“A recent study shows that in California inhaling wildfire smoke has led to over 50,000 deaths during an 11-year period.

“Wildfire smoke is really unsafe for everyone.” — Anne Kelsey Lamb, Director of the Regional Asthma Management and Prevention Program (RAMP) at the Public Health Institute

PM2.5 is a particulate matter that comes from wildfire smoke. PM2.5 can cause and exacerbate diseases of the lungs, heart, and other parts of the body. This particulate matter from wildfires can stay in the atmosphere for months afterwards.

Who are the people most affected?

“There are two other very large groups of people that we’re concerned about and that is children and older adults. Children’s lungs are still developing and exposure to pollution like wildfire smoke can actually impair lung growth.” — Anne Kelsey Lamb

When wildfires burn through homes, toxic air pollutants like lead can be found in the smoke.

“When lead is in the air, some of it does eventually settle to the ground where it is deposited in soil, water and on plants and other surfaces.” — Anne Kelsey Lamb

Lead poisoning can damage the brain and nervous system.

As parts of California begins to be cleaned up and restored some residents are returning to their communities.”

Watch the full story.

Conflict and forced displacement have a profound impact on school-age refugees, shaping not only their educational opportunities but also their broader socio-economic conditions. Refugee children typically experience diminished access to schooling, inadequate infrastructure, language barriers, and trauma from conflict, which collectively impede the development and future prospects. When children endure multiple adversities over long periods of time, they are likely to have multiple gaps in their development.

In October 2024, PHI’s Center for Immigrant and Refugee Health hosted “Inclusive Education: Improving Academic Success and Promoting Wellness for Afghan and Ukrainian Refugee Students,” an in-person event that provided a unique opportunity for direct stakeholder collaboration, information sharing and community engagement. The gathering brought together Afghan Refugee School Impact-Support to Schools (ARSI—S2S) and Ukrainian Refugee School Impact (URSI) partners, including School Districts, community-based organizations (CBOs), refugees, community members, Federal, State, County, and other relevant stakeholders to improve academic success and promote wellness for students and their families. Learn more about the event.

Below, watch a recorded conference session featuring PHI’s Dr. Mohammad Sediq Hazratzai, MD, MPH, who explored how academic success, wellness and refugee integration can be achieved if we consider the larger ecosystem such as education, social support, health and community services.

Watch:

In the United States, there is a shortage of affordable housing and a dire need to create climate-resilient communities. The need for more collaboration between the public health and community development sectors is crucial for improving population health and health equity.

Tune in to these recordings from PHI’s Build Healthy Places Network webinar series Network Commons to hear conversations with national experts from community development, healthcare, public health and finance on topics related to addressing the social determinants of health.

Watch the Recordings:

Self-Determination and Community Investment: How Native Leaders and Multi-Sector Partners are Investing in Health while Strengthening Self-Determination

The live conversation, which aired on November 18, 2024, delved into how partners can cultivate trust with Tribal and Native organizations, ensuring that efforts are rooted in the principles of Native self-determination. Ashley Hernandez, Research and Product Manager, at BHPN led the dynamic conversation with inspiring Native leaders and their partners who are leveraging multi-sector approaches to address the drivers of health. From constructing state-of-the-art healthcare facilities to developing innovative solutions for Native communities experiencing homelessness, these leaders are making tangible differences. Learn more about how to accelerate investments in ‘health-supporting’ community infrastructure that can improve health outcomes while furthering Native and Tribal communities’ self-determination. Read more.

Building the Bridge: How Public Health and Community Development Can Work Together to Advance Shared Health and Racial Equity Goals

This live conversation, which aired on March 29, 2024, explored how racial equity is understood in these two sectors and where public health and community development collaborations have been successful in improving population health and health equity and what it will take to move us forward. Read more.

