June 2022 

There have been 171 gun-related deaths in Sacramento County alone in the last two years. Of those impacted, Black neighbors were nine times more likely than white residents to die. Each person represents a family, a community incomplete given their absence. Taken together, this is a public health crisis. We must do better.

Gun violence interruption efforts must focus on the people who are most likely to engage in or be harmed by such violence. At this time, the City and County do not invest a single dollar into efforts that focus on interrupting known shooters. The Sacramento City Manager moved violence and gang prevention funds under the purview of law enforcement. However, we know that a person considering engaging in violence may not go to the police.

Successful gun violence interruption efforts take long-term funding and must be led by and based in the community. Throughout the years, Sierra Health Foundation and The Center have invested in strategies that minimize gun violence and address the other factors that lead to violence: lack of economic opportunity and mobility, food insecurity, lived trauma and unstable housing, among others. Still, we know that we can and should go further.

What could be done to reduce gun violence in Sacramento? Tell us your idea. We’re in this together.

Curbing gang violence: Frontline urban peacekeepers say they lack funding and support | abc10.com
ABC10 Sacramento interviewed Black Child Legacy Campaign partner Pastor Les Simmons, discussing solutions for rising gun and gang violence in the region’s hardest-hit neighborhoods. Pastor Simmons shared the campaign’s call for local elected leaders to make a significant investment in community-driven violence prevention and interruption programs.

Chet Hewitt of the Sierra Health Foundation discusses how—and why—federal and state money should help marginalized communities throughout California | Sacramento News & Review (newsreview.com)
Sacramento News and Review featured The Center’s Community Economic Mobilization Initiative (CEMI) in this exclusive interview with Chet P. Hewitt. CEMI will invest in the growth of California nonprofits to both receive and influence the spending of billions of dollars in relief funds. The initiative’s investments also will focus on community organizations’ connections with emerging green industries and the impacts of climate change, such as disproportionate asthma rates in poor communities.

We welcomed eight new staff members this month to our growing team at Sierra Health Foundation and The Center. We are happy to welcome Emily, Ruth, Danielle, Valerie, Bill, Debra, Tiare and Gerald.

Emily Park Chaphalkar, Director of Compliance and Contracts
Emily comes to Sierra Health Foundation with more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit world. In her new role, she is responsible for contracts management and associated compliance, and will be the liaison between our organizations and government agencies. A graduate from the University of California, San Diego, Emily holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Juris Doctor degree from California Western School of Law. She is a certified Federal Contracts Manager with the National Contract Management Association and holds a Certificate in Contract Management from the University of California, Los Angeles. Emily has worked as a strategic sourcing and procurement manager in the insurance and financial industry, and she has extensive experience negotiating and managing government contracts on public works projects.

Ruth Jensen, Managing Director of Human Resources
Ruth comes to Sierra Health Foundation with a passion to make a difference in Sacramento. Having worked at the Sacramento Housing Agency and the California Conservation Corps, Ruth’s human resource experience spans more than 20 years. Most recently, she served as the Human Resources Director for the State of California in a department overseeing more than 2,000 individuals. She has worked in the private and public sectors and has enhanced her skills at developing organizational culture, mediating disputes, strategic advising, compensation practices and recruiting. She has a Master’s in Business Administration from Argosy University and holds three Human Resource certifications.

Also joining our team are:

Danielle Claybon, Program Associate, Behavioral Health Recovery Services Project
Valerie Hoag, Program Assistant, MAT Access Points Project
Bill Rockas, Intern
Debra Skelton, Payroll Specialist
Tiare Summerhays, Program Assistant, Community Economic Development
Gerald White, Program Assistant, Elevate Youth California

Visit our staff page to access names and titles for our full staff.

Our team continues to grow! See below for job openings.

Sierra Health Foundation and The Center are accepting applications for five positions:

• Conference Manager (Sacramento)
• Managing Director for Community Economic Development (Sacramento or Fresno)
• Managing Director for Health Equity and Access (Sacramento)
• Managing Director for Regional Programs (Fresno)
• Program Associate (Sacramento)

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

The Center at Sierra Health Foundation will be administering the Health Ambassadors for People Experiencing Homelessness funding opportunity. This one-time grant provided by the California Department of Public Health supports hiring, training and supporting peer health ambassadors for people experiencing homelessness across California. Health ambassadors will provide ongoing outreach to help people experiencing homelessness feel more confident about vaccines and link them to testing, vaccine resources and other health-related services.

Health ambassadors are people who have current or recent experiences of homelessness and who can offer peer support and share real-world experiences and personal motivations for getting vaccines, as well as engaging in other health information or services.

This statewide program will provide $4 million in funding and technical assistance for organizations to hire, train, mentor and support health ambassadors. Technical assistance and capacity building activities, including intensive coaching, training and support, will be provided to those awarded funding.

