January 2023

A newsletter for Local Health Jurisdictions (LHJs) brought to you by the Technical Assistance (TA) Team, Office of Health Equity, CDPH, every first Wednesday of the month. Subscribe to The Equity Scoop!

 

Lassen County Spotlight: Wellness Centers for Rural Residents

As a rural, frontier county, Lassen residents are faced with a lack of access to a diverse array of services that meet their specific needs. This is intensified in the more remote areas of the county. At the core of health and wellness, most remote populations live in food deserts, lack reliable digital communication, and drive over an hour to receive essential county services.

To address these challenges, Lassen County Public Health partnered with Lassen County Behavioral Health (BH) to enhance services at three rural BH-operated facilities and rebranded them as Wellness Centers.

“Each came with their own set of challenges, so we reached out to the community members to hear from them what they identified as their needs rather than what services we think they need.” 

Following several town hall meetings and participation in local community events, Lassen County was able to collect information about health equity and meaningful services specific to each of these rural communities. They are in the process of evaluating that data which will help them complete their overall health equity plan. 

One of the examples that they have gleaned from the data is the need for fresh vegetables. In response, Lassen County has partnered with farming experts and interested community members to explore the option of offering classes on food gardening and erecting community greenhouses. This will give residents a venue to learn how to prepare their soil, grow their food, and harvest and preserve their yields.    

Lassen looks forward to making progress on bridging the health equity gap among the county’s most vulnerable populations. 

To learn more about Lassen County’s work, please contact Nicole Lamica, Equity Coordinator.  

 

National Poverty in America Awareness Month 

January is National Poverty in America Awareness Month, a month-long initiative to raise awareness and call attention to the growth of poverty in America. According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2021, the national poverty rate was 12.8% and not far behind, California’s poverty rate at 12.3%. In Fall 2021, poverty was markedly higher in California for adults 65 and older (16.3%) than for children (9.0%) and adults 18-64 (11.6%).

Poverty is increasingly linked to disparities in life expectancy. Low-income Americans have higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and other chronic conditions, compared to higher-income Americans. Poor health also contributes to reduced income, creating a cycle often referred to as the health-poverty trap.  

Poverty is a complicated social problem with no easy or fast solution but spreading awareness and offering support to those living in poverty can help. To increase awareness on poverty and homelessness, Spent was created, an online game where players must make difficult decisions necessary to live for one month with $1,000. Play this game and share with your network to increase awareness on the hardships of living in poverty. 

Visit End Poverty in California to hear the voices of people experiencing poverty and learn more about policy recommendations.   ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

 

The Champions for Equity (C4E) Initiative supports the implementation of the Shared Vision for Healthy and Resilient Communities and provides a unique opportunity to recognize state and Local Public Health Jurisdictions that prioritize health equity to advance environmental, policy, and systemic change. Learn more and join the Champions for Equity (C4E) Initiative!

 

The Equity Technical Assistance Portal Has Been Launched! ​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The Equity Technical Assistance and Grant Management Portal (also called the Equity Portal) has officially launched! TA inquiries and requests will now be submitted via the Equity Portal, and the EquityTeam inbox will no longer be monitored by the TA team. Outbound surveys, calendar invites, reminders, and updates (that do not require a direct email response) will still be shared using the EquityTeam email. Your Equity TA Specialist will respond to your questions and requests within 2 business days of your submission, and the response will still be received in your email inbox! We aim to make this new process as swift as possible and welcome your feedback always. Watch this recording to learn how to submit an inquiry via the Equity Portal.  ​​​​​​​

 

Latest News & Program Reminders 

January 7, 2023:  

Power-building Partnerships for Health 2023 Cohort Application DUE 

Power-building Partnerships for Health is a 9-month program that cultivates powerful collaborations between local health departments and community power-building organizations to advance health equity. Learn more and apply here.


January 10, 2023: 

CERI Year 2, Quarter 2 Reporting TA Office Hours 

Office Hours will be held from 12:30-1:30pm. Join the meeting on Zoom.  


January 20, 2023: 

CERI Y2Q2 Progress Reports & Expenditure Reports DUE 

Revised work plan templates were emailed to each CERI-participating LHJ mid-December. Please email and submit progress reports, updated spend plans, expenditure reports, and invoices for Y2Q2 directly to your Equity TA Specialist by Friday, January 20th. Email addresses of the Equity TA Specialists can be found on the Instructions tab of the work plan template.  


March 13, 2023: 

CDC: Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Application DUE 

The CDC recently announced the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) funding opportunity. This 5-year program is meant to improve health, prevent chronic diseases, and reduce health disparities among racial and ethnic populations with the highest risk, or burden, of chronic disease. Click here for more information.  

 

Training of the Month 


Learn how our minds operate and understand the origins of implicit associations by clicking on the FREE training below! 


Kirwan Institute Implicit Bias Training

 

Resources

This resource from Human Impact Partners outlines how health departments can partner with community power-building organizations and build the internal foundations and authentic relationships for partnership, as well as walks through 4 concrete actions health departments can take to bring these partnerships to life.  

This suite of resources builds on foundations provided in its preceding sister resource (Set 1 seen above). It is designed for governmental health employees to dive into power: what it is, who holds it, and how to leverage and redistribute it to create more equitable and healthy communities.  

 

Technical Assistance (TA) Services Available: 

For general inquiries or to schedule a 1:1 consultation, send an email to your Equity Specialist (below) via Equity Technical Assistance Portal:  

Northern California (RANCHO) | Haley Ni 

Greater Sacramento | Claudia Medina 

San Joaquin Valley | Janis Ho 

Bay Area (ABAHO) | Salina Ramachhita 

Southern California | Jessica Medina 

 

To share an event, resource, job opportunity, or highlight a success story from your LHJ, please send your submission via the Equity Portal by the 20th of the month.