Building the Bridge: A One-Pager Resource: This one-pager resource builds on the rich discussions from this event. This dynamic tool is designed to ignite and elevate collaborations between Public Health and Community Development, aiming to drive impactful partnerships that enhance population health and advance health equity. View & Download.

Shifting Power to Communities Through the Use of Community-Driven Data

The live conversation, which aired on November 1, 2023, explored how community development corporations (CDCs) can utilize data and research techniques to produce community-driven and community-defined evidence. Colleen Flynn, Co-Executive Director at BHPN spoke with BIPOC-led CDCs who are creating and using community-driven data collection and evaluation strategies to help solve for the root causes of racial inequality in their communities. Verge Impact Partners, a public health equity consulting firm, also shared strategies to help CDCs develop data collection and evaluation goals so that it aligns with the values and visions of the communities they serve. Read more.

Exploring Community-led Racial Healing Models to Deepen Partnerships between Community Development and Healthcare

The live conversation, which aired on April 13, 2023, explored models for racial healing and reconciliation that are community-led and grounded in ancestral and traditional knowledge. Kevin Leacock, Program Manager at BHPN spoke with BIPOC-led Community Development Corporations that are leading this transformative work to interrogate the role healthcare institutions can play in reconciling past harms and discuss their approaches to repair the harm of racism by building relationships, trust and collective community power. Read more.

Reflections on 10 years at the Intersection of Community Development & Health: How far have we come and where do we go from here?

The live conversation, which aired on January 12, 2023, celebrated 10 years of Build Healthy Places Network (BHPN) and the organization’s efforts to support and expand the development of a new field, bridging the sectors of community development and health. Listen as national leaders in this movement reflected on the past and looked to the future for opportunities to drive collaborative neighborhood investments that improve health, advance racial equity, and reduce poverty in communities across the country. Read more.

Tackling Neighborhood Poverty to Improve Children’s Health: What role can doctors play in driving community investment?

The live conversation, which aired on November 1, 2022, explored how doctors and hospitals can play a pivotal role in creating healthier and more opportunity-rich environments for children and families. BHPN’s Douglas Jutte, spoke with panelists from Boston Medical Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Cincinnati, and Nationwide Children’s Hospital to discuss the important roles they and their hospital partners played in guiding and accelerating neighborhood investments that are improving health outcomes in communities they serve. Read more.

Why Multisector Collaboration Matters: Exploring BHPN’s New Rural Playbook

The live conversation, which aired on September 13, 2022, explored A Playbook for New Rural Healthcare Partnership Models of Investment, highlighting core strategies used by healthcare entities in rural areas leveraging multisector partnerships for health and well-being as examples for others to follow. Leaders from the healthcare and community development sectors discussed strategies for advancing multisector approaches and the unique assets and resources they bring to the table to address the inequities faced in rural communities. Read more.

Network Commons Webinar: Partnering with Healthcare to Create Career Pathways

The webinar, which aired on April 21, explored how community economic development organizations can partner with healthcare institutions to create career pathways in low-income and BIPOC communities. It brought together inspiring leaders whose work is showcased in the Community Economic Development & Healthcare Playbook. The audience learned from local leaders about cross-sector partnerships to create training opportunities, how to form career pathways, and leverage assets from health institutions. Read more.

PHI’s Dr. Barbara Cohn is featured in Out of Plain Sight, a new documentary exploring the health and environmental impacts of DDT on humans and ecosystems.

The film follows LA Times environmental journalist and Pulitzer Prize-finalist, Roseanna Xia, on a captivating journey as she searches to determine the health and environmental impacts of DDT—a toxic chemical commonly used as a pesticide beginning in the 1940s and later banned in the U.S. in 1972 due to rising evidence of its health threats to wildlife and humans. In 2020, Xia broke the story that as many as half a million barrels of toxic waste had been quietly dumped into the ocean decades ago, just off the coast of Los Angeles.

