03 Good Health and Well-Being – �鶹��Ƶ

Fostering understanding and support for evidence-based harm reduction strategies

Ada Inman — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:08:05 +0000

A group of interdisciplinary engineering students built on research conducted by public health graduate students to better understand barriers to implementing harm reduction initiatives in Monroe County. After surveying community policymakers and local law enforcement, they recommended comprehensive community education and awareness campaigns addressing mental health stigmas. [...]

Assessing environmental health in Monroe County

Ada Inman — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 20:57:20 +0000

Responding to community concerns around multiple cases of childhood leukemia in Monroe County, public health graduate students created a logic model to understand the problem and identify focus areas that are important to the community, including a general lack of environmental surveillance. The group recommends developing a system for risk assessment, using Wisconsin public data [...]

Expanding AODA treatment and intervention strategies in Monroe County

Ada Inman — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 20:28:06 +0000

Monroe County faces high rates of deaths related to opioid use. After studying the issue, a group of public health graduate students identified three interventions: mapping residential treatment centers throughout Wisconsin, adopting community-based strategies, and implementing school-based prevention programs. [...]

Promoting harm reduction responses for opioid use in Monroe County

Ada Inman — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 20:24:14 +0000

Monroe County’s 2023-26 Community Health Improvement Plan highlights a recent sharp increase in opioid-related overdoses. Public health graduate students proposed an evidence-based communication campaign to reduce stigma toward people who use drugs and support the implementation of proven harm reduction strategies that combine community assessment, relationship-building, and health care provider engagement. [...]

Restauración de servicios ecosistémicos en la Subcuenca Los Laureles, Tijuana, México

Ada Inman — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 17:04:07 +0000

The Tijuana River watershed originates in Mexico and flows into the Tijuana River Estuary, a protected coastal wetland in California where freshwater and saltwater converge, supporting unique biodiversity. This ecosystem is threatened by vegetation loss, pollution, sedimentation, and high levels of fecal bacteria at the river mouth, affecting both biodiversity and resilience. Around 250 families living in formal and informal settlements are directly impacted by this environmental degradation. Given its proximity and strong community ties, Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana plays a key role in addressing this issue. Water pollution in the basin is not only a local concern but a national and international one, as contaminated flows into the United States create a binational conflict. The proposed project focuses on four priority intervention areas to enhance climate resilience: water quality monitoring and wastewater mitigation through phytoremediation and health impact studies; soil erosion control through cleanup and revegetation of degraded green areas; community communication strategies to promote stewardship of green spaces; and evaluation of legal pathways to ensure the protection of human rights.

Bioadaptation Project for the Ecosystems of the Valle de las Palmas River Basin – Tijuana (community intervention)

Ada Inman — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 18:29:49 +0000

Teachers and students from FCITEC coordinated their courses around a project focused on community activity in Valle de las Palmas (municipality of Tecate, Baja California). This section of the project analyzes the legal, hydrological, resource management, and project administration aspects of construction waste management the Valle de las Palmas area, considering its impact on the local population and how to improve public health in the town.

Students and teachers from five educational programs participated on this project (Civil Engineering; Bioengineering; Software Engineering and Emerging Technologies; Industrial Engineering; and a Master’s in Public Health program). Field visits were conducted in the town and along the Valle de las Palmas stream, and in this first phase, community-based initiatives were implemented towards a public school.

The project is linked to an external organization called the Mexican Association for Recycling Construction and Demolition Waste (Asociación Mexicana de Reciclaje de Residuos de Construcción y Demolición A.C.) and aims to analyze local legislation and incorporate sustainable practices to reduce the environmental impact in the area.

On December 9th, a progress presentation was made before members of the community and local government, and work will continue during the 2026-1 semester (January-May).

Bioadaptation of ecosystems in the Valle de las Palmas-Tijuana river basin. Recycling of construction waste and glass

Ada Inman — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 18:28:05 +0000

Teachers and students from FCITEC coordinated their courses around a project involving the community of Valle de las Palmas (municipality of Tecate, Baja California). The project seeks to evaluate the use of materials recovered from construction waste and glass in order to promote sustainable construction practices and mitigate the community’s vulnerability to soil, aquifer, and air pollution, as well as the risk of flooding inherent in the extraction of natural resources in the Valle de las Palmas area.
Students and professors from five courses in the Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering programs participated. Field visits were conducted in the town of Valle de las Palmas, and in this first phase, actions were implemented at a local school.
The project is linked to an external entity called the Border Environmental Education Project (Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación Ambiental, A.C) and aims to incorporate sustainable practices that reduce environmental impact and promote the use of materials derived from construction waste in the area.

On December 9th, a progress presentation was made before members of the community and local government, and works will continue during the 2026-1 semester (January-May).

