September 2020 

The Center at Sierra Health Foundation is leading and partnering with local, regional and statewide efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and support community members and businesses that are most impacted. Learn more below and on our COVID-19 Response for Our Communities web page.

The Center has partnered with the State of California for the second phase of Your Actions Save Lives, a large-scale public awareness campaign focused on the needs of communities experiencing disproportionate impacts of COVID-19. Access the news release.

The Sacramento County COVID-19 Collaborative is a community partnership supported by the Sacramento County Division of Public Health, The Center and multi-ethnic community-based organizations. “The Collab” supports community members and business owners with guidelines and resources to stay informed and to stay healthy. Learn more on the Collab web site.

Our regional response funds continue to support nonprofit organizations, small businesses and vulnerable populations in Northern California, the Sacramento Region and the San Joaquin Valley. Philanthropic partners and community members together have pledged more than $9 million. Distributions to 133 nonprofit partners total more than $6.5 million. We are disbursing additional grants to community partners as we receive pledged funds. We continue to accept donations and pledges for ongoing and long-term support. Learn more.

We are excited to welcome Shamus Roller to the Board of Directors of Sierra Health Foundation and The Center at Sierra Health Foundation. Currently serving as Executive Director of the National Housing Law Project, a legal, advocacy and capacity-building organization based in San Francisco, Shamus brings a passion for and expertise in addressing the structural issues that reinforce inequality, racism and poverty, particularly as they affect housing and homelessness.

“Shamus’ experience will be especially valuable with The Center at Sierra Health Foundation’s expanding community economic development portfolio,” said Debra McKenzie, who currently chairs the boards.

Originally from Happy Valley in Shasta County, Shamus’ career has taken him to Portland, Sacramento, Oakland and San Francisco. He shares that much of his career has focused on the basic idea of how to provide people with the resources and access to be successful in their lives despite the challenges that arise. Prior to his current position at National Housing Law Project, Shamus served as Executive Director of Housing California, Interim Executive Director of Sacramento Steps Forward and Executive Director of Sacramento Housing Alliance and Coalition on Regional Equity. He has a Juris Doctor degree from University of California’s Hastings College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from Reed College. He completed the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government’s Achieving Excellence Program and is a Sierra Health Foundation Health Leadership Program alumni member. He also serves as Board President of the California Association of Nonprofits and as a Board Member of Brilliant Corners.

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Kaying Hang to Senior Vice President of Programs and Partnerships.

A member of Sierra Health Foundation’s executive management team since May 2018, Kaying is responsible for strategic program and partnership development, and oversees management of the foundation’s and The Center’s programs and initiatives. She joined the foundation as a Senior Program Officer in 2013, was promoted to Director of Health Programs in 2016 and Vice President of Programs and Partnerships in 2018.

Congratulations, Kaying!

Sierra Health Foundation and The Center are launching and expanding programs, including the African American Behavioral Health Program, the Elevate Youth California – Youth Substance Use Disorder Prevention Program, the Asthma Mitigation Project, the Medication Assisted Treatment Access Points Project and the Positive Youth Justice Initiative. We have several openings for program officers, program associates and program assistants, as well as an evaluation assistant and a grants and contracts management associate.

Visit our Employment Opportunities web page to learn about the positions and apply online.

Elevate Youth California is supporting organizations throughout the state with funding and technical assistance to develop or increase community substance use disorder prevention, outreach and education focused on youth. We are pleased to announce a second round of Elevate Youth California funding. Grants up to $1 million over three years will support prevention of youth substance use in communities of color and other under-resourced communities.

The Center is accepting applications from community-based organizations and Tribal organizations that strive for health equity and that will work on specific culturally and linguistically appropriate prevention, outreach and education projects focused on youth ages 12 to 26. Learn more on the Elevate Youth California web site.

Boys and men of color continue to be underrepresented in post-secondary education and overrepresented in the criminal justice system. While tremendous efforts have worked to address this challenge, many with significant impact, more remains to be done.

The 1300 Campaign is an innovative new effort to send 1,300 additional young men of color to California State University, Sacramento and University of California, Davis by 2025. A partnership of The Center at Sierra Health Foundation and the My Brother’s Keeper Sacramento Education Strategy Committee, the campaign is working with local, regional and statewide partners on this place-based mentorship engagement model. The focus is on the seven highest-need communities in Sacramento County that are impacted by race-based disparities in education, health, economic conditions and community violence, as identified by the 2013 Sacramento County Blue Ribbon Commission Report. Learn more on the 1300 Campaign web site.

As the San Joaquin Valley begins to recover from some of the highest rates of COVID-19 in the country, a cohort of six San Joaquin Valley Health Fund community partners is scaling up education and advocacy work with regional stakeholders at county boards of supervisors and local school districts. The objective is to ensure that the needs of disproportionately impacted communities are represented in deliberations on the allocation of CARES Act funds and other recovery support funding.

The cohort includes the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Faith in the Valley, Delhi Parent Committee, the West Modesto Neighborhood Collaborative, Leadership Council and Grayson Neighborhood Council. All of the organizations are focused on supporting and building the capacity of residents and grassroots leaders to use their voices to help address issues related to housing, education, equitable access to health services and worker safety.

These specific efforts are centered in Madera, Merced, Stanislaus and Tulare counties and build on months of ongoing educational discussions between the community and policymakers. Activities of this cohort will directly inform key decisions at the local level and help to support the coordinated COVID-19 response throughout the San Joaquin Valley.

Despite shifting timelines, anticipated rulings and a general climate of uncertainty, outreach partners press on with activities — and creativity — to reach hard-to-count residents in their communities.

Last week, the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund, the City of Arvin in Kern County and community partners unveiled a mural to inspire residents to respond to the census. Painted by local artist Juan Gonzales, the mural is a reminder for Arvin residents that it’s not too late to complete the census questionnaire. The mural is one of five funded by the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund as part of its community-based census outreach efforts across the San Joaquin Valley.

Earlier this month, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) introduced the 2020 Census Deadline Extensions Act, a bipartisan companion bill that would extend the census count to Oct. 31 and the statutory reporting deadlines by four months. Access the full text of Senate Bill 4571.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in California issued a preliminary injunction order that prohibits the Census Bureau and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross from implementing Dec. 31 as a deadline for delivering state population counts to the president. The Trump administration’s appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was denied on Sept. 30. As of now, census self-response and field data collection operations are ordered to be continued through Oct. 31, although further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is anticipated.

The State of California encourages all of us to work together to keep our communities healthy. The State is mobilizing at every level to proactively and aggressively protect the health and well-being of Californians. Help get the word out! The California COVID-19 Response Toolkit includes videos, social media messages and other resources to support the health, safety and well-being of all Californians.

Regional Asthma Management & Prevention (RAMP) is responding to the many changes and challenges resulting from COVID-19. A project of the Public Health Institute, RAMP is sharing what they’re learning about the implications of COVID-19 on people with asthma. Visit their COVID-19, Asthma and Equity: What We’re Learning and Doing web page to access information and resources.