Prosperity Project: Systems change for health and economic equity

The Alameda County Public Health Department's (ACPHD) commitment to achieving health equity is institutionalized in the agency's strategic plan, bolstered by the development of a local policy agenda, and punctuated by a rich history of community engagement and accountability.

The Prosperity Project is one of ACPHD's latest efforts to affect change, at multiple levels and across sectors, to address inequities in ways that move beyond services and education. In close partnership with community partners and clients, The Prosperity Project is working to improve health by increasing opportunities to protect income and build financial assets utilizing policy, education, and service delivery.

As demonstrated in the County Health Rankings model, we recognize that economic security is closely tied to health outcomes. And, we understand that a reliance on predatory financial services poses substantial threats to a family's income and economic well-being. For-profit check cashers, payday lenders, and pawn shops are disproportionately located in low-income communities of color, and divert hard-earned income away from households' basic needs, while stripping wealth out of the same neighborhoods that are struggling economically. The Prosperity Project takes a policy and systems-level approach to addressing health and wealth inequities by:

• Advancing policy that will guide responsible banking and transparent community reinvestment, ultimately increasing access to wealth-building opportunities in low-income communities of color • Developing a Savvy Consumer Toolkit that will teach service provider and community members the hallmarks of appropriate financial products • Connecting ACPHD's perinatal service delivery to both the consumer education tools and policy advocacy