April 2021 

As news broke last week that Derek Chauvin was convicted of the murder of George Floyd, we had only a couple of hours to reflect on accountability, justice and what this might mean for efforts to reimagine our country’s law enforcement system before reports started coming in about a police officer shooting and killing Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old Black child in Columbus, Ohio. It seems that key moments that provide signs of progress toward a better future are often punctuated by an event that reminds us how far we have to go. Read more.

Now in its sixth year, Equity on the Mall is bringing together San Joaquin Valley community leaders, residents and statewide partners in a weeklong virtual format to hold policymakers accountable for advancing the health and equity of all San Joaquin Valley residents.

This week, partners are highlighting the 2021 community-driven San Joaquin Valley Health Fund Policy Platform, with a focus on the impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations, including the digital divide, through a number of daily events.

There’s still time to participate in virtual events! Learn more and register on the Equity on the Mall web page.

Sierra Health Foundation and The Center are accepting applications for the following positions: director of communications, grants and contracts management associate, and senior program associate. Visit our Employment Opportunities web page to learn about the positions and apply online.

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is using federal grant funding to improve community access to stimulant use disorder prevention and treatment in communities of color throughout California. There are two current individual funding opportunities: 1. Stimulant Use Prevention and 2. Stimulant Use Treatment. Applications are due by May 14 at 1 p.m. The Center at Sierra Health Foundation will assist DHCS with the administration of these funds through the Medication Assisted Treatment Access Points Project.

Access the request for applications, overview webinar recording, webinar presentation and frequently asked questions on the MAT Access Points Project web site.

The San Joaquin Valley Health Fund continues to strengthen the capacity of partner organizations and vulnerable communities by supporting advocacy, community organizing, capacity building, leadership development, networking, and policy and systems changes that promote community health, racial equity and racial justice for all.

Through the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund COVID-19 Response Cluster, The Center recently awarded three two-year grants of $300,000 each to support COVID-19 Farmworker Resiliency projects. Funded community partner organizations are:

• California Coalition for Rural Housing Project in partnership with Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
• California Institute for Rural Studies in partnership with California Food and Farming Network, Central California Environmental Justice Network and Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indigena Oaxaqueño
• Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indigena Oaxaqueño in partnership with Central California Environmental Justice Network.

Learn about these projects and other recent grantmaking on the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund web page.

#HeretoleadCA is a storytelling initiative of California Funders for Boys and Men of Color in partnership with the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color that celebrates the leadership, power and voice of boys and men of color. #HeretoleadCA has partnered with San Diego-based nonprofit Movement BE to uplift the stories of young men currently in juvenile hall by sharing, in their own words, the urgency of transforming California’s youth justice system. Read more in the Times of San Diego.

The Center at Sierra Health Foundation, on behalf of the Black Child Legacy Campaign’s Healing the Hood gun violence reduction program, is one of 13 organizations nationwide that will receive funding from Kaiser Permanente to increase efforts focused on ending the generational cycles of trauma caused by structural racism and injustice experienced by Black Americans and other communities of color. This trauma often manifests in situations and actions that hurt children by causing adverse childhood experiences, known as ACEs, which have negative lifelong consequences for health and well-being.

The California Board of State and Community Corrections awarded funds to The Center in October 2020 to implement the Healing the Hood Initiative. This work scales up existing violence prevention initiatives in Sacramento and provides an integrated multi-tiered ACES wraparound approach to impact the long-term health, educational and career pathways, safety and overall well-being of vulnerable youth. Using the combined approach of violence reduction and workforce development, including an all-Black leadership team and centering those who bear the greatest burden of gun and gang violence, the initiative amplifies and leverages existing resources for Black communities in Sacramento and the Central Valley. The ultimate goal of the Healing the Hood workforce capacity-building initiative is to build trust among and between partners for the health and safety of Black communities.

Learn more about the Black Child Legacy Campaign and Kaiser Permanente’s initiative.

The Center at Sierra Health Foundation hosted this timely and important virtual town hall meeting for the Sacramento County community on April 22 with community partners from the Black Child Legacy Campaign, Improve Your Tomorrow, My Brother's Keeper Sacramento, ONTRACK Program Resources, Roberts Family Development Center, Rose Family Empowerment Center, Sacramento County, Safe Black Space, South Sacramento Christian Center and the Trauma-Informed Wellness Program.

Access the town hall recording on The Center’s Trauma-Informed Wellness Program web page.

The State of California’s Your Actions Save Lives campaign, which provides Californians with information about how to do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19, is partnering with local cultural artists to reach disproportionately impacted communities throughout the state. The program features a variety of art with empowering public health messages of protecting one another, resilience and community.

Developed in partnership with The Center at Sierra Health Foundation, the arts initiative is designed to raise awareness and encourage everyone to continue practicing basic safety measures such as wearing a mask, washing hands, watching distance and getting vaccinated to help end the pandemic.

Learn about artist Tatiana Ortiz Rubio and her mural in this San Diego Union-Tribune article.

Photo courtesy of Tatiana Ortiz Rubio.

Join the Sacramento County COVID-19 Collaborative for a series of mental health awareness webtalks every Thursday through May 27 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. The series is free and open to the public.

Following are the upcoming dates and topics:

• April 29: Managing Parenting Stress and School Closures During COVID-19
• May 6: Raising Resilient Children: How to Teach Kids to Overcome Anxiety
• May 13: Mental Health Impacts of Unemployment, Instability, and Feelings of Insecurity
• May 20: Communication Hacks, Boundaries, and Coping with Stressful Workplace Situations
• May 27: How to Add Structure and New Experiences for Children During a Pandemic

Access the WebTalks flyer and the Mental Health California Sac Collab web page for more information and a registration link.

The 2020 Census shows that the resident population of the United States, including the 50 states and the District of Columbia, was 331,449,281 as of April 1, 2020, an increase of 7.4 percent since the 2010 Census. Apportionment calculations based on the 2020 Census show that Texas, Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon will gain seats, while California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia will lose seats. Learn more in this National Public Radio article and Washington Post article.

The California Department of Public Health, The Center at Sierra Health Foundation, Vaccinate All 58 and California Black Health Network presented this Candid Conversations virtual town hall meeting on April 14 featuring guest panelists Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, surgeon general for the State of California; Dr. Oliver T. Brooks, chief medical officer at Watts Healthcare Corporation; Dr. David Tom Cooke, FACS, associate professor and chief, division of general thoracic surgery at UC Davis Health; and Rhonda M. Smith, executive director at California Black Health Network.