Healthier Lake Worth launched in July of 2017 with a plan to tackle the root causes of behavioral health issues facing the residents of Lake Worth. In addition to strengthening resident connection to traditional health services and resources, Healthier Lake Worth planned to address neighborhood safety and strengthen race equity within the community. Now, a year into the initiative, Healthier Lake Worth has established a plan to “untrash” the streets of Lake Worth; members of the initiative have organized a movement to pick up the trash that litters Lake Worth streets, and to begin a campaign that will engage residents in taking better care of their neighborhood.

So, what does picking up trash have to do with behavioral health? “Trash in the streets is a visible and basic measure of a neighborhoods health,” explains John Burns, Healthier Lake Worth member. “The trash may be symptomatic of larger ills but it’s an obvious place to start when trying to improve things.” In fact, a person’s health outcomes largely relate to the environment they live in – even more so than their genetic predispositions/family history. In a neighborhood covered in trash, residents don’t have access to safe, clean areas for recreational activities like walking, biking or playing, and their health, both mental and physical, suffers as a result.