December 1 is World AIDS Day: a day to unite in efforts to end the global HIV pandemic, show support for those living with HIV, and remember those who have lost their lives to the disease. The first World AIDS Day began globally on December 1, 1988, providing a platform to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and honor the lives affected by the epidemic. This year’s theme, “World AIDS Day 35: Remember and Commit,” pays tribute to those who have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS. Remembering the lives lost not only honors their memory but also emphasizes the urgency of our commitment to end the HIV epidemic. The other aspect of this year’s theme, “Commit,” emphasizes our collective responsibility to act. Each one of us can make a difference, by working to improve health equity and ending the disparities in access to prevention, care, and treatment, and supporting organizations that work tirelessly to serve those at risk and living with HIV.
Ways to observe World AIDS Day:
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Wear a red ribbon: The red ribbon is a symbol of awareness and support for anyone who has been affected by HIV and AIDS.
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Spread the Word: Tell your family and friends about World AIDS Day and the importance of supporting local organizations who are actively fighting to help those living with HIV/AIDS.
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Donate to an AIDS charity. There are a host of national and international nonprofits devoted to fighting the disease and problems associated with its spread.
To learn more about World AIDS Day click here.
December 10th commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations in 1948. Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination. The UDHR was written together by people of different backgrounds with the goal of creating a basic standard for treating all human beings. It has since been used as a model for various human rights legislation. The UDHR has been translated into more than 500 languages, making it the most translated document in the world. December 10th has been internationally celebrated for over 75 years and is known as Human Rights Day. Universal Human Rights month extends this celebration throughout the entire month of December.
To learn more about Universal Human Rights Month click here.
There are many important causes we can learn about and advocate for, this month we highlighted World Aids Day and International Human Rights Month. Please take a look at the other major movements celebrated this month like Rosa Parks Day, National Influenza Vaccine Week, International Volunteer Day, and many more.
CERI: No Cost Extension
The CDC Health Disparities Grant RFA-OT21-2103, also known as CDPH’s California Equitable Recovery Initiative (CERI) Grant, has received a second 24-month No Cost Extension (NCE) from the CDC.
As sub-awardees of this Federal grant, you now have the opportunity to extend funding and activities through May 31, 2026 (the original extension period was set to end May 31, 2024).
Please inform your TA specialist if you will accept or decline the NCE and for how long, if you have not already done so.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to send an inquiry to your Equity TA Specialist via the Equity Portal.
Latest News & Program Reminders
December 12, 2023:
TA Office Hours
Please help us celebrate the end of the calendar year with an Equity Celebration! We would like to spend our December Office Hours reviewing the equity successes of LHJs across California. This topic was inspired by the Winnebago County Health Department Equity Team Year in Review 2021, which is a resource included in the Virtual Equity Toolkit. We would like to use this as a opportunity to celebrate your accomplishments in this past year and share them with your peers! We will also be doing a summary of the work that the TA Team has done in 2023 and look forward to 2024 services.
Office Hours will be held from 12:30-1:30pm. Join the meeting on Zoom.
December 22, 2023
Job Opportunity: Health Equity Coordinator
Join the Nevada County Public Health Department in achieving health equity in their rural community! The Health Equity Coordinator will collaborate across all Public Health Programs, including suicide and drug overdose prevention, immunizations, maternal and child health and epidemiology, to analyze the sources of health inequities and develop programs, policies and procedures to address them. Nevada County is looking for a passionate, empathetic, creative , and highly organized individual to support Public Health in this relatively new position. Experience or previous work in DEI or Health Equity is highly desired. Application DUE 12/22/2023.
For more details on the position, benefits and Nevada County, visit the job posting here.
December 29, 2023
LHJ/Homelessness System of Care Coordination Survey: DUE 12/29/23
CDPH is deepening its efforts to develop cross-sector approaches that can improve outcomes for people experiencing homelessness and strengthen the connection between Local Health Jurisdictions and homeless systems of care across the state. We are starting by mapping the current state of collaboration between LHJs and Continuums of Care (CoCs) to better understand successful and promising collaborations, common barriers and challenges, and opportunities to deepen local partnerships and cross-sector approaches to improving outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. We just released a survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/lhj-homelessness) to help us map how LHJs are serving people experiencing homelessness, the nature of your partnerships with CoCs, how LHJs and CoCs coordinated during COVID-19, and common challenges and opportunities to working across systems. We are doing this work in partnership with Homebase, a nonprofit technical assistance provider that has expertise in supporting the integration of health, housing, and homelessness at the state and community level.
The purpose of this survey is to gain a better understanding of:
1. the level of Local Health Jurisdiction (LHJ) involvement with homelessness in their
communities,
2. how LHJs partner with their local homeless Continuum of Care/homelessness response
system, and
3. the LHJ staff involved in that work.
We are asking that any LHJ staff who work on issues related to homelessness, run and support programs that serve people experiencing homelessness, or work in partnership with your local homeless system of care complete this survey by 12/29/2023.
The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to
complete.
In addition, we are also planning to complete interviews with individuals who are engaged in work at the nexus of public health and homelessness; if you would like to be interviewed, please email LHJsurvey@homebaseccc.org.
For any additional questions, please reach out to this address as well.
January 5, 2024
Toolkit: Cross-Jurisdictional Sharing Between Tribes and Counties for Emergency Management Survey: Due 1/5/2024
The California Rural Indian Health Board (CRIHB) invites Tribes, Tribal Health Programs and Local Health Departments to participate in a survey that will inform a web-based toolkit for Tribes and Counties to establish cross-jurisdictional workflows and data sharing strategies ahead of emergencies. The first edition, created in 2017 with support of the RWJF, can be accessed here: Toolkit: Cross-Jurisdictional Sharing Between Tribes and Counties for Emergency Management.
Dr. Thomas Kim (CRIHB) and Dr. Eric Coles (Tule River Public Health Authority) have created the survey to improve and update the Toolkit. CDPH is supporting the next edition of this document which will be updated by CRIHB.
Survey Link:
https://crihb.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6DVDTbHaBbLc77o
Only one member of a Tribal Health Program needs to complete this survey. It is estimated to take 45 minutes.
Job Opportunity: Supervising Public Health Educator
The County of San Joaquin Public Health Department is hiring for multiple positions. There is currently an opening for a position that will oversee Health Equity Initiatives for the department, and two supervising health educator positions within the health promotions team overseeing the nutrition program and/or injury prevention & opioids program.
Learn more, or apply here.
