Online Program

328251
Best Babies Zone-Oakland: Linking Health and Wealth


Wednesday, November 4, 2015 : 8:40 a.m. - 8:50 a.m.

Jessica Luginbuhl, MPH, Family Health Services Division, Alameda County Public Health Department, Oakland, CA
Mariela Uribe, Program Associate, Best Babies Zone, Family Health Services Division, Alameda County Public Health Department, Oakland
In Alameda County there is on average a 13 year difference in life expectancy driven by race, place, and income.  Research demonstrates that health inequities are the result of broad social, economic, and environmental factors that affect one’s experiences and opportunities over a lifetime.

Recognizing that a community’s economic landscape shapes health, Best Babies Zone Oakland is focused on community-informed solutions to economic challenges in a small, geographic region of East Oakland. After completing a multi-sector, resident-informed, Human-Centered Design (HCD) process as a way to build momentum in the neighborhood, an economic revitalization vision was created.

From that vision the Castlemont Community Market emerged, serving as a stepping stone to generate a grassroots local economy and business opportunities for East Oakland residents. The market provides space for vendors and community members to buy and sell products made in their neighborhood and a community gathering space. Over the past 12 months, the market has grown consistently, with a selection of 20 local vendors/entrepreneurs participating on a regular basis. Community attendance at the market continues to increase along with the circulation of local dollars ($3,000).

The HCD process allowed for quick prototyping, resident engagement, and ultimately the creation of the market. The market is an opportunity to lift up local talent, work across sectors, actualize the health-wealth connection, and provide a community gathering space to build social cohesion. Challenges include: prioritizing the business interests of all the vendors, and joint-ownership of the market. 

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate how Best Babies Zone Oakland worked with the Castlemont community to build successful cross-sector partnerships toward a common goal. Describe how Best Babies Zone Oakland developed local, grassroots economies through supporting local enterprise. Discuss the need for community activities in disinvested communities as a method to build social cohesion.

Keyword(s): Partnerships, Activism

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Jessica Cullen Luginbuhl is the Special Projects Manager for Building Blocks for Health Equity Unit at Alameda County Public Health Department. In order to create healthy social and economic neighborhood conditions, her work focuses on multi-sector collaboration, strategic communications, and project incubation. She was a Fellow with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2007-2010 and holds an MPH in Maternal and Child Health from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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.