Badilisha Digital Resource Centers: School-Community Affiliate Hubs for Resilience

Ada Inman — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 18:21:52 +0000

The Vision:

The Badilisha Digital Resource Centers (DRC) project is a school-community affiliate initiative that transforms educational institutions into hubs for regional digital resilience. By leveraging professional-grade telecommunications infrastructure, we create a “Digital Commons” where university innovation directly fuels community economic growth.

Partners & University Assets:

Building on my foundation as an alumnus of Uganda Christian University, we collaborate with local institutions such as the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University and Dar Salaam University in Tanzania(IYF Partnered in April 2025). We utilize university assets—specifically ICT faculty and student researchers—to provide technical oversight and data-driven management for our community networks. This academic rigor is reinforced by my professional background as a Telecom Engineer for Safaricom and Zuku, ensuring all installations meet industrial standards.

Community Need & Proven Impact:

Many youth-led enterprises in our region struggle with the “last mile” of digital access. We have already addressed this by successfully installing managed internet services at Green Palm Secondary School and St. Claret Primary School. These sites serve as real-world proof that school-based digital hubs can effectively provide the connectivity required for local business incubation and student success.

Work Plan & Reinvestment Model:

During this partnership, we will:

Deploy Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) Access Point Repeaters to extend university connectivity into surrounding neighborhoods.
Implement a Social Revenue-Sharing Model where a percentage of service fees is reinvested into the hub for long-term maintenance and student innovation stipends.
Develop our 3.5-acre flagship site in Utange into a regional center for digital business continuity and an international franchise training ground.

The National City Earthquake Safety & Outreach Initiative

Ada Inman — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:41:12 +0000

This report contains a series of policy proposals developed by San Diego State University (SDSU) students, in collaboration with National City officials and the SDSU Sage Project, to increase the use of existing earthquake preparedness resources among National City residents. The primary focus of student research was the California Earthquake Brace + Bolt program and encouraging homeowners to engage in seismic retrofitting. Additionally, students developed policy recommendations aimed at increasing general earthquake safety, awareness, and education. Being located in Southern California, earthquake preparedness
is a topic the SDSU community is very familiar with and many students were able to use this as an opportunity to draw upon prior knowledge in their research.
Students worked to create policy suggestions specific to National City, based on methods proven effective in similar municipalities, by researching how the area’s demographics may impact the use of community resources. National City is a heavily Hispanic city, with a large population that does not speak English as a first language. As such, many of the policies in this report focus on bridging that gap in communication and establishing trust between community members and those with access to earthquake preparedness resources. Another major trend among policies developed by students was a focus on finding creative ways to lower the economic burden on residents interested in seismic retrofitting. This led to the creation of several innovative proposals focused on helping residents pay for seismic retrofitting, primarily where other government programs would not suffice. These policies may be more difficult to implement than direct outreach, but they represent an alternate approach the city could take to encourage seismic retrofitting.
The policies presented in this report were chosen for their adaptability as part of a larger earthquake awareness initiative, as well as their ability to function independently. As stressed by National City officials, the city budget does not have any extra funding for extensive earthquake preparedness programs. The purpose behind choosing policies which can operate independently is to work around these constraints and offer solutions that may be more budget-friendly. These policies are categorized based upon the type of actor affected: resident, government group, or external organization.

On the Ground: An Applied Anthropology Study of Community Perspectives on Equitable and Sustainable Mobility in National City

Ada Inman — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:21:06 +0000

This report presents the findings of an applied anthropology partnership between students in Anthropology 531: Methods in Applied Anthropology at San Diego State University and the City of National City, conducted through the SDSU Sage Project. The class sought to answer the question:
“According to community members, what are the obstacles to sustainable mobility in National City, and what solutions could help expand its use?”
Through walking ethnographies, interviews, and community engagement in all four city districts, students documented both infrastructural and cultural barriers to sustainable mobility. The key findings include: access and equity gaps in transit coverage and usability; safety and infrastructure concerns across pedestrian, cycling, and transit systems; limited public awareness and trust in existing city initiatives; and persistent car dependency shaped by social and practical considerations.
Residents of National City are very involved with and consistently expressed their commitment to community improvement, paired with frustration over issues such as poor lighting, unsafe crossings, unreliable buses, and lack of awareness about available services like the FRANC shuttle.
Quotations from District 2 such as “Driving is just shorter” and “I’d rather drive than wait in the sun for a bus that might not come” capture the lived realities shaping transportation choices.
The recommendations offered in this report—expanding FRANC coverage, improving pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, enhancing safety and awareness, and prioritizing equity and accessibility—represent practical, community-grounded steps toward a more inclusive and sustainable mobility future for National City.