October 22, 2010:

Live Blog:

Teresa starts her talk noting that it is about passion and outrage. She also challenges the crowd to make a difference and to be passionate about making a difference. Joining her on stage are Samuel Taylor and Richard Durate Brown. The two men are illustrating a large canvas during her presentation which has a recurring theme of “imagining a healthier world.”

She goes on to say that the mantra of “pull yourself up by boot straps” is not a valid concept for improving health lifestyles. Rather than an “everyone for themsleves” concept, a community effort is necesary for a successful outcome in improving the health of all.

Indeed, she is passionate about it. Part of her passion comes from the outrage she feels from the inequalities out there.
She calmly recounts a  few of the things that outrage her:

  • Children growing up today  have a shorter lifespan than than previous generations.
  • 20% of gay men have HIV
  • Violence and bullying are abundant

These realities and others are the things that keep her up at night and these problems cannot be solved until, we as a community, understand and accept the challenge to slove them. Once we understand we can combat this inequality.

One way she attempts to understand these problems is by imagining a healthier world, because the benefits of a healthier city and world are greater than they may seem on the surface while the costs of caring for an unhealthy city and world are also high.

While recounting an imagined “day in the life” of a typical family in her imagined “healthier world” that includes, public tranportation, functional excersise and community involvement, she notes that if you think this is not possible, just look at San Francisco as the case study. It is possible.

In the healthier world she imagines, everyone is responsible for its maintenance. Connectedness matters. She challenges us to think about what keeps us up at night…to think about what outrages us and let that motivate us to make a difference.

Four Things You Can Do

  1. Be active.
  2. Consider and care for those less advantage than yourself.
  3. Take a stand against violence.
  4. Connect with others.