July 2016

These past weeks have been emotionally difficult for many San Joaquin Valley Health Fund partners. As partners in this work, we know that many of you have dedicated your lives to creating healthier neighborhoods that are free of gun violence because you or the community residents you work with have been impacted by gun violence firsthand. Countless people have died much too soon.

During this difficult time, we encourage all of you to lean on each other and to continue reaching out to us. We reaffirm our collective commitment to community mobilization and advocacy for safe neighborhoods where children and adults have healthy and vibrant futures. We applaud our partners – Reinvent South Stockton Coalition, Congregations Building Community Modesto, Faith in Community, Fathers and Families of San Joaquin, Merced Organizing Project, People and Congregations Together for Stockton – for working tirelessly to promote community safety. We stand with you in the fight for justice and in shouting #Enough.

Following are recent statements from funding partners.

The California Wellness Foundation: Enough Violence, Promote Wellness

The California Endowment: Grantees, Partners, and Friends of TCE: This is Why.

Rosenberg Foundation: Time to Think Big.

Blue Shield of California Foundation. Beyond the Headlines: The truth about guns and domestic violence

Sierra Health Foundation: We Stand with Orlando and Against Gun Violence

On July 13, the Center for Health Program Management announced an award of $3 million over three years to the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to advance racial equity and community mobilization to improve the lives of children. Read the news release.

Eligibility and application details will be announced in the fall.

Community Water Center Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director Susana De Anda was recognized by the White House as one of 10 “White House Champions of Change for Climate Equity” last week. Susana has dedicated the past decade to ensuring that every Californian has access to safe, clean and affordable drinking water. During California’s drought, she has been working alongside rural, low-income communities and communities of color that have been hit hardest by dry wells and increasingly contaminated drinking water supplies. “The drought has laid bare the extreme climate vulnerability of rural, low-income communities in the San Joaquin Valley,” Susana said. “At the Community Water Center, we’re working to ensure these residents are at the decision-making table so their communities can emerge from this drought more resilient to climate change.” See the story on the ABC30 web site.

Californians for Pesticide Reform (CPR) received a San Joaquin Valley Health Fund grant to protect children from agricultural pesticide exposure at school by advocating for stricter pesticide buffer zones around schools through community engagement, education and training.

On July 12, more than 170 community members from Tulare County and farming communities across the state staged a rally outside CalEPA in Sacramento demanding new protections from agricultural pesticides for California schoolchildren. A delegation delivered a letter signed by 107 organizations and more than 27,000 petition signatures demanding a one-mile buffer zone for schools, increased air monitoring, better notification, and support for farmers to transition to child-friendly practices.

After the rally, participants celebrated the coalition’s 20 years of working toward a just and sustainable food system. The California Teachers Association and California Federation of Teachers were honored for lending the strength of their numbers to CPR’s efforts to protect kids from health harms, and former State Senator Dean Florez was named CPR’s legislative champion for his efforts to hold local authorities accountable for pesticide drift.

Tulare County resident Domitila Lemus received the Teresa DeAnda Community Leader award for her decades of work advocating for pesticide reform. The eponymous award was given in memory of CPR’s longtime San Joaquin Valley organizer, and was presented in a moving ceremony by Teresa’s daughter Valerie Gorospe, CPR’s organizer in Kern County. Surrounded by her family, Valerie praised Domitila for embodying her mother’s spirit and tenacity in fighting for the betterment of her community.

After an inspiring and emotional day, the coalition stands poised for the next 20 years, which we trust will bring a long-awaited transformation of food and farming in California.

Event sponsors for CPR’s Day of Action included The California Wellness Foundation and The California Endowment. A video is available on the ABC10 web site.

The San Joaquin Valley Health Fund, in partnership with UC Davis Center for Regional Change (CRC) and Pan Valley Institute, held town hall meetings in Farmersville, Madera, Merced and Stockton in April. At the town halls, CRC presented and gathered community input on preliminary findings from an environmental scan on child health and well-being in the San Joaquin Valley. Thanks to SJVHF partners, more than 150 community members joined us at these town halls. A report from CRC with findings will be issued later this year.

Funding for the town halls was provided by W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Sierra Health Foundation.

#SchoolsNotPrisons

For too long, California has been overspending on prisons and jails under the mistaken idea that punishing people is what prevents crime.

It doesn’t. It has devastated families and neighborhoods, especially communities of color, and it is taking opportunity away from our young people when too many of our tax dollars are spent on punishment instead of prevention. Many across California have heard that message loud and clear from our youth and community leaders.

Now is time for a new vision for community safety centered on education, health, healing, inclusion and investing in our youth. To help bring people together around that idea, The California Endowment and The California Wellness Foundation are supporting the 2016 #SchoolsNotPrisons music and arts tour that will travel to 11 California communities to highlight what we need to invest in for truly safe and healthy communities.

