284827
Community benefits agreements: A powerful tool used by community residents in securing affordable housing, jobs, small business development, legal services, clinical services and transit-oriented development
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
: 4:50 p.m. - 5:10 p.m.
Strategic Actions for a Just Economy is an economic justice, community development, and popular education center building a powerful voice for residents of South Central Los Angeles. As part of UNIDAD, a coalition of health, faith-based, small business, employment, and community organizing groups with strong resident involvement, SAJE led the coalition in two important victories resulting in $24-30 million in community benefits for low-income African-American and Latino residents. In South Los Angeles, major community development, transportation projects and planning processes are impacting the built environment, public health, and future access for community residents to healthy and affordable homes, decent jobs, parks and green space, and numerous other necessities for a healthy life. During the session, attendees will learn about increased commitments made by a local university for affordable housing, legal services, local hiring for permanent and construction jobs, job training, small business assistance, and parks and community gardens. In a separate negotiation with a private developer, residents secured commitments for on-site clinical services, health promotion, affordable housing, job training, small business support and transit-oriented development. The value of public health department participation will be described as well as information about effective strategies for engaging residents in community development projects with health equity as the focus. Strategies include popular education workshops, training seminars, coalition building, and leadership development activities. The importance of communicating the built environment as a social determinant of health and the use of data to advance community-proposed solutions will also be discussed.
Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Public health or related public policy
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health
Learning Objectives:
Identify three strategies for engaging residents and youth in local health policy and community change initiatives.
Describe tangible community health benefits that have resulted from supporting community voices in local decision-making.
Name at least two approaches for effective partnerships between community advocates, community-based organizations, residents and youth, and public health leaders.
Keyword(s): Community-Based Partnership, Policy/Policy Development
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am executive director of SAJE, a Los Angeles-based economic justice, community development, and popular education center building a powerful voice for residents of South Central Los Angeles. I have worked for more than 15 years leading organizing campaigns to expand worker rights, immigrant rights, and the rights of low income and underrepresented communities of color.
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.
