257115 At the Heart of Achieving Equity: Authentic Community Engagement

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Dana Richardson , Community Health Improvement Partners, San Diego, CA
The Community Health Improvement Partners (CHIP), a public-private partnership formed in 1995, is the administrative/fiscal agent of the San Diego County Obesity Initiative, and thus, as part of its scope of work have worked to strengthen public health systems in San Diego by creating and implementing a Resident Leadership Academy (RLA) in four, high-risk San Diego County neighborhoods: Oceanside, National City, Southeastern San Diego and Lemon Grove. CHIP facilitated the Resident Leadership Academy (RLA) to train community residents on leadership skills with an emphasis on community planning principles in order to create safe, healthy and livable communities within San Diego County. To date, 51 RLA graduates are implementing 13 community-change campaigns that address public safety, healthy food access and improve physical activity opportunities in target neighborhoods.

The Resident Leadership Academy is 10-session specialized, comprehensive training curriculum on how environments shape health outcomes and how community groups can advocate for healthy food access. The RLA is a true investment in human capital within commonly overlooked neighborhoods that in the past have not been viewed as government priorities. RLA graduates continue working with public and private institutions in their respective communities to accomplish their goals. CHIP is poised to provide training and technical assistance to interested organizations on the Resident Leadership Academy, beyond the grant period, to ensure that efforts are sustained.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
• Understand the necessary steps for facilitating a 10-session specialized, comprehensive training curriculum on how environments shape health outcomes and how community groups can advocate for healthy food access, improving public safety and physical activity opportunities in high-risk communities • Learn key strategies for cultivating grassroots leadership in underserved neighborhoods around advocacy for healthier community environments • Demonstrate effectiveness of the approach by sharing successes, impact, lessons learned while highlighting community-level campaigns driven by new local leaders to reduce risk of obesity in high need communities • Share approaches for evaluating a curriculum-based, capacity building processes to improve the public health leadership and advocacy skills of local residents from underserved areas

Keywords: Community Building, Community-Based Public Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Dana Richardson directed Chula Vista’s six-year Healthy Eating Active Communities (HEAC) initiative, working with youth and adult residents in western Chula Vista on issues of safety, violence prevention, and nutrition. With advocates he empowered, Richardson secured a raft of policies that promote physical activity and increase access to healthy foods, including provisions in the city General Plan encouraging development of parks and open space.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4384.0: Community Members & Youth Leading the Way to Healthier Communities