LiveWell Westwood
The mission of LiveWell Westwood is:
"building relationships in our community to identify strengths and challenges focusing on healthy eating and active living. Our coalition’s mission is to implement a plan that offers accessible, affordable, and safe options to improve health for all who live, work, or play in Westwood."
Health is determined largely by the place we live. Our strategic plan focuses on creating a neighborhood that supports, through community organizing, increasing neighborhood walkability, growing vegetable gardens at schools, churches, and homes, promoting healthy food access by attracting stores that sell fruits and vegetables, organizing sports leagues and exercise programs, and public health education.
Click here to view photos of our work.
PARKS
Thanks to support from Councilman Paul Lopez, Denver Parks and Recreation and the Trust for Public Land have succeeded in purchasing a plot of land in Westwood to be built into a community park. This will be the only public park within a mile of Westwood! Read about it here, here, here, and here!
CHILDHOOD PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
LiveWell Westwood's Walk to School Program, Mustangs on the Move, in partnership with Freiker, is featured on television, on Channel 4. Click here.
HEALTHY FOOD ACCESS
LiveWell Westwood and Revision International's Kepner Middle School Garden, in partnership with Kepner Middle School, is featured in The Denver Post. Click here.
EDUCATION
LiveWell Westwood's newsletter, "Mi Barrio, Mi Salud/ My Neighborhood, My Health" has health information and neighborhood updates, and an event calendar.
Read the October issue.
Read the September issue.
Read the August issue.
About LiveWell Colorado
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, poor nutrition and lack of physical activity are the second leading preventable causes of death in the U.S. and Colorado. A large portion of the population in Colorado is at risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension and asthma due to sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy eating. LiveWell Colorado is a statewide initiative aimed at reducing overweight and obesity rates and related chronic diseases in Colorado. Sponsored by The Colorado Health Foundation, CDPHE and Kaiser Permanente, LiveWell Colorado works with communities to promote healthy eating and active living through policies, programs and environmental changes.
LiveWell Westwood is in its first year of implementation. Our coalition includes community members, government officials, and local non-profits – every one interested in participating. Our goal is to increase physical activity and healthy eating for Westwood, a neighborhood in southwest Denver at high risk for chronic disease. In our first year, we conducted a needs assessment and formulated a strategic plan. In years 2-7, LiveWell Colorado has committed additional funds for us to implement our strategies that will help combat chronic diseases by creating policies and built environments that support healthy lifestyles.
Our community has identified the following priorities for increasing healthy eating and active living:
Active Living:
1. Calming traffic
2. Reducing graffiti
3. Increasing street lights
4. Improving walkways and bike paths
5. Creating sports leagues and exercise classes for adults and children
Healthy Eating:
1. Community gardens and farmer's markets
2. Affordable fresh fruit and vegetable stores
3. Mobile food truck
4. Cooking and nutrition education
About Westwood
Sixteen thousand people live in Westwood, a Denver neighborhood bordered by Alameda to the north, Sheridan to the west, Federal to the east, and Mississippi to the south. Our community is 76% Latino, 17% Caucasian, 3.4% Asian, 1.4% Native American, and 1.2% African-American, and over 35% of our residents are foreign-born (primarily in Mexico).
Despite the obstacles Westwood experiences, we have hope and have great opportunities. A tight knit community exists in Westwood, shown through the high parental and staff involvement at schools and churches. Westwood offers many opportunities for its diverse population.
As the first phase of the LiveWell Westwood project, we conducted a needs assessment. We have found that much of our population has low education levels. 56% of residents age 25 and older do not have a G.E.D. or high school diploma, and more than 25% of residents do not speak English. Only 7% of residents have a college diploma.
We also have high rates of poverty. 31% of children are in poverty, 87.5% of DPS students qualify for free/ reduced lunch, and we have an 8% unemployment rate (compared to 5.6% in Denver). Our median household income is $17,000 lower than the Denver average, and in 2007 our community had the third highest rate of foreclosures in the entire nation.
Finally, safety concerns plague our community. We are facing increasing gang violence, and Denver has named our community a “graffiti hot spot” due to the growing problem. Our sidewalks are narrow, impeding active lifestyles. Few stores in our community sell fresh vegetables.
Looking towards the future, nearly 1/3 of our population is under the age of 18, offering the possibility of forming healthy habits that will last a lifetime.
View a 
MAP of the Westwood neighborhood
Read the 
September newsletter of "My Neighborhood, My Health"
See the September Calendar of Healthy Events in Westwood.