide to go there for dinner, and we can change this by having more fruit and vegetables at home and in close by markets For this picture we have a playground in great condition that is locked and fenced. If children would like to go there they can’t they would have to go find another playground or park that is farther away from where they live, This can be a problem because instead of the families walking to the park they have to drive a far distance, but this can become an obstacle for some families or children. This side walk is not only wide, but should keep pedestrians from walking into the street where they can put themselves into danger. This waste is in the way causing people to around it, or they might even trip over it. As part of this community I would recommend that we all work together to prevent this waste from getting to all the side walks. We can report this or take turns in cleaning this unsafe areas. We need to start now and work all together as one to set an example for the community.