April 2016

Congratulations to the 58 nonprofit organizations that were selected for funding through the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund! The Center for Health Program Management awarded grants totaling $1,030,437. This funding follows nearly $630,000 initially awarded to 30 organizations in 2015 and reflects a total investment of more than $1,660,000 in the San Joaquin Valley. Read the news release.

See the grantee partner list with project descriptions.

We look forward to seeing management and staff from all San Joaquin Valley Health Fund grantee partner organizations at our next partner convening:

April 14 – 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Wyndham Visalia
Please register online by April 7.

San Joaquin Valley Health Fund Partners met in Sacramento on Feb. 11 for a policy briefing at the State Capitol. Partners shared their concerns about some of the most pressing issues facing the region, such as addressing racial and economic disparities for community safety, civic engagement of farmworkers, drought and water quality, affordable housing and immigrant integration.

Thank you to everyone who participated and our co-hosts: California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, the California Legislative Black Caucus and the California Latino Legislative Caucus.

Download the Policy Briefing Fact Sheet.

Thanks to support from the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice and community members have continued to make progress and win victories in their historic effort to protect the health of the low-income Latino residents of the Kings County farmworker town of Kettleman City.

Located next to the largest hazardous waste and PCB landfill in the western United States, residents are also exposed to emissions from thousands of diesel trucks daily, pesticides and oil field pollution, and still drink and bathe in contaminated water.

In 2015, Greenaction and El Pueblo of Kettleman City won their long fight to defeat the fossil fuel power plant proposed in Avenal, near Kettleman City. Agreement was finally reached to replace the town’s water supply that was contaminated with arsenic and benzene, although much work needs to be done to keep the pressure on so clean water becomes a reality as soon as possible.

The campaign against expansion of the massive landfill has also seen victories. The campaign has continued to block renewal of permits for disposal of highly toxic PCBs. In March 2015, Greenaction and El Pueblo filed a federal Title VI civil rights complaint against state agencies due to their approval of permits to expand the hazardous waste landfill and their use of racially discriminatory practices in the permit process. U.S. EPA’s Office of Civil Rights quickly accepted the complaint for investigation, and federal mediation between the parties is beginning in an attempt to resolve the complaint.

The struggle for health and justice in California’s most at-risk and vulnerable communities continues. Learn more on the Greenaction web site.

The San Joaquin Valley Health Fund Policy Committee continues to work toward a regional policy agenda. As partners, you inform the direction of our collaborative work as we think through increasingly complicated challenges in the San Joaquin Valley.

To date, the Policy Committee has developed Guiding Principles and a Fact Sheet, which were used at our Policy Briefing at the State Capitol in February. The Policy Committee is now ready to make strides toward a collaborative white paper, which will be our framework for a regional policy agenda. This white paper will provide the San Joaquin Valley perspective on a wide array of topics, such as healthy environments for children, the implementation of Proposition 47 and water quality.

All SJVHF grantee partners are invited to join our monthly Policy Committee calls to provide input and help frame our regional policy agenda. Together, we will tackle the inequities in the San Joaquin Valley.

For more details, contact Amparo Cid.

Download the meeting calendar.

The California Coalition for Rural Housing recently released a white paper on affordable housing investment in the San Joaquin Valley. The coalition used GIS mapping to research high-amenity housing sites and put forth several recommendations based on the findings. Read Where Home Is: Affordable Housing Investment in the San Joaquin Valley.

Stockton released its My Brother’s Keeper action plan on March 22. The action plan outlines the six My Brother’s Keeper milestones, which include high school graduation, post-secondary education or training, and ensuring youth remain safe from violent crime. For each milestone, the report outlines actions to be taken to achieve it. Among the suggestions are: implementing procedural justice training for Stockton police, expanding gang awareness training, offering classes in high-growth industry sectors and using fair discipline actions in schools to avoid suspensions and expulsions.

Read the action plan.

The Record reported on the action plan. Read the article.

In partnership with The California Endowment and Sierra Health Foundation, the Center for Health Program Management will award a total of $120,000 to support advocacy-related capacity building and leadership development activities for youth-focused nonprofit organizations led by people of color serving in Northern California and the San Joaquin Valley.

Funding is open to youth-focused organizations working to eliminate health disparities that have an interest in increasing their organizational capacity to address issues of racial equity.

Applications are due by May 2 at noon. More information and application materials are available on the Leadership Development for Racial Equity web page. Please e-mail any questions.

The Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the availability of funds through the Re-Entry Community Linkages (RE-LINK) program. The purpose of the RE-LINK program is to improve the health outcomes for minority and/or disadvantaged re-entrants ages 18-26 in transition from jail to their communities. Applications are due April 21. Get more information on the Grants.gov web site.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced a funding opportunity of up to $157 million to test if screening beneficiaries for health-related social needs and associated referrals to and navigation of community-based services will improve quality and affordability in Medicare and Medicaid. Applications are due May 18. Get information on the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services web site.

We encourage all grantee partners to reach out to their colleagues to collaborate and connect on the system change and advocacy work you are engaged in. To facilitate that connection, we are providing a contact list of all current grantees.

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