Our Stories

LHCC is funding more green space for people all over the state, which not only helps people be healthier, but brings them together! 

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, which is why the American Cancer Society staged the “Great American Smokeout” on Nov. 2. So how fitting is it that we are highlighting the Rapides Parish School system and Haynesville for their efforts to reduce smoking too!

Central Louisiana is really showing the way for towns and cities all over the state to be healthier and, boy, is LHCC proud to be a part of these efforts with our mini-grants! Health experts and elected officials often operate on different tracks when it comes to solving problems. However, research shows that when people and communities look at a problem in a more holistic way – meaning understanding that things are interconnected and that it’s better to look and treat something as a whole – we can come up with a real and lasting “fix.”

Want to learn how a little seed money goes a long way? At the Oberlin Farmers Market in Central Louisiana’s Allen Parish, LHCC mini-grants are helping more customers shop there, which helps people eat healthier, while also giving area customers, farmers and ranchers an economic boost. That’s a true win-win.

I don’t think I’m going out on a limb here to say that most of us would like to be “Fit, Fun & Fabulous!” And that’s exactly what St. Mary Parish is striving for, in part thanks to a LHCC mini-grant that helped fund its “Healthy St. Mary Parish” event at Centerville High this summer.

Money talks. And guess what? The effects of our LHCC mini-grants are starting to be seen, heard and felt! You’ve seen how LHCC resources have helped in Southwest Louisiana. (And if you haven’t, read more on our website, some of our previous blogs and our social media posts about the Complete Streets effort in Lake Charles.) Now watch over the coming weeks to learn more about what our mini-grants are doing!

It’s not often that Louisiana gets recognized for doing anything healthy (which is a prime reason why LHCC exists), but thanks to Complete Streets in Southwest Louisiana, we are! Hopefully, you read about the Complete Streets effort earlier in this blog. (And if you haven’t, please go back and do it.) Thanks to the highly successful efforts of a whole group of partners, including LHCC, which contributed people, time and money in the effort, Southwest Louisiana passed a Complete Streets ordinance in an unanimous vote.

Most smokers wish they’d never started. Just about everybody who is overweight wants to take off a few pounds. So why can’t more of us do that?