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Community Wellness

Community Wellness promotes wellness in our communities by preventing problems before they occur. We work with community partners to create healthy places to live, learn, work and play.

Healthier Living with Chronic Pain and/or Conditions Workshops

The Community Wellness Division of Mendocino County’s Public Health Department presents a FREE 6-week workshop over Zoom: Healthier Living with Chronic Pain, September 11 through October 23, 2023.

This class is for those living with pain as well as for those who live with, love, or care for someone in chronic pain. Classes are highly participatory and a good opportunity to meet other people who have similar health conditions. Participants will make weekly action plans, share experiences, and help each other in problem solving along the way. Techniques to deal with problems such as frustration, fatigue and isolation will be highlighted.

Find a Workshop for Chronic Pain

nps-wheel We want to make the healthy choice the easy choice. To make that happen we focus on improving the health and wellness of the residents of Mendocino County by engaging the communities we serve through education and social action.

Prevention Programs

Tobacco Free Living

Tobacco Prevention Program - Our goal in the Tobacco Prevention Program is to reduce commercial tobacco use and its health risks by educating decision makers and raising community awareness about the harms of smoking & vaping, as well as second and third hand smoke.
The Mendocino County Tobacco Prevention program develops and implements culturally responsive community strategies to create a healthier Mendocino County through building awareness of tobacco and nicotine products, supporting freedom from nicotine addiction, gathering and amplifying public support for actions and policies that address the impact of commercial tobacco and nicotine on our community, and empowering local leadership. The Tobacco Retail License program provides licensing, enforcement, and compliance checks for all tobacco retailers in the unincorporated area of Mendocino County. Ensuring local tobacco retailers are adhering to Mendocino County Ordinance No. 4505. The Department of Justice Tobacco Grant Program enforces local ordinances or state laws related to the illegal sales and marketing of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to minors and youth. These enforcement efforts include, but are not limited to retailer compliance checks, retailer education, retailer training, enforcement of flavor ban laws/ordinances, consumer protection enforcement, illegal online sales and marketing, tobacco retail license inspections, and public education outreach. The Department of Justice Tobacco Grant Program was a result of the passage of the California Healthcare, Research and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016 (Prop. 56) increasing taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products by $2.00 starting in April 2017. The initiative allocates a portion of annual revenue to the California Department of Justice. Funding is made available to eligible local agencies to enforce tobacco-related state laws or local ordinances. Mendocino County Public Health enforces local ordinances or state laws related to the illegal sales and marketing of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to minors and youth and provides education classes for tobacco retailers to help ensure that they understand and comply with state and local tobacco laws. These enforcement efforts include, but are not limited to:
- Conduct minor decoy operations/undercover buys o Consumer protection enforcement
- Enforcement of flavor ban laws/ordinances
- Illegal online sales and marketing
- Public education outreach
- Retailer compliance checks
- Retailer education
- Retailer training programs
- Tobacco retail license inspections

Links
- Mendocino County TPP on Facebook
- Instagram: @mccw.tobacco.control.program
- Tobacco Cessation Resources (smoking, vaping & chewing tobacco)
  - KickItCA.org
    - 1-800-300-8086 English
    - 1-800-600-8191 Spanish
  - Download the No Butts free mobile app on the Google Play Store or App Store
  - becomeanex.org - Mayo Clinic customized quit smoking plan
  - flavorshookkids.org - Flavors Hook Kids
  - CYANOnline - California Youth Advocacy Network

Tobacco Retail Licensing – We enforce the Tobacco Retail Licensing ordinance in unincorporated Mendocino County through twice yearly Tobacco Purchase Surveys.
- For questions regarding Tobacco Retail Licensing or to submit an application, please contact Nicole Graumann at 707-472-2695.

Oral Health Program

Local Oral Health Program: Public Health’s Local Oral Health Program is part of the California Department of Public Health’s grant initiative “Moving CA Oral Health Forward”. The program’s mission is to improve overall health by providing greater accessibility to oral health care. At the county level we strive to achieve this goal through community outreach and education, early-childhood oral health assessments, and referrals for treatment services. Oral Health is an important part of overall health for all stages of life, from infant to senior. Smile, CALIFORNIA is the MediCal oral health resource for families. On the Smile, California website you can access links to covered services, search for oral health providers, and find answers to common questions. https://smilecalifornia.org 1-800-322-6384

Healthy Eating and Active Living

CalFresh Healthy Living (CFHL, previously known as SNAP-Ed) promotes healthy eating, physical activity, and food security, with an emphasis on communities with the greatest health disparities. This “Healthy Living” arm of the CalFresh program focuses on health promotion (nutrition and physical activity) and resides in the Public Health department. The CalFresh ”Food” arm of the program focuses on CalFresh benefits (enrollment and access) and resides in the Social Services department. CFHL strives to make lasting changes in Mendocino County communities by implementing strategies or interventions, among other health promotion efforts, to help the target audience establish healthy eating habits and a physically-active lifestyle. Efforts include enhancing structured physical activities in community and school settings, access to safe streets for active transportation, food waste education, increase fresh and healthy food access, community gardens, as well as promoting/supporting food banks, EBT promotion (including the EBT match programs), and zoning laws. The long-term goal is to prevent chronic illnesses, prevent or postpone the onset of disease by establishing healthier eating habits, and more physical activity.

We employ statewide, regional, and local partnerships, programs, and policy initiatives to achieve both individual change and policy advancement that strongly align with USDA's efforts to improve nutrition security and support the goals of the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. We strive to help make the healthy choice become the easy choice in all the places in Mendocino County where people live, work, learn and play.
Contact: School Districts and community organizations looking to provide Physical Activity and/or Nutrition education can email us at cfhl@mendocinocounty.gov.
Tasty Recipe Resources:
Follow us on Social Media for free resources and community events:
- CalFresh Healthy Living Instagram
- Food For All Mendocino Facebook
Households seeking CalFresh benefits:
- Can apply online at BenefitsCal.com or call Social Services at (707) 463-7700
- Can apply online at Apply for California Food Stamps Online | GetCalFresh.org or email Mendocino College at calfreshoutreach@mendocino.edu
CalFresh Benefit Application Assistance Resources:
- Cal-fresh-food-stamps application assistance sites (211)
- Mendocino College CalFresh team is happy to assist with all your CalFresh needs from answering eligibility questions, application assistance, and submitting documents. You can email them at calfreshoutreach@mendocino.edu. You do not need to be a student for assistance.