CPEHN’s public health collaborative was formed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when community organizations rapidly pivoted to fill the gaps between institutional responses and on-the-ground health and social needs. The collaborative recognizes that community non-profit organizations are a critical component of California’s public health infrastructure, as evidenced in a 2021 CPEHN report. However, the role of community organizations lies beyond providing safety nets for the most underserved communities. These organizations also act as public health’s civic muscle, and many of them have been working to address systemic drivers of health inequities including institutionalized racism. Today, the collaborative continues to mobilize in order to shape the future of a public health system that can serve all Californians.
The GOALS of the Public Health Collaborative are:
- To transform California’s public health systems to center racial and social justice;
- To dismantle systems and conditions that harm people’s health, especially for communities of color and explicitly address the harmful health impacts of carceral institutions on public health (law enforcement, criminal-legal systems, immigration enforcement, etc).
- To envision and build a multisectoral, equitable public health system in California that serves all Californians, including supporting and strengthening the capacity of governmental public health sectors and community based non-profit organizations
Activities:
CPEHN’s public health collaborative currently meets monthly. These meetings provide space for training and capacity building, network and relationship building, strategic planning and policy advocacy activities. Collaborative partners also hope to intentionally build relationships with state and local public health governmental allies and collectively develop strategies to serve California’s communities of color.
2022-2023 PHC Collaborative Partners:
- Asian American Liberation Network
- Asian Solidarity Collective
- Central Valley Urban Institute
- Centro Binacional para el Desarollo Indígena Oaxaqueño (CBDIO)
- Decarcerate Sacramento
- Empowering Pacific Islander Communities
- Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition
- Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project
- Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies
- Partnerships for the Advancement of New Americans
- Pomona Economic Opportunity Center
- Roots Community Health Center
- Vision Y Compromiso
- Human Impact Partners (technical assistance provider)
For Questions about CPEHN’s Public Health Collaborative, reach out to Weiyu Zhang, CPEHN’s Associate Policy Director at wzhang@cpehn.org or Navneet Virk, Community Advocacy Associate at nvirk@cpehn.org.