Self-Help Enterprises has a long history of integrating healthy and sustainable building practices that support healthy living for program participants and an improved impact on the environment. Self-Help Enterprises’ rental housing communities have smart recreational design features built in. We understand the importance of providing eco-friendly playgrounds and ample green space for children to play and recreate as an essential component of a healthy and active lifestyle.
In addition to a green environment, the families’ safety is of the utmost importance. Some of the sustainable building practices for a healthy home include installing high efficiency exhaust fans and use of no- or low-VOC adhesives, paints and flooring materials, all of which provide healthy indoor air quality. Also, all new homes now include fire suppression sprinklers throughout the home and carbon monoxide alarms as well. Today, our universal design goals include wheelchair accessible hallway clearances, accessible switches and plugs, no-step entries, levers on all doors, and provides adaptability for handicapped modifications.
Beyond Self-Help Enterprises’ commitment to building safe, healthy homes, we work with integrated partnerships to promote healthy living and offer educational programs for residents and the community to lead a healthier life. Family Healthcare Network, a long-time partner of Self-Help Enterprises, built two clinics adjacent to our apartment rental communities in Cutler-Orosi in 2001 and near our rental apartment communities and new homes development in Goshen in 2012. These clinics improve access to health care for residents in these communities who may otherwise not have the transportation to obtain health care. We have also partnered with Kaweah Delta Health, Livingston Community Health, Dignity Health, United Health Centers, and CalViva Health to offer health education information ranging from ongoing diabetes support groups to health fairs that include blood pressure and blood sugar checks.
Self-Help Enterprises works together with community groups including Network Leaders on the Move, a collaborative group for the Dinuba Farmers Market that organized the city’s first farmers market and who also participates in the CalFresh, WIC and Senior Voucher programs allowing families to purchase fresh, organic fruits and vegetables at farmers markets. The Goshen Women’s Group, a grassroots women’s group in the community who meets at our Goshen Village I rental community, offers group bailoterapia classes and hosted a certified bailoterapia trainer from San Francisco’s “Vision y Compromiso” who provided free “Train the Trainer” classes on bailoterapia. The entire Goshen Women’s Group completed the week-long training and all are now certified bailoterapia instructors.
Our goal is to continue to build healthy homes and communities by bridging the gap of disparity, and Self-Help Enterprises works toward achieving this on a daily basis. Our service programs continue to be a real game changer for our families.
~ Roberto Garcia, Self-Help Enterprises Resident Services
During the summer months, FoodLink for Tulare County provides free, nutritious lunch to children of the community at our Goshen Village I community room. Residents at the Goshen Village II apartment rental community have participated in the “My Plate” nutrition classes that were held in the community room. The “My Plate” classes, which communicate health information based on the Dietary Guidelines, improves health and well-being by creating a healthy plate at meal times and making healthier food choices.
With Self-Help Enterprises’ efforts and a land donation from the Doe family of Goshen, the residents of Goshen welcomed the community’s first public park. The Peter Malloch Park features soccer fields, playgrounds, and a walking path on more than 9 acres. Access to the park increases recreational opportunities and physical activity for the residents of Goshen.
These coordination and facilitation of these combined efforts build wellness among our participants and create healthy communities.