Dr. Cohn is the director of PHI’s Child Health and Development Studies (CHDS), which investigates how health and disease are passed on between generations—not only genetically, but also through social, personal and environmental surroundings. In the film, Dr. Cohn underscores the alarming reality that chemicals like DDT will stay in our environment for the long-term, posing health threats to humans and entire ecosystems for generations.

Out of Plain Sight is premiering in person on Saturday, Nov. 16th at 6 pm in New York at DOC NYC, the largest documentary film festival in the nation.

The film is scheduled to show again on Monday, Nov. 18, at 9 pm at the Village East Cinemas by Angelika. A question-and-answer session with the filmmakers will follow each in-person screening.

Can’t make it in person? Watch online at your own virtual screening, available to screen on-demand Nov. 17 to Dec. 1.

Learn more about the screenings and purchase your virtual tickets.

This webinar from PHI’s Lotus Project focused on the unique experiences and struggles among AAAI LGBTQ+ adolescents/young adults and their access to and experience in trauma-informed care and mental health services.

Drawing from lived experience, cultural and historical contexts, and mental health service expertise, speakers explored strengths, barriers, and culturally competent practices for trauma-informed care for LGBTQ+ individuals and families of Asian descent.

Learning Objectives

As a result of viewing this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Understand the complexity and intersectionality of AAAI LGBTQ+ experience
• Describe at least two mental health disparities or access barriers to mental health care among AAAI LGBTQ+ adolescents and young adults
• Identify at least two strategies on providing affirmative care and supporting the healing of AAAI LGBTQ+ adolescents and young adults

Watch the recording:

“Service dogs have been found to be beneficial for children with developmental disorders, providing safety and assistance with daily tasks. However, a San Jose family is in dispute with their son’s school over the use of their dog during school drop-offs and pick-ups.

Lydia Truong said her 6-year-old son was diagnosed with autism in June and has a history of eloping or running off, a common behavior among autistic children, when they are out in public.

Her son is a student at Willow Glen Elementary. The school is located on a Main Street and the family said the walk from their parked vehicle to their son’s classroom has been challenging.

To mitigate the risk, the family brought in Maelene, a service dog they said they trained to run after their son and block his path, preventing him from straying too far.

On the first day of school, in early August, the family said their son held on to the dog’s harness as they walked him from their parked vehicle to class but were met with resistance from staff at San Jose’s Willow Glen Elementary School.

According to Lydia, the school’s vice principal asked them to remove the dog from campus, after asking if it was registered. Lydia said she pointed out that under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service dogs do not require registration or certification.

The Americans with Disabilities Act website states, service animals are dogs, of any breed and size, trained to perform a task directly related to a person’s disability. They can be trained by their owner and do not require certification.

Jan Garrett, Deputy Director for the Pacific ADA Center at the Public Health Institute (PHI) and a former attorney with over 25 years of experience interpreting ADA law, said ADA law is commonly misinterpreted.

After watching a cellphone video of Maelene performing the task the Truongs trained her to do, Garrett confirmed that Maelene’s task of preventing the child from running into the street qualifies her as a service dog, not just an emotional support animal.

Moreover, Garrett emphasized that schools cannot require an assessment of the child’s disability before allowing a service dog on campus. The only questions permissible, according to Garret and the ADA website, are whether the animal is needed due to a disability and what specific task it performs.”

Click on the link below to read the full article.

This webinar from PHI’s Center for Immigrant and Refugee Health focused on the mental health disparities affecting the Afghan refugee community and the barriers they face in accessing care.

Speakers addressed the unique challenges refugees encounter when seeking mental health support, with an emphasis on the need for culturally sensitive and accessible services.

