DR. KANIKA TOMALIN | President and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg
While we honor and celebrate Black history year-round, February is always a special time – and this February was a busy one. We helped plan, fund, and host the premiere screening of the documentary Razed, which chronicles the displacement of 800 residents of St. Petersburg’s historic Gas Plant neighborhood. We shared findings of our recent South St. Pete Health Equity Profile, important data that helps us better understand the state of health equity in our community. And, in partnership with Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital, we launched a new capacity-building grant opportunity that will help our not-for-profit partners expand their reach and impact.
People and their stories are at the center of our shared work to build a stronger, healthier, more equitable city. All we know about ourselves and each other… all that has happened in the past and all that shapes our present informs the future health of our community, so all of it matters. As I often say, we are our stories.
Stories permeate our Health Equity Profile. The realities of our neighbors in our prioritized ZIP codes of 33711, 33712, and 33705 come to life through the compilation of interviews, focus groups and quantitative findings that tell a story of a strong sense of community that remains plagued by stark and unacceptable geographic and racial disparities.
Through the report, which offers a rare hyper-local look at health and well-being in South St. Petersburg, we hear directly from residents about community assets such as engaged and committed community-driven groups who work to improve life and opportunities. We also hear about our neighbors’ desires for better-paying jobs, more affordable housing and easier access to high-quality and culturally relevant medical care. Each of the seven focus groups conducted also discussed the need for clean and safe neighborhoods, a finding highlighted in the report’s quantitative analysis, as well.
The report’s quantitative analysis paints a stark picture of geographic and racial disparity. It uses census tract data to compare the three ZIP codes of the South St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) to the rest of Pinellas County. The report shows that South St. Pete CRA residents are more than 3.5 times as likely to die from gun violence than residents of Pinellas County as a whole, and nearly eight times as likely to die from homicide. They’re also more than twice as likely to die from chronic illnesses like diabetes and liver disease, and nearly twice as likely to die from heart disease. These differences become even more pronounced when we focus on areas with the highest concentrations of Black residents.
We measure and highlight these gaps and disparities so that we can collectively change them – because they can and must be changed.
Ida B. Wells taught us that “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.” That is a significant purpose of the work of the Foundation – we work every day to right wrongs in a way that allows all people to thrive. Our focus is on health and the conditions and environments that shape our health because in our community we still experience different outcomes according to our racial demographics. This is unacceptable. There is no just cause for this. Nothing about it is fair or right. And, everything about it can be changed. So, together, with our ecosystem of partners, that’s what we work to do.
The study of Black history cannot be limited to February alone, nor is it the domain of decades and centuries past. It unfolds around us, every day. What we do to preserve, honor, measure, and uplift it matters. Thank you to all who contributed to our South St. Pete Health Equity Profile. And thank you to the full ecosystem of dedicated residents and organizations working to advance our community’s health and equity each day.
Dr. Kanika Tomalin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg. In this role, she leads, directs, and integrates all aspects of the Foundation’s internal and external activities and initiatives. Working closely with the Foundation team, Dr. Tomalin creates and executes the Foundation’s strategic plan—overseeing grantmaking, strategic initiatives, and the Center for Health Equity. She guides the organization as a steward of the community’s resources, consistently reporting back to the community and ensuring decisions and plans of action are mission-aligned and based in equity.
