Richmond, Calif. – Key findings from a recent poll, commissioned by The Califor-nia Endowment, reveal that Richmond voters overwhelmingly support dedicating additional city re-sources for children and youth services. When presented with the option to dedicate three percent of the City of Richmond’s annual budget to programs that serve children and youth, 84 percent of Richmond voters would support it.

In the poll, residents rated lack of opportunities for youth as one of the most serious problems facing the City. Seven in ten Richmond voters (71 percent) say the lack of opportunity for youth, in general, is an “extremely serious” or “very serious” problem.

As part of its Building Healthy Communities initiative, The California Endowment is investing in many Richmond organizations to create a community where all young people can grow up healthy, safe, and ready to learn. “This survey affirms that Richmond residents care deeply about its young people and want the best for them,” says Diane Aranda, Program Manager for Richmond at The California En-dowment. “We’re committed to working with our partners to scale up lasting strategies that deepen our collective investment in Richmond youth.”

Building Healthy Communities is a 10-year, $1 billion plan of The California Endowment. In connection with statewide policy initiatives, 14 communities are taking action to make where they live healthier. When Richmond was chosen as a Building Healthy Communities site in 2009, Healthy Richmond em-barked on an extensive planning process to support health in the community. Over 1700 residents, community organizations, systems stakeholders, and youth were involved and active in the planning process. Seven years later, Healthy Richmond is working on multiple innovative community initiatives with nearly 40 partners coming together to achieve health and justice for Richmond residents.

As Building Healthy Communities marks the mid-point of the 10-year initiative, The California Endow-ment is exploring strategies to sustain the good work of grantee organizations to create meaningful change for children and families.

Overall, the survey results indicate that Richmond residents see a compelling need for additional ser-vices to help children and youth, particularly youth that are most at-risk, and are highly supportive of dedicating additional funding for this purpose.