Healthy Communities

Our Healthy Communities Prevention Coordinator, ECEAP Coordinator, Health & Nutrition Program Coordinator and Affordable Housing Coordinator, and Division Manager develop, implement and oversee community-based programs and services aimed at utilizing policy, systems and environmental approaches to improved health. Healthy Communities will also lead county-wide community health assessment work to more fully understand and evaluate the needs of the community, and to ensure we have programs and services that allow our community to flourish and thrive.  

Our programs include:

Community Health Assessment

We have launched our Community Health Survey! This survey should take 8 to 10 minutes to complete and is 42 questions long. Your answers will help paint the overall picture of wellness in San Juan County by answer questions about quality of life and health in our community. The survey will be open until November 2023 and is available online. There will be a Spanish version of the survey available soon. To learn more about the county-wide survey and access it online, please go to our Community Health Assessment Engage webpage. If you are having trouble accessing the survey online, please call the HCS front office at 360-378-4474 to ask for assistance in taking the survey in another format. 

Oral Health Initiatives

We provide county-wide coordination of oral health programs including the Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (ABCD), Mobile Dental Van Oral Health Access Project, and School Based Sealants to address unmet oral health needs.

Nutrition and Healthy Food Access Initiatives

Helping low-income clients afford more fruits and vegetables and locally grown and produced foods by connecting them to Market Match, Fresh Bucks on Orcas and San Juan, Veggie Rx, and the Island Grown Food Access Card Program – still enrolling applicants click here Version OptionsHealthy CommunitiesHeadline to apply. Food Access Program Flyer (English)  / Food Access Program Flyer (Spanish) 

Working with local food banks on farm to food pantry efforts, gleaning projects, and weekend meals/ summer nutrition programs to support school age children Partnering with Nourish to Flourish: Coalition to End Hunger on San Juan Island and countywide partners to ensure equitable access to nutritious healthy food.

Seed to Sprout is back! Preschool age children and their families are invited to this hands-on learning opportunity. Have some fun in the sun and learn about vegetable gardening! On San Juan Island Preschool aged children and parents can join the summer ‘Seed to Sprout’ free Early Learning Garden activities on the second and forth Wednesdays of the month from 10 to 11 a.m. (Jul. 12 and 26, Aug. 9 and 23, Sept. 13 and 27). The program is located at the San Juan Island Slow Food Land and Sea Garden, between Blair Ave and 2nd St Ave. Pre-registration not required and drop-ins are welcome! On Orcas, Seed to Sprout is Aug. 16 and Sept. 20 with the Orcas Community Participatory Agriculture Program (OCPA) at Turtleback Farm from 4 to 5 p.m.. Participants are encouraged to enroll at Seed to Sprout - 2023 Enrollment form/Formulario de inscripción para Semilla al Florecer - 2023.

Community Wellness & Resilience Initiatives

Hosting Tour de Family Community Bike Rides.

Community conversations to build awareness of Adverse Childhood Experiences and fostering resilience.

Complete Streets Policy Work to create safe multimodal corridors that allow the community to use active transportation to get to school, work, and play.

Early Learning & ECEAP

Early Childhood Education and Assistance Preschool Programs (ECEAP) on Orcas and Lopez Islands serve children and their families. Additional services through ECEAP include nutrition and health education, family support services, health screenings, and assisting preschools and families in kindergarten readiness.

The Mobility Mentoring Program is also offered to ECEAP families to assist families in setting targeted economic and parenting goals, which has demonstrated improved child and family outcomes!
San Juan County Early Learning Coalition, a member of the regional North West Early Learning Coalition, strives to make excellence in early learning achievable and sustainable for every child in San Juan County.

Prevention

Our Prevention team promotes youth mental health, reduced delinquency, & improved school performance with a priority placed on preventing and reducing youth use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, prescription drugs & other drugs.

We participate in and lead county-wide prevention coalition efforts, in collaboration with our schools, law enforcement to build protective factors and resilience in our youth.

We have strong and committed youth who are leading the way to bright and healthy futures!

Housing

A wide variety of affordable housing programs are managed by H&CS include rental subsidies, first time home buyer down payment assistance and Equity Loan Program, affordable housing construction and rehabilitation grants include Community Development Block Grants oversight, oversight of the County’s Five-Year Homeless Plan, and more.