Place Matters is a national initiative of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Health Policy Institute (HPI) designed to improve the health of participating communities by addressing social conditions that lead to poor health.

The Mississippi counties of Sharkey and Issaquena are served by the South Delta Place Matters team. The South Delta team is constituted by the Sharkey Issaquena Health Network (SIHN), an organization which brings together the healthcare and health related agencies of the South Delta. Besides the HPI, we count as partners the Mississippi State Department of Health, the Southeast Regional Affiliate of the American Heart Association, the South Delta School District, and a growing group of local leaders concerned about the health of their community.

Mississippi is known for friendly people, a rich culture, great tasting food, and a slow pace of life. It also leads the nation in obesity and in diabetes mellitus. The Delta, the poorest area of  the nation’s poorest state, is everything Mississippi is but more so. It is the birthplace of the Blues, the home of some of the friendliest people you will ever meet, and the home of one of the highest concentrations of chronic illness in the country.

Our health problems start early. Almost 9% of 3-4 year olds enrolled in Headstart in our counties are already obese. Obese children are at risk for developing diabetes and high blood pressure—problems that are already far too common here. Those conditions lead to higher risk for heart attacks and stroke, which costs our community not only healthcare dollars, but also many productive years of our young men and women.

The South Delta Place Matters Team has identified several excellent programs developed by the National Institutes of Health, the USDA, the American Heart Association and others to help families and community groups help children form healthy habits to reverse this trend. We are seeking out community and faith group leaders, and arming them with knowledge of this epidemic, and tools to combat it. But while national experts agree that lifestyles need to change, they also agree that we need to better understand what is at the root of our unhealthy lifestyles and how to influence change. And we need to hear from the unique people of the Mississippi Delta to better understand what is behind our lifestyles here, and how we can practice healthier habits while celebrating the rich culture of this fertile land.

So we are convening forums—to share what is known from research elsewhere, to help spread the word about the problem, but also to listen. We are talking to children, and to parents—to help them understand what healthy lifestyles are, but also to learn what the barriers are to healthy living. We will be meeting with business people, to help them find ways to make healthier food available here. They will hear from the growing number of citizens who care about their health and will want to purchase those products. We will be meeting with local government leaders, to talk about ways to provide better opportunities for exercise. And we will be working with the local and regional organizations that are making long term plans for this area, to make sure that the health of the people here is included prominently in those plans.