East Oakland Building Healthy Communities

East Oakland Building Healthy Communities brings together youth and adult residents, community based organizations, schools, business, health care service providers, and government agencies to work towards improved community and individual health. The ultimate goal: a thriving East Oakland. We are one of 14 sites selected by The California Endowment to participate in the statewide Building Healthy Communities initiative, a 10-year plan to improve health in underserved, geographically and ethnically diverse communities throughout California.

[sonsandbrothers]

FACT: Only 50% of 24.8 million eligible Latino voters are actually registered to vote. 

We can change this! #NCLR14 

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#Goalsetting advice from a proven Champion. 

When the  greats speak, #SonsAndBrothers everywhere should listen. 

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Sharing Our Stories @ Neighbor Night

A few weeks ago at Neighbor Night, we asked folks to share their experiences with the following:

Health Access + What have you done to make sure you and your family have health care services to deal with an injury, prevent sickness, or respond to a health emergency? + What types of barrier(s) did you have to overcome in order to get care? + What or who was the biggest help to you in overcoming the barrier(s)?

Land Use, Transportation, Environment & Health Food + Describe a place in your neighborhood you think is healthy. Where is it? Why is it healthy? + How do you feel about the public transportation options in your neighborhood? What works? What doesn’t? + Can you buy healthy food in your neighborhood? If so, where? Describe your favorite healthy meal.

Peace Promotions & Safety + What or who helps you to feel safer in your neighborhood? How? + What actions have you taken to help your family and neighbors feel safer?

Economic Opportunity + Times are tough, jobs are scarce. How do you help your family and neighbors make ends meet? + Who supports you to make ends meet? + What are the challenges you and your family face in getting and/or keeping a job?

Here are a few of the stories that were shared with us.

Neighbor Night is planned by our REaL Team, the Resident Engagement and Leadership Team. REaL Team members are adult and youth volunteers who have stepped up to serve as resident leaders, and to ensure that residents have a place and a voice in the efforts to make their communities safer and more beautiful.

Our next Neighbor Night will be held in August. To learn more about how to get involved in the REaL Team and to help plan Neighbor Night, please contact [email protected].

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Meet the 2014 Youth Leadership Board!

We're pleased to announce the selection of our 2014 Youth Leadership Board. These outstanding young people will receive leadership training, make funding decisions for our youth mini-grant program, and participate in statewide youth activities with The California Endowment. 

DeAunTe White | Age 23 | Youth Minister

Favorite thing about East Oakland ...  It's my birthplace and the history and culture.

I'm excited to be a part of the Youth Leadership Board because ... I get to help decide on the youth mini-grants and see new ideas.

The health issue most impacting me, my family and my community ... Education and violence.

Diana Jauregui | Age 17 | Unity High School

Favorite thing about East Oakland ... Diversity of culture and food. 

I'm excited to be a part of the Youth Leadership Board because ... It will be fun deciding who gets the mini-grants and seeing the new ideas.

The health issue most impacting me, my family and my community ... Cancer, the poor getting poorer, unhealthy lifestyles.

Giovonni Gaines | Age 18 | Fremont High School

Favorite thing about East Oakland ... Art work on buildings.

I'm excited to be a part of the Youth Leadership Board because ... I'll gain knowledge and experience.

The health issue most impacting me, my family and my community ... Social media, smoking and low incomes.

Kasandra Macias | Age 16 | Skyline High School

Favorite thing about East Oakland ... Racial diversity.

I'm excited to be a part of the Youth Leadership Board because ... I want to make a difference.

The health issue most The health issue most impacting me, my family and my community ... Social media, smoking.

Luis Ramirez | Age 16 | Castlemont High School

Favorite thing about East Oakland ... Lots of ways to be involved.

I'm excited to be a part of the Youth Leadership Board because ... It was a great experience last year and I am excited to have the experience again.

The health issue most impacting me, my family and my community ... The idea of growing up in a bad place and how it might make me a bad person.

Sandra Muniz | Age 18 | San Francisco State University

Favorite thing about East Oakland ... Diversity and many cultures.

I'm excited to be a part of the Youth Leadership Board because ... I like trying new things and I want to make change in the environment of Oakland.

Terrance McClellan | Age 15 | Skyline High School

I'm excited to be a part of the Youth Leadership Board because ... It's a chance to help people.

The health issue most The health issue most impacting me, my family and my community ... Smoking.

De'Zhane Rhymer, Marshae Eubanks, Miguel Mendiza weren't able to join us for our first meeting. Stay tuned for more details on them ...

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A Look at 2013 Youth Mini-Grants

This past summer, East Oakland youth, in partnership with community-based organizations, designed and implemented seven projects to educate and improve their communities. 

All Youth Mini-Grant funding decisions are made by our Youth Leadership Board, a group comprised exclusively of East Oakland youth aged 14-24. 