Applications are due by July 20 at 1 p.m. The Center will hold a proposers’ webinar on July 8 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. To learn more, you can access the request for proposals and sign up for the webinar on the Health Ambassadors for People Experiencing Homelessness project webpage.

Earlier this month, The Center announced a funding opportunity through the Sutter County Expanded Learning Initiative. This initiative is a one-time investment to support expanded learning programs offered by nonprofit community-based organizations and education-related organizations serving public school students during the 2022-2023 summer and academic year. The initiative is made possible through grant support from The San Diego Foundation. Grants will be made available up to $200,000 over 14 months and seek to fund opportunities to advance equity through expanded educational programs for students disconnected from opportunity. Program activities will be offered during the school year – before or after school and/or during school breaks – for students ages 5 to 19.

The Center held a webinar on June 9 to review the request for applications and encouraged applications from community-based organizations, school districts, county offices of education, direct-funded charter schools, universities and Tribal organizations with established and trusted community relationships. The application due date has been extended to July 5. Learn more on the Sutter County Expanded Learning Initiative webpage.

Earlier this month, the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund IHHEEL Policy Committee, community partners and San Joaquin Valley residents came together to host Sierra Health Foundation and The Center’s signature event, the seventh annual Equity on the Mall. Held virtually again this year, the two-day event uplifted and celebrated the work of community partners by providing a road map for policy and systems change.

This year’s program kicked off with an opening performance from Pulitzer Prize finalist poet Dr. Der Vang and included panel discussions with a slate of local elected leaders, youth and community partners who came together to discuss their work and vision for the future of the San Joaquin Valley.

The event also highlighted the tremendous work of community partners who have been engaged in helping community residents navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Powerful presentations demonstrating how San Joaquin Valley residents are uplifting immigrants’ rights, advancing health equity for all and climate justice were presented while Sierra Health Foundation and The Center President and CEO Chet P. Hewitt provided motivating and encouraging remarks to those engaged in making the San Joaquin Valley a better place to live, work and thrive.

The virtual summit was a success. Hundreds of San Joaquin Valley residents and organizations attended as it was streamed live on The Center’s Facebook and YouTube pages. Videos and other materials will be made available to the public in the coming weeks by visiting EquityOnTheMall.org. Stay tuned!

The fifth season of Kings and Queens Rise, a co-ed youth sports and mentoring league that seeks to prevent and interrupt violence by providing an opportunity for young people in Sacramento to engage in intercommunity activities, successfully kicked off this month. As part of the Sacramento Kings Jr. Kings program, the league provides a caring and productive environment for youth to engage in community building and sportsmanship and connects them to resources for health and safety.

The eight-week basketball season began June 25 and will run through August 13. The partnership, made possible by the Sacramento Kings, The Center’s Build.Black. Coalition, Black Child Legacy Campaign and My Brother’s Keeper Sacramento programs, Kings and Queens Rise provides youth from the 4th through the 10th grade who live in the following neighborhoods: Arden Arcade, Del Paso Heights-North Sacramento, Foothill Farms-North Highlands, Fruitridge-Stockton, Marina Vista, Meadowview, Oak Park and Valley Hi, the opportunity to play basketball and practice in communities throughout North and South Sacramento. The season culminates with a tournament hosted by the Sacramento Kings.

New this year, and in addition to basketball, Kings and Queens Rise will include a co-ed dance team composed of 30 youth as well as golf clinics and a mobile golf simulator for youth participants and coaches. To learn more about the program, please visit the Sacramento Kings website.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a New York state law that restricted who could obtain a permit to carry a gun in public. Since 1913, New York residents needed to show proper cause, or an actual need, to carry a concealed handgun in public for self-defense. In a 6-3 ruling, the justices said the law conflicted with the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. In California, Attorney General Rob Bonta said most of California’s law remains untouched but would like pending gun control legislation to include a requirement to assess an applicant’s potential for danger by examining their arrest records, criminal convictions and restraining orders. The state will require background checks and fingerprinting, as well as firearms training and a mental health assessment. The proposed packet of legislative proposals also would ban concealed weapons in certain sensitive areas such as parks, amusement parks and sporting venues. At Sierra Health Foundation and The Center, we are carefully following these legislative proposals with the hope they keep our communities safe.

Wildfire season is upon us and people with asthma are at a higher risk of exacerbation from wildfire smoke exposure. In California, wildfire season typically begins in May and runs through October, but with climate change as a contributing factor, fire season begins earlier and ends later each year with some experts suggesting fire season in the Golden State is now year-round. Our partners at Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP) recently released new tools for asthma programs to help reduce exposure to wildfire smoke. One of the main components to helping reduce the impact of wildfire smoke are air cleaners, also known as air purifiers. They can improve indoor air quality, but they are often cost-prohibitive for low-income families. For this reason, we join RAMP in their efforts to provide materials for asthma programs that help people choose safe, effective and affordable air cleaners. Please check out the RAMP website for more information.