Watch:

Agenda

• Part I: 20 minutes – Magnitude, Disparities, and Paradigm Gaps
  • Post resettlement everyday life difficulties in Afghan refugee families
  • Incidence and prevalence rates of mental disorders in Afghan refugees
  • Mental health disparity gaps in CA between Afghans and US-born population
  • Mental health instruments used to screen for and assess mental disorders
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Afghan refugee children
  • Impact of acculturation and gender on mental distress and service utilization
• Part II: 30 minutes – Service Access Barriers and Facilitators in Sacramento
  • Geographical and social mapping of health services for Afghan refugees
  • Services awareness, access, and navigation support
  • Systemic, personal, cultural, and policy-related barriers
  • Insights from providers within governmental agencies and resettlement partners
  • Barriers to providing mental & sexual health, and domestic violence services
  • Linking barriers to the facilitators
• Q&A: 10 minutes

Speakers

• Dr. Marius Koga, MD, MPH, FRSPH
• Sima Naderi, MPH, MSc

Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center uses PHI’s CA Bridge model to help provide immediate and effective solutions to substance use challenges in the community. Now, the medical center is installing a Naloxone distribution box outside their emergency rooms, ensuring that everyone has access to the lifesaving drug to prevent drug overdose deaths.

In this ABC News story, Sherrie Cisneros, a substance use navigator with PHI’s CA Bridge, demonstrates how to use Naloxone (commonly known as Narcan) to help save lives.

PHI’s CA Bridge helps hospital EDs provide life-saving substance use treatment and care by leveraging 24/7 access to care and medical wrap-around services, including immediate access to medication for addiction treatment; navigation to ongoing care in the community; and building a culture of harm reduction. It is now offered in every hospital in California and being adopted in hospitals across the country.

As of August 2024, California’s wildfire season has already burnt 30 times as many acres as the year before. Wildfires are also burning in 10 additional states and Canadian provinces.

In early August 2024, PHI’s Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP) program hosted a convening on wildfire smoke updates and resources for community health workers (CHWs) and other asthma home visitors.

In this webinar, speakers discussed the health effects of wildfire smoke, why children are especially vulnerable, and public health considerations, including how to know if the air is bad and what type of masks and respirators to use.

RAMP’s Anne Kelsey Lamb provided air cleaner guidance and Stephanie Holm, the Co-Director of the Western States Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, presented on the latest wildfire smoke research.

Watch the recording:

PHI’s Build Healthy Places Network’s Video Snapshot Series is a series of quick deep dives featuring local and national experts from the community development, health, and finance sectors.

The series includes:

• Healthcare and Community Development: Creating Solutions Together to Solve Homelessness in California (May 10, 2024)
• Shifting Investing Practices into Community Control (August 22, 2023)
• Healthy Neighborhoods Study: Participatory Action Research and a Community First Approach (July 28, 2023)
• How the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule can advance racial and health equity (March 29, 2023)
• Earning a Community’s Trust: A prerequisite for equitable community partnerships (February 17, 2023)
• Building Healthy Rural Communities Together: The role of rural philanthropy in cross-sector partnership to improve community health & well-being (May 10, 2021)
• Bolstering Healthy & Thriving Communities: the importance of policy, civic muscle and belonging (May 3, 2021)

See the videos & additional resources:

Healthcare and Community Development: Creating Solutions Together to Solve Homelessness in California (May 10, 2024)

This Video Snapshot features two interviews with healthcare organizations and their partners who are pioneering innovative solutions to addressing homelessness in California.

In the first interview (above), Build Healthy Places Network’s Co-Executive Director Colleen Flynn speaks with partners involved in a multisector collaborative that is part of the Saint Rest Food to Share Hub project in Fresno, CA.

In the second interview (below), Ashley Hernandez, research and product manager at Build Healthy Places Network, speaks with partners about their involvement in the creation of East Beamer Neighborhood Campus.