Hope Collaborative - East Oakland Youth Mixer

Amount funded: $1825

With the goal of providing a safe place for youth to learn and share about health issues affecting them, youth from Hope Collaborative organized a youth focus group or 'mixer'. Mixer organizers compiled responses from the 25 participants into a report to help community organizations get a better understanding of the health concerns of youth.

Bay Area Urban Network - Points of Light Leadership Camp

Amount funded: $2000

The Bay Area Urban Network used their funds to send 20 youth to a weekend leadership camp in Occidental, CA. At the camp, youth participated in training and activities to build skills to help them pursue academic excellence, cultivate positive relationships, and transform their environment through leadership and service.

Community Rejuvenation Project - Arrow-Soul Council After-school Program Mural

Amount funded: $1825

Students in Community Revitalization Project's Arrow-Soul Council After-school program at Unity High School collaborated to design and paint this peace-promoting mural. In addition to creating a long-lasting positive message for an East Oakland neighborhood, the mural project helped students practice teamwork, planning and artistic expression.

PUEBLO - Day Laborer Wage Theft Study

Amount funded: $2000

Under the guidance of staff from PUEBLO, four youth designed and implemented a study to explore the wage theft experience of young day laborers. Their findings, along with recommendations for solutions, were compiled into a report that was presented to a local city council member.

Unity Council - Latino Men & Boys Mural

Amount funded: $2000

This mural sponsored by the Unity Council was designed and painted by 14 young men of color from Fremont High School. The piece beautifies a highly visible corner in Fruitvale and celebrates the rich diversity of the community. 

United Roots - Short Film "The Voyage"

Amount funded: $2000

  'The Voyage' is a documentary-style piece that explores the impacts of immigration on young people. Entirely youth produced, the film created a space for first generation immigrants to share their stories. It was premiered at a community screening and discussion at The New Parkway theater in November. 

Youth Uprising - The B.E.L. Program, Young Women’s Beauty & Education Workshop

Amount funded: $2000

Youth staff from Youth Uprising created a workshop series focused on self care and body positive education for young women in East Oakland. Professionals were tapped to present topics ranging from healthy relationships to belly dancing to grooming and hygiene. Many workshop participants were awarded full scholarships by Marnello's Beauty School.

Applications for our 2014 round of youth mini-grants are due Monday, June 2, 2014. Register for one of our info sessions now.

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East Oakland hits Downtown L.A. for the Annual BHC Convening

The annual statewide Building Health Communities convening, hosted by The California Endowment, took place in Los Angeles in mid-October.

Entitled "Scaling Up the Movement: Inspired Learning through Connection and Celebration", the purpose of the convening was to reflect on our practice as a learning community, and to discover and solidify our connections in order to scale up policy and systems change.

The following Hub staff, representatives from grantee organizations and our host site, Alameda County Department of Public Health, attended the convening on behalf of East Oakland.

Evette Brandon, Hub Staff/Manager

Kimblyn Bryant, Hub Staff/Resident Engagement Coordinator

Sequoia Hall, Alameda County Health Pipeline Partnership, Work Groups 2 & 8 member

Paul Flores, Unity Council, Boys & Men of Color Group member

Brandy Howard, Hub Staff/Media Specialist

Nehanda Imara, Communities for a Better Environment, Work Group 4 Chair

Kevin Jackson, Oakland Food Connections, Youth Ambassador/Mini-Grant Board Member

Brandon Sturdivant, Oakland Community Organizations, Work Group 8 member

Mario Balcita, Hub Staff/Youth Coordinator

Kimi Watkins-Tartt, Hub Host Staff/Alameda County Department of Public Health

Wendy Calimag, Girls, Inc., Youth Organizing & Development Group member

Sandra Davis, The California Endowment, East Oakland Program Manager

 Check out our Storify and read on for convening highlights from Sequoia, Paul, Evette, Mario, Nehanda, and Wendy.

What was your favorite thing about the BHC Convening?

Sequoia: My favorite thing about the convening was that the arts were used a tool to facilitate moving deep-seated discussion. As an attendee of songwriting, I was extremely moved by how folks in the group truly opened up to people they have never met before and actually sang!

Paul: Spanglish collective songwriting workshop; getting to know East Oakland BHC partners, and seeing friends from Boys & Men of Color camp.

Evette: Father Boyle's intensely personal, moving story of loss and life.

Mario: The opportunity to connect with people from other sites around the state. The connections felt real without being forced. 

Nehanda: The Keynote and other main presentations, these were highly experienced, skilled and passionate people, they gave us some rich information and food for thought. The message of Father Boyle was inspiring and down to earth. Anthony Thigpenn gave us a powerful example of how to move things on a broad level of collaboration, planning and hard long term work. And Maya Wiley was so good at reminding us that racism is alive and well using great information and powerful storytelling.

Wendy: Presentations on race, by Father Boyle, connecting with other organization doing systems change work, building relationships with East Oakland BHC orgs, and learning from other communities.

