Where health is a way of life

Re “Some healthful choices for an unhealthy place,” Oct. 4

I applaud your article illuminating how the work of places such as St. John’s Well Child and Family Center is transforming the health in our communities by placing prevention front and center.

This is crucial, with the significant increase in obesity and chronic conditions whose treatment contributes so much to healthcare costs.

But helping families cope with the shameful social conditions that put them at risk is not enough. We have to do a better job of creating living conditions in communities that make health and wellness possible. That means affordable housing, access to healthy foods and safe places in which to live, work and play.

Lisa Peterson

Berkeley