Shifting Investing Practices into Community Control (August 22, 2023)

This video snapshot focuses on efforts to seed participatory, community-led investing practices in the field. The conversation highlights the work of Tap Bui, Co-Executive Director of Song CDC in New Orleans, LA, and their efforts to advance community-led work in New Orleans East. Song CDC is part of the BHPN Community Innovations for Racial Equity initiative. The video also highlights the work of Sonia Sarkar, who serves on the Leadership Team of Shift Health Accelerator. Sonia co-led the Common Future Action Lab: Participatory Investing initiative which produced a Participatory Investing Toolkit, a playbook for operationalizing power-shifting within philanthropic investment. The discussion underscores opportunities for funders to approach grantmaking and investing through new lenses, opening up opportunities for community ownership, wealth building, and trust-based processes that stand to create more equitable and community-driven impact.

Healthy Neighborhoods Study: Participatory Action Research and a Community First Approach (July 28, 2023)

In this video snapshot, Build Healthy Places Network’s Ashley Hernandez speaks with Vedette Gavin from Verge Impact Partners and Andrew Seeder from Conservation Law Foundation. Vedette is a senior research consultant and CO Principal Investigator and Andrew is a research scientist for participatory methods and training for the Healthy Neighborhoods Study.

During this discussion, Vedette and Andrew dive into the participatory action research (PAR) process and explain how PAR can support a community first model by prioritizing the experience of residents when evaluating what matters most for the health of a community. This approach can be used to impact neighborhood change so that it shifts power to residents, helping them gain more control over developments in their communities. Vedette and Andrew discuss how institutions working to prioritize community voice and engagement should identify their impacts on neighborhoods, create safe spaces, and build trust with residents to create meaningful investments that benefit those who are impacted.

How the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule can advance racial and health equity (March 29, 2023)

In this interview, Build Healthy Places Network’s Co-Executive Director Colleen Flynn, speaks with Will Dominie, the Housing Justice Program Director from Human Impact Partners, a national non-profit that transforms the field of public health to center equity and build collective power with social justice movements.

During this discussion, Will shares why his organization is prioritizing the proposed changes to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule. He also highlights the discriminatory practices and inequitable opportunities that BIPOC communities experience and how these changes can uplift community voices and increase self-determination to address inequities and create healthier futures.

Earning a Community’s Trust: A prerequisite for equitable community partnerships (February 17, 2023)

In this video snapshot, Build Healthy Places Network’s Co-Executive Director, Ruth Thomas Squance, PhD, MPH, speaks with Philip M. Alberti, PhD, Founding Director of the AAMC Center for Health Justice. The two discuss the origins of the Principles for Trustworthiness, why the process is as important as the product, and how the tool applies to multi-sector efforts committed to long term relationships, where resources are shared and decisions are made collectively.

Building Healthy Rural Communities Together: The role of rural philanthropy in cross-sector partnership to improve community health & well-being (May 10, 2021)

In this 14 minute Video Snapshot, Build Healthy Places Network’s Ashley Hernandez speaks with Allen Smart, a national spokesperson and advocate for improving rural philanthropic practice under his group, PhilanthropywoRx.

The two discuss the important contributions philanthropy brings to community development and health partnerships in rural areas. Allen Smart also provides examples of philanthropy’s key role in accelerating investments aimed at improving health and well-being in rural communities and lays out ways community developers can connect with the philanthropic sector.

Bolstering Healthy & Thriving Communities: the importance of policy, civic muscle and belonging (May 3, 2021)

In this brief Video Snapshot, Build Healthy Places Network’s Colleen Flynn speaks with Esther Shin, President of Urban Strategies, Inc., who leads a team of professionals with expertise in human capital and economic development to support persistently marginalized communities across the country. The two discuss the impact of policy on creating a more equitable society; why civic muscle and belonging are important to achieving racial equity; and Urban Strategies, Inc’s role in supporting civic engagement processes to advance community-led policies. 

Esther Shin, who was part of BHPN’s and Shift Health Accelerator’s policy council to advise the Healthy Neighborhood Investments: Policy Scan & Strategy Map, illustrates the power of policy in shaping outcomes for families and communities and how civic engagement should be at the heart of equity work.