March 2022 

Our offices will be closed on Thursday, March 31, to honor the life, work and legacy of César Chávez.

We celebrate all that he accomplished as a labor leader and civil rights activist dedicated to improving the lives of farmworkers in the United States.

Photo courtesy of United Farm Workers
Copyright Jocelyn Sherman

The COVID-19 pandemic created inequitable financial hardship for many communities in California, which has dramatically impacted at-risk homeowners. From February 2020 to May 2021, 4.9 percent of the mortgages in California went into forbearance – a total of 364,000.

The California Mortgage Relief Program provides federal funds through the California Homeowner Relief Corporation (CalHRC) to assist at-risk homeowners in difficult-to-reach, socially disadvantaged and traditionally underserved communities to keep their homes. Launched in January with a statewide media campaign, the program relies on community-based organizations for multilingual outreach and engagement to ensure income-qualified homeowners are made aware of financial resources, know how to apply and are motivated to act.

Partnering with CalHRC, The Center funded five organizations to provide outreach to homeowners who meet program requirements for mortgage assistance: American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Community Action League, Council on American-Islamic Relations – California and Vision Y Compromiso. Look for future reports about this important work.

Town Hall Meeting to Discuss COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Persons of Color
The Observer News Group reported on recent efforts of California Association of African American Superintendents and Administrators (CAASA) and Antelope Valley Partners for Health to bring together a panel on COVID-19 vaccine education with descendants of the U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee. CAASA is one of 153 community-based organizations funded through a partnership of the State of California and The Center that is funding COVID-19 prevention and community engagement efforts throughout the state.

$1 million in marijuana tax revenue goes to AUHSD drug-prevention programs
The Orange County Register reported on Elevate Youth California funding awarded to Waymakers for social and emotional youth education. Activities will include peer-led support, leadership development, a systems change campaign and mentorship.

We are pleased to introduce our newest staff members. Please visit our staff page to access names and titles for our full staff.

• Aketa Marie Williams — Managing Director of Communications
• Dennis Urtecho — Senior Grant Accountant

Our team continues to grow! Please see below for job openings.

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

• Managing Director for Health Equity and Access (Sacramento office)
• Managing Director for Regional Programs (Fresno office)
• Senior Program Officer for the Behavioral Health Recovery Services Project (Fresno office)
• Program Associate for the Behavioral Health Recovery Services Project (Fresno office)
• Program Assistant for the Medication Assisted Treatment Access Points Project (Sacramento office)
• Program Assistant for the Elevate Youth California program (Sacramento office)

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

The San Joaquin Valley Health Fund’s annual Equity on the Mall event will be virtual again this year, with activities spanning the week of May 30.

Now in its seventh year, Equity on the Mall brings together San Joaquin Valley community leaders, residents and statewide partners to hold policymakers accountable to advancing the health and equity of all San Joaquin Valley residents. The event is an opportunity for partners to highlight their community-driven Policy Platform. We will have more details in the April and May issues of Partnerships and will post on the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund webpage and on Facebook and Twitter.

The Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Access Points Project announced funding awards for a new cohort of community partners.

The Center awarded funding to 23 partner organizations through the Opioid and Stimulant Use Prevention and Recovery Services in the 2S/LGBTQ+ Community funding opportunity. Partners will use the funds to implement opioid and stimulant use education and prevention activities as well as recovery support services for Two-Spirit/LGBTQ+ communities through February 2023.

This funding brings the project’s State Opioid Response round two investments to more than $50 million. Learn more on the MAT Access Points Project website.

The Center at Sierra Health Foundation this month released the Elevate Youth California 2021 Annual Report. With an infographic format, the report highlights grantee partner accomplishments, funding awarded, local movement building, demographics of youth who are engaged and capacity building activities, as well as youth empowerment, leadership and development activities.

Learn about this work on the Elevate Youth California website.

Through The Center’s partnership with the State of California on the COVID-19 Public Awareness Campaign, multiple “Shot of Faith” events have taken place across the state to connect Black faith leaders with accurate information about COVID-19 prevention and vaccination.

On March 24, campaign partners held a virtual session on public health and faith at the California State Baptist Convention, bringing together Sierra Health Foundation and The Center President and CEO Chet P. Hewitt, St. HOPE CEO Cassandra Jennings and South Sacramento Christian Center Senior Pastor Les Simmons. The speakers encouraged more than 300 faith leaders from across the state to stay engaged and thanked them for their work to inform communities about vaccinations and ways to stay safe.

Earlier this month, CalMatters reported on the pending expiration of two federal COVID-19 emergency programs, which could result in millions of Californians losing their Medi-Cal insurance. During the federal government’s public health emergency, states cannot drop people from Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California). The emergency is scheduled to expire after April 15 unless the Biden administration extends it for another 90 days. Learn about the impact nationwide on the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Center for Children and Families website and at Politico.com.

In March 2021, Kaiser Family Foundation launched the video series THE CONVERSATION / LA CONVERSACIÓN Between Us, About Us with doctors, nurses and researchers to provide facts and dispel myths about the COVID-19 vaccines. One year later, the series includes more than 300 videos in English and Spanish, features 31 healthcare workers of color and has had more than 135 million views on social and digital media. The series is a partnership of the Black Coalition Against COVID, UnidosUS and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Sierra Health Foundation was proud to be among the funders to support this important effort.