What was your biggest A-HA moment?

Sequoia: My a-ha moment was during Father Boyle's speech. He spoke about the young people he serves and provided compelling stories that made me cry but they also made me think that about the many people in the room who actually want to change the world for the better. I think it is beautiful to attend conferences/convenings because you get to witness the other courageous folks doing this great work.

Paul: Healing practices should be grounded in all organizing and empowerment work.

Evette: Arts and culture must be integrated into this work.

Mario: When talking to a newer youth coordinator from a site who is experiencing similar issues that have happened with our local youth work. Our struggles are similar and so I our successes can be too.

Nehanda: It was great to learn that other sites are structured around the three big "Health Happens" campaigns, and that we can do this in East Oakland to streamline our work!

Wendy: Not really an A-HA, but something I really want to work toward is creating relationships among youth orgs in East Oakland so that the youth of Oakland can come together and identify their challenges and strategies toward change. We talk about collective impact but as organizations we have to start living it. I learned from a lot of organizations in the conference but realized that East Oakland organizations have a lot to learn from each other.

Were you at the convening, too? What were your favorite moments or A-HA's?

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Another one of our recent youth mini-grant projects getting some attention ... Congrats to the Community Rejuvenation Project, and all the youth and adult allies who worked so hard to make this happen. 

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Check out this incredible short film about immigrant youth that was made by United Roots Oakland and Simphony Productions with support from our last mini-grant cycle.

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Alameda County Enrolls and Prepares Residents for Obamacare through WE Connect Event

by Sandra Davis Program Manager, East Oakland BHC

Starting today, Californians will have better, more affordable health care options. Lower-income Californians, even those who are single or without dependent children, will be eligible to apply for Medi-Cal. Many Californians will also have the option to enroll in private plans through Covered California, where they may be eligible for premium assistance.

But those options won’t mean anything unless those who are eligible for new health care options enroll. That’s why events like WEConnect , which was held at the Cesar Chavez Civic Center in Oakland on September 21, are so important. WEConnect, Alameda County, Intuit Financial Freedom Foundation, and our Building Healthy Communities partners came together to help educate, assist and enroll local residents in health care coverage.

More than 1,200 people attended our WEConnect event to learn about how their families can access affordable, quality health insurance. In addition to learning about health coverage options, attendees were also able to get in touch with local nonprofits, and receive free vaccinations, medical screenings and assistance with tax preparation. They also learned about other programs like CalFresh and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, which provide nutritional assistance to families.

For communities like East Oakland, where we know that thousands of people will have access to health coverage for the first time, the event was an important step toward building awareness and connecting residents to coverage. Stakeholders, including faith-based institutions like Allen Temple Baptist Church and community organizations like Causa Justa:Just Cause, Communities for a Better Environment, Street Level Health Project and Oakland Community Organizations, will be continuing to educate residents on their new eligibilities.

Efforts, including door to door outreach, will continue to drive enrollment and collaboration via an East Oakland Outreach and Enrollment “HUB”. The goal of the HUB is both to provide access to care and to use trusted “community messengers” help residents understand the important role that coverage plays in overall community health.

As people begin to learn about their health coverage options under Obamacare, as well as the mandate that requires most to enroll in coverage, it’s important for everyone to remember why health coverage is so important.

Insurance means that families are protected against catastrophic, unforeseen health care costs. For communities that are already strapped, the risk and economic reality of incurring medical bills is in itself an issue that contributes to stress and lower quality of individual, family and community health. Also,under Obamacare Health coverage provides preventive services like annual checkups, vaccinations and medical screenings—often at little to no cost. Not only does insurance help people when they’re sick, it helps people stay healthy.

Getting Californians enrolled into health care coverage is no easy task for a state with 7 million uninsured. But, thanks to the community partners who reach residents every day and collaborative events like WEConnect, we are working to make a difference in the lives of Oakland residents.

Photos from our Oakland WE Connect Event.

Media coverage from our Oakland WE Connect Event:

Bloomberg

In California, where Hispanics will outnumber whites within a year, backers of the Affordable Care Act are ramping up outreach in places like Richmond, a San Francisco Bay Area city whose population is almost 40 percent Hispanic and where about 18 percent of residents live below the poverty line.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-30/obamacare-s-latino-push-may-give-democrats-political-edge.html

PBS NewsHour

Hundreds of people, young and old, stood in line on a recent morning outside the Cesar Chavez civic center in Oakland, California. The occasion was a health fair organized by community groups, and the mood was festive as the largely Hispanic participants prepared to sign up for programs, including food stamps, free medical screenings, even free healthful food. But the biggest draw was the large area devoted to health insurance.

http://mms.tveyes.com/Transcript.asp?stationid=2675&DateTime=10%2F01%2F2013+02%3A23%3A03&mediapreload=14&playclip=true