{"id":5059733,"date":"2023-12-19T14:59:30","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T19:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ctlatinonews.com\/?p=5059733"},"modified":"2023-12-19T14:59:30","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T19:59:30","slug":"a-community-effort-to-provide-accessible-fitness-programs-active-city-hartford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/2023\/12\/19\/a-community-effort-to-provide-accessible-fitness-programs-active-city-hartford\/","title":{"rendered":"A Community Effort To Provide Accessible Fitness Programs: Active City Hartford"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>CT Latino News\u2019 series\u2014<\/em><strong><em>Hartford Children&#8217;s Health: Equitable Access<\/em><\/strong><em>\u2014explores responses to complex systemic and cultural barriers across Connecticut\u2019s capital that impact the daily health of its youngest residents. About 28,000 children and youth live in Hartford, one of the state\u2019s most diverse communities that continues to address a variety of <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/addressing-hartfords-childhood-obesity-disparities\/\"><em>longstanding health-related disparities<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">HARTFORD\u2014When Active City Hartford Founder and Physical Education Teacher Brian Gallagher first stepped in to organize Saturday Hoopsters\u2014an informal basketball group in Hartford\u2014with his childhood friend Ben Cruse years ago, about 150 children came to play. The next year, that number doubled to 250.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, we need to really think about this and think about what we\u2019re doing,\u2019\u201d Gallagher said. \u201cSo, we decided to look at making this a real nonprofit, and that\u2019s how we came up with the idea with Active City, where we run these two programs\u2014Hartford Soccer and Hoopsters\u2014but then we help other groups.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Founded in 2014, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.activecity.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Active City Hartford<\/a> looked to create a supportive network of accessible youth fitness opportunities. Now, a coalition of 44 local community organizations and programs, that network has rapidly grown since then. About 5,000 children and youth are registered in the nonprofit\u2019s programs this year, compared to Active City\u2019s first year when 400 kids were registered.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many things can make getting regular exercise difficult for young residents. <a href=\"https:\/\/6n82x4tyqj9.typeform.com\/to\/B2BhWMK4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">In a survey conducted by CT Latino News<\/a>, families across Hartford County reported a lack of sense of public safety, busy school and work schedules, cold weather conditions, and a lack of interest, along with transportation and cost issues, as common barriers to daily physical activity.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nonprofit works with local schools and the City of Hartford to collectively offer a wide variety of free, schedule-fitting, reachable programs across the capital\u2019s neighborhoods. Despite public efforts, there are still a few limitations with school and city exercise programs, including limited options in activities and being offered at selective times and locations.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The capital\u2019s infrastructure is another barrier that can prevent residents from exercising as often as they would like, shared Dr. Melissa Santos, Clinical Director of Connecticut Children\u2019s Pediatric Obesity Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhere do your kids play?\u201d asked Santos, echoing patients\u2019 difficulties with getting regular exercise. \u201cDo you have a built environment that allows for parks and green space? Or are you in a multi-family house where your kid can\u2019t run or jump because you\u2019re going to disturb the neighbors?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Children and youth experienced a great <a href=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/lockdowns-remote-learning-contribute-to-surge-in-childhood-obesity\/\">increase in stress and a significant loss of physical activity<\/a> when schools closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learning, socialization, and downtime quickly relocated to be online\u2014meaning that residents rarely went outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an effort to support children\u2019s fitness, the City of Hartford signed a three-year contract with Active City in 2020\u2014that ends July 2024\u2014to provide the coalition with $300,000 of American Rescue Plan funds to run accessible recreational programs year-round. The funding has allowed Active City to offer winter programming, which has been more expensive than other seasons due to gym-related costs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFour years ago, with COVID, the city was trying to get kids to come out and play more sports outside and get more physically active, so they asked me to put together a proposal to kind of oversee and run sports in Hartford,\u201d Gallagher explained.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This winter, Active City will be renting ten to 12 gyms to offer about 25 programs ranging from kickball to basketball to double dutch. Registration for its winter programs will open in the coming weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/hoopstersboydribbling-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5059736\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Saturday Hoopsters is a recreational basketball program that runs on Saturdays in the winter for kids ages 5 &#8211; 12.<em> Photo courtesy of Active City Hartford. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Youth Fitness Across Hartford&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aside from the physical environment and community behaviors, Hartford Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez emphasized that schools play an important part in students\u2019 health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think our role is multidimensional: one is educating our students, the other is providing access to those opportunities and working in partnership with our families,\u201d she said, referring to the districts\u2019 extracurricular offerings and other resources, such as school clinics and food pantries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Hartford Public Schools, elementary students have recess daily, while physical education classes in middle school and high school are typically once to twice a week. High school students, specifically, take a full-year course that is divided into PE classes for one-half of the year and health classes for the other half. Gallagher\u2014who has worked as a Hartford Public Schools PE teacher for 17 years\u2014said it\u2019s not enough.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Bio-Pic-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5059737\" style=\"width:150px;height:auto\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Active City Hartford Founder and Executive Director Brian Gallagher. <em>Photo courtesy of Gallagher.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re sitting down at school all day, then a lot of kids go home, and they play video games, sit in front of the TV, or they\u2019re not allowed to go outside,\u201d he said. \u201cI think we\u2019re at 5,000 [kids registered]&#8230;but there\u2019s 20,000 school-aged kids in the city of Hartford. What are the rest of those kids doing? Not saying that everybody has to play sports, there\u2019s other ways to get physically active, but we need to get kids outside way more.