Areas of Focus / Community Resiliency

Community Resiliency

Over the years, CHC has been a catalyst in calling out inequities and advancing policies in South LA and other communities across the county, state and nation to increase:
Food Retail – access to affordable, quality, fresh, wholesome food
Green Space – access to parks, community gardens, and local urban farms
Streetscape – improve conditions to encourage safe walking, biking, and other active transportation
Air quality and mitigation of local pollution sources

Across the nation, communities like South LA continue to be faced with an epidemic of chronic, preventable diseases (i.e. obesity, hypertension and high cholesterol) as well as socio-economic factors that exacerbate health outcomes (high unemployment rates, low graduation rates, and living in extreme poverty). These health and social disparities have been inextricably linked to decades of disinvestment, the creation of racist policies/systems, and inequitable distribution of resources (i.e. over-concentration of fast food and liquor stores, practically non-existent healthy food options, limited access to safe open spaces and urban canopy, unusable active transportation conditions, and limited affordable housing units).

As such CHC has been strengthening strategic partnerships, engaging in systems change efforts, building a body of research, and creating proofs of concepts to identify the facilitating factors to positioning and sustaining community driven transformation.

Community/Strategic Partnerships

Over the years, CHC has always been keenly aware that without critical partnership in place, the impact can be limited. Thus, CHC continues to engage in strategic partnerships with a broad-based set of stakeholders (residents, nonprofit organizations, for-profit entities, faith-based entities, public agencies and funders) to alter the structural conditions that impact population health. Currently CHC is engaged in:

Baldwin Hills Oil Fields Community Advisory Committee

Between 2006 – 2008 CHC led efforts to mobilize residents (Greater Baldwins Hills Alliance – GBHA) surrounding the Oil Field to bring attention to the need for a Community Standards District (CSD) to counter the uncontrolled emissions of noxious gases that caused residents to flee their homes. The final plan had several welcomed provisions such as the establishment of a Community Advisory Panel (CAP), of which CHC is a member. In July 2011, an agreement was reached by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors that strengthened health and safety protections for households living near drilling operations. Today, as a member of the CAP, CHC along with a health workgroup is working with the LA County Department of Public Health to inform the design and implementation of a Health Assessment and Environmental Justice Study as required by the original Settlement Agreement. CHC also continues to engage residents and other stakeholders interested in keeping up to date as to what is happening with the oil fields through the GBHA list serve. To be included please contact Sonya Vasquez at svasquez@risingcommunities.org.

Community Prevention and Population Health Task Force

Veronica Flores, CHC’s CEO has been a member since its inception in 2018 and is currently the co-chair. The mission of the Task Force is to promote health, equity and community well-being in Los Angeles County. The Task Force makes recommendations to the Board of Supervisors, the Health Agency, and DPH on policies and practices to improve population health in Los Angeles County. In addition, the Task Force oversees DPH’s ongoing county-wide community health planning efforts to improve population health for all Los Angeles County community members, with a particular focus on guiding the development and implementation of the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). The CHIP is a 5-year strategic plan for DPH and community stakeholders to collectively improve the health of all residents. In addition, the Task Force also serves as an advisory body to the Health Agency’s Center for Health Equity. For more information visit- Task Force – Think Health LA

Backbone Support Services

Over the last three years, CHC has been serving as a backbone entity for major initiatives across California. In this role, CHC has provided

  1. fiscal management
  2. systems change and leadership capacity building
  3. support with operations and strategic planning
  4. workplan design, implementation, and measurement
  5. stakeholder engagement of a broad-based multi-sector collaborations
Healthy Kids Zone (HKZ)

This concept was created as a multi-level and -issue, place-based approach that brings community members within a ½ mile radius of a school to work together to identify community challenges and health promoting policy solutions to those challenges. At its core is the importance of community design with an emphasis on a community-driven participatory process and building partnerships among a range of agencies, organizations and individual stakeholders. For more information on the project go to HealthyKidsZone.org

South LA Building Healthy Communities (SLABHC)

From 2009-2010, CHC served as the initial backbone agency for SLABHC supporting the development of a logic model and initial infrastructure design. In 2018 CHC was asked once again to be the backbone. Today, CHC supports the Steering Committee in developing and implementing a plant to promote intersectional movement building that builds power and shifts the narrative about South LA. For more on the initiative go to http://southlaisthefuture.org/.

Best Start Region 2

In 2018, CHC was selected as the backbone entity for this $5.2M project to build the capacity of organizations and residents working in 4 South LA communities to improve outcomes for 0-5 aged children and their families through policy and systems change. In this role, CHC has been building the capacity of resident leaders to ensure that they have the individual capacities, organizational competencies, & knowledge of strategies to engage in collaborative policy & systems change actions. CHC is also working to create a strong and sustainable eco-system or organizations that foster community health and well-being. For more information go to https://www.beststartcommunities.com/

The New Fund for Children & Youth

In 2019 CHC became the backbone for a statewide coalition of organizations to assess, develop and implement a campaign strategy for creating and passing a ballot in 2022 that secures dedicated funding for youth ages 0-24. For more information go to https://newfundla.org

Past Community Initiatives

In 1992 after the Civil unrest Community Health Councils was for the express purpose of implementing a mechanism that will enable 12 local communities to 1) improve their health status and 2) help local governments and institutions shape their response to the health care crisis in Los Angeles. Over there years CHC has birthed a number of large-scale initiatives.
United of Health

United for Health

A coalition of 14 CBOs and 10 clinics that developed various systems change strategies to reduce chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes in five low-income, Black and Latinx communities.
REach Western

Partners for Health

Partnership of over 40 organizations that came together to develop and implement replicable and scalable systems and environmental improvements to reduce disparities in obesity rates and hypertension among Black and Latinx residents.
Lark Grocery Store Tour

African Americans Building a Legacy of Health Consortium (AABLHC)

A consortium of coalitions and organizations that worked to improve access to quality, nutritious food and physical activity opportunities through institutional practices, public policy, and local reinvestment.