Picture This: A Snapshot of Community Health

Youth from Pittsburg High School participated in Picture This!, a community-based photography project in conjunction with the Family, Maternal and Child Health Program as part of a community health assessment.

The youth received disposable cameras and were encouraged to take photographs of some of the pressing health issues they feel affect young people in their community. The project provided the youth with a venue, through group discussion of photographs, for promoting awareness and dialogue about important health issues. They discussed and wrote stories about the photos they took at the weekly, two-hour sessions.

Their photographs tell vivid stories of their lives and their concerns. Some strengths they identified were the city's public parks, and the teachers and after school programs at Pittsburg High School. Key concerns they spotlighted included overcrowding in classrooms and the physical deterioration of Pittsburgh High School, increasing urbanization of their community and the over-abundance of fast-food restaurants in East County.

For information contact Cheri Pies at 925-313-6254.

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