For more information, go to www.SchoolsNotPrisons.vote to check out the exciting lineup, follow the tour on social media and learn more about ideas for real safety in our communities. And make sure you’re registered to vote.

Funding Opportunities

Positive Youth Justice Initiative

The Center for Health Program Management will fund grassroots organizations to advance the work of the Positive Youth Justice Initiative through community organizing to accelerate a statewide movement toward a more youth development-focused juvenile justice system. Awards will range from $75,000 to $150,000 over 18 months in counties throughout the state that are poised to transform their juvenile justice system.

The Positive Youth Justice Initiative is funded by Sierra Health Foundation, The California Endowment and The California Wellness Foundation, and is managed by the Center for Health Program Management. Learn more about the funding opportunity on the PYJI web page.

New Opportunity to Apply for Funding to Support School Climate Work through Prop 47 Savings

Using funds outside of the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund, Children Now, PolicyLink, Public Counsel and FixSchoolDiscipline coalition members recently made significant progress in the development of a grant program for the distribution of funds related to savings generated from Proposition 47. After a year of advocacy and negotiations with key legislative staff, Department of Finance, California Department of Education, the State Board and stakeholders, the final agreement was recently amended into SB 527 (Liu). Jim Keddy at Children Now is available to keep interested SJVHF partners informed as this program continues to develop and funds become available.

Join us at the next SJVHF policy committee meeting on Wednesday, July 27, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.at the Center for Health Program Management’s San Joaquin Valley office at 521 W. Main St. in Merced. There are currently 41 members and there are several opportunities to get involved. Contact Amparo Cid and Nora Dunlap to learn more about the Policy Committee and join our effort.

LCFF Resources

Children Now has created a resource for advocates who want an answer to the question that so many community members and parents ask after learning about the Local Control Funding Formula: How much funding will my school district receive? Read the projections for 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Immigration

Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative, Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño, community residents and other immigrant rights advocates protested the deadlock in United States v. Texas where nine words – “The judgement is affirmed by an equally divided Court” – have prevented the implementation of the 2014 Executive Action to expand Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). The impact on the Central Valley’s agricultural economy and families is very real. Research from the Center for the Study of Immigration Integration has estimated that nearly 1 in 5 Central Valley children have at least one undocumented parent. SJVHF partners remain committed to implement the Executive Actions from 2012, which are unaffected by the ruling of the Supreme Court, and to continue their fight for families.

California Environmental Justice Advisory Committee

The California Environmental Justice Advisory Committee and the California Air Resources Board invite SJVHF partners to a community meeting and presentation in Fresno on July 28 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District located at 1990 E. Gettysburg Ave.

Learn about that state’s goals and approach to addressing climate change.
Share your thoughts about what matters most to you and your community.
Connect with programs that are already benefiting communities that need it most.

Register online.

Asset-Building Programs Manager

Coalition for Rural Housing is accepting applications for the position of Asset-Building Programs Manager to develop and lead programmatic and policy work for a variety of activities related to expanding asset-building strategies in rural communities. See the job description.

Assistant Executive Officer for Environmental Justice

The State of California is accepting applications for the position of Assistant Executive Officer for Environmental Justice. The Assistant Executive Officer will serve as the primary internal and external contact for the Air Resources Board on environmental justice issues and concerns. See the job description.

Staff Attorney

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability is accepting applications for the position of Staff Attorney. The Staff Attorney will help them further their work in the San Joaquin Valley. See the job description.

Business Officer, Program Officer and IMPACT Regional Coordinator

First 5 Fresno County is accepting applications for three positions: Business/Finance Officer, Program Officer and IMPACT Regional Coordinator.
Business/Finance Officer job description
Program Officer job description
IMPACT Regional Coordinator job description

Part 1: Learn about the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund, meet three grantee partners who are doing great work in the Valley and hear from three of the funding partners.

Part 2: SJVHF partners are working to make the Valley a healthier place to live, work and prosper. This second video highlights grantee partners and the work they are doing in the Valley.

We encourage peer learning and sharing among SJVHF partners. To facilitate regional collaboration on systems and policy change work, we encourage you to reach out to your fellow colleagues using this updated contact list of all 58 funded partners.

This newsletter is for you and is by you. Please share stories, photos and upcoming events to be included in the newsletter. Contact Nora Dunlap.

If you or your organization tweets, please use the hashtag #SJVHF to call attention to the work you are doing in San Joaquin Valley communities!

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. These social media pages are resources for collaboration and connection with other organizations doing similar work. Please feel free to post upcoming opportunities, job announcements, etc.

Sierra Health Foundation
The California Endowment
Rosenberg Foundation
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The California Wellness Foundation
Blue Shield of California Foundation
Wallace H. Coulter Foundation

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