Hussein Berry

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? *

I'm committed to listening. It's not just a word - it's my method. As a group of concerned citizens who want to make our city stronger: you will be heard.

In particular, I'd like to partner with Healthy Dearborn while shaping policy for our downtowns, including on issues of walk-ability, bike-ability, and ensuring residents have access to healthy options everywhere they go to eat.

I also am interested in seeing more Youth Programs in our city and activities for young adults. I believe Healthy Dearborn could play a very productive role alongside a Berry administration as we move towards making our city more active, healthy and fun.

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? *

Let's face it: In Dearborn, we love our food. We have more culinary experiences than any other city of a similar size in Michigan, and the range of authentic culinary choices here is exceptional. We're very fortunate.

However, just as our foodie-scene has increased, our youth programs have faded. Healthy Dearborn has played a very important role in ensuring there are fun, outdoor activities for residents throughout the city - however, I'd like to see even more.

My hope is that we can work together with Beaumont and other regional partners to accelerate the number of fun, group activities and outdoor events in the city. As someone who helped found Dearborn's youth football and cheerleading teams, I am a big believer in the power of exercise and sport to bring people together.

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. *

I agree. I think that part of making Dearborn healthier is ensuring that we think about ways to make our city more walkable, bikable and fun. I also believe that we can work together on shared projects, and my hope is that members of the Healthy Dearborn Coalition choose to stay engaged with the city. When we work as One Dearborn, there's nothing we can't accomplish.

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 Mayor? *

Just as Ford is transitioning from a car company to a mobility company, Dearborn needs to look into the future as well. Millennials, according to several studies, prefer almost every mode of transportation better than driving a car. Ensuring we have multiple ways for people to get around the city isn't just a matter of good health - it's also about ensuring we have competitive downtown spaces.

When more people are walking and biking through our downtowns, it creates buzz and a feeling that something is going on. Everything we do to make our downtowns safe and accessible is a win for residents, the health of our city, and a win for business owners.