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the years, the district has expanded its extracurricular and athletic offerings\u2014particularly across its high schools and middle schools\u2014Torres-Rodriguez said. She shared that when she first joined the district about nine years ago, the Hartford community had concerns that some schools across the district had more opportunities than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese are things that in well-resourced communities are not anything that anyone has to sell for because they\u2019re a given, and so that\u2019s what we aimed to do,\u201d she explained. \u201cIn partnership with our Board of Education, we had to change our budgeting formula so that our schools could get additional resources to provide these opportunities, toward that goal of meeting the needs of the whole student.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although there are costs associated with school sports programs, Torres-Rodriguez explained that the district is committed to removing barriers that could prevent students from participating in activities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere is not a student in Hartford Public Schools that is going to be kept off a field because they don\u2019t have the funds for their sneakers or something like that\u2014absolutely not,\u201d Torres-Rodriguez said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the fall and winter, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hartfordschools.org\/page\/athletics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hartford Public Schools offer a range of organized sports<\/a> including soccer, volleyball, cross country, cheerleading, football, basketball, and swimming. <a href=\"https:\/\/hartfordct.myrec.com\/info\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The City of Hartford <\/a>also offers similar programs\u2014all free\u2014with a few more additions like Zumba, double dutch, water aerobics, a dance group, and a self-defense class this winter. However, families may face transportation and scheduling issues as these programs are offered at particular times and locations. Along with that, children and youth across Hartford have a wide range of interests and more common athletic activities may not seem appealing to young residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s about getting kids access to different programs,\u201d Gallagher said. \u201cI want to find a variety of programs so that kids can find something that they can connect with. Not every kid wants to play soccer, not every kid wants to play basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Active City intentionally offers a wide variety of free activities so local students can explore these opportunities and find what suits them the most, Gallagher explained. Aside from soccer and basketball, the nonprofit also offers fitness programs like a noncompetitive running club, fencing, golf\u2014including a Latina league\u2014double dutch, martial arts, and a drumline and dance program.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/west-end-rec-soccer-w_-Bucca-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5059739\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Active City Hartford offers a variety of programs, including recreational soccer, throughout the year. <em>Photo courtesy of Active City Hartford.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Addressing Financial, Scheduling, and Transportation Barriers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All programs under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.activecity.org\/Default.aspx?tabid=1216846\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.activecity.org\/Default.aspx?tabid=1216846\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hartford Youth Sports Collaborative<\/a> are free. However, some of the programs have different levels that can offer more competitive experiences for children and youth who are interested. For example, the Hartford Soccer Club has a free recreational league then a travel league and a premier league that vary in cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gallagher emphasized that the nonprofit and its partners are ready to cover financial costs that may prevent a young interested resident from participating at a more competitive level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat being said, we don\u2019t turn kids away for financial reasons. Travel soccer is $100 a season, we have parents that pay $15 or $20 or whatever [they can],\u201d Gallagher said. \u201cMost of the programs we partner with do the same thing. A lot of them do fundraisers\u2026bake sales, that kind of stuff to cover the costs because a lot of them are in the same boat. It costs too much to do some of these programs for a lot of these kids.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gallagher shared that Active City is intentional about which schools they partner with and which parks they use so that similar programs are spread out evenly across the community.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe try to move programs around so they are accessible,\u201d he explained. \u201cOne of the other big hurdles for a lot of families in Hartford is transportation\u2026so, we try to bring the programs to them. We think about having programs in every neighborhood so that parents can walk to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nonprofit also offers programs at different times\u2014some on the weekends, others during the week\u2014to have a few different options that may be convenient for families\u2019 schedules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe try as much as possible to break down as many barriers as we can. It\u2019s just, I wish we had more programs for kids. We\u2019re trying to work with the schools more to have some programs [be right] after school,\u201d Gallagher said, as many Active City programs begin around 5:30 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since Active City relies on its partnerships with local schools, the city, and community members to run its programs, the coalition looks to acquire further financial and volunteer support so it can expand its operations and serve more children across the capital, according to Gallagher.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nonprofit has been able to allocate enough assistance through community collaboration to run its current year-round programs including a two-week summer camp this past year, but there are still challenges when it comes to acquiring and sharing such resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMost people who run sports programs were at least once an athlete and we\u2019re very competitive people so it\u2019s definitely tough getting people to work together,\u201d Gallagher explained. \u201cThere are still programs that don\u2019t want to work with us, that don\u2019t want to be part of what we do\u2026but at the end of the day, I think working together, we can serve more people. I have resources that can help other people and some other people might have resources that can help me so why not try to work together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/springrecsocceruconn-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5059740\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An Active City Hartford recreational soccer program during the spring. <em>Photo courtesy of Active City Hartford.<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>Hartford Children\u2019s Health: Equitable Access<\/strong> in an ongoing series. Upcoming stories will dive into community resources that address food insecurity and examine children&#8217;s nutrition and environmental eduction within Hartford. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Bel\u00e9n Dumont reported this story while participating in the USC Annenberg Center<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;<strong><em>for Health Journalism\u2019s 2023 National Fellowship.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CT Latino News\u2019 series\u2014Hartford Children&#8217;s Health: Equitable Access\u2014explores responses to complex systemic and cultural barriers across Connecticut\u2019s capital that impact 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