Lola Elzein

Healthy Dearborn is a vibrant community coalition that has partnered with the City of Dearborn since 2015 to create a culture of health in Dearborn by working to reduce health disparities through active living and healthy eating strategies. For more on Healthy Dearborn, please visit our website: https://www.healthydearborn.org/. How do you see your Mayoral administration or Dearborn’s City Council working with Healthy Dearborn? And what specific ideas do you have for implementing Healthy Dearborn initiatives? *

As a mother who is raising two young daughters in the City of Dearborn, the health and wellbeing of our city and community hits so close to home for me. I am a proud supporter of Healthy Dearborn and the many initiatives they undertake to promote a healthier lifestyle for Dearborn residents. If elected to Council, I will maintain an open dialogue with Healthy Dearborn leadership, sharing ideas and brainstorming new solutions to move Dearborn forward. I will consistently engage Healthy Dearborn and other relevant stakeholders on matters that affect the health of our city by building on current policy initiatives like the Multimodal Transportation Plan and implementing new procedures that will improve the health of our city.

What do you see as Dearborn’s biggest health challenges and Dearborn’s biggest health assets? How can we best leverage our assets to address our challenges? *

Our city is so unique in its diversity and layout that it can be difficult to bridge the gap between all ends of the city and increase connectivity. However, we can leverage assets like our bike lanes and walking trails by building and improving them so we can increase foot traffic and improve city-wide connectivity.

Do you believe that "Health in all Policies," which is the use of health assessment tools to guide decisions on major civic projects and policy decisions, should be implemented in Dearborn? Please explain why, either way. *

Yes! The health and safety of our communities are of paramount importance. I am in full support of using data and health assessment tools to measure where we stand as a city, identify any causes for concern, and work to find new solutions that are rooted in fact and data when making major policy decisions.

Dearborn’s Multimodal Transportation Plan (MMTP) (https://walkbike.info/dearborn/) was developed with significant community involvement, including Healthy Dearborn, and was adopted by the Dearborn City Council on October 6, 2020. How do you see the implementation of the MMTP fitting into your community health priorities as City Council Member? *

I am tremendously proud of the collaboration of Healthy Dearborn and our current City Council in the organization and eventual passage of the Multimodal Transportation Plan. On Council, I will work hard to implement the plans outlined in the MMTP and will frequently engage our city and community on ways we can continue to promote healthy living and mobility in Dearborn.