Photos by David Ng
In early August 2017, the Pat Brown Institute held the Civic University – Introductory Program for the Building Health Communities, Boyle Heights (BHC-BH) Health Happens with Prevention Workgroup members at CASA 0101. The program gave an overview on how L.A. County government can be accessed and influenced, and was taught by the Institute’s Executive Director, Dr. Raphael Sonenshein. Topics included how counties and cities differ, how power is distributed amongst elected and appointed officials, and how groups can best advocate for their collective goals. Workgroup members filled the Q&A with insightful and important questions. The Institute has served as a technical adviser to the Building Health Communities, Boyle Heights Hub from 2014-2017.
Building Healthy Communities is a ten-year, $1 billion comprehensive community initiative that is creating a revolution in the way Californians think about and support health in their communities. In 14 places across California, residents are proving that they have the power to make health happen in their neighborhoods, schools and with prevention—and in doing so, they’re creating a brighter future for their children and for our state.
The Health Happens with Prevention (HHP) workgroup is embarking on an ambitious campaign to promote a health care open enrollment season in Boyle Heights. While in prior years Covered California’s open enrollment media campaign may have simply served to remind some Boyle Heights residents of a program for which they were ineligible, starting in 2015, it will serve a different purpose. The HHP workgroup is leveraging existing media outreach and conversations around Covered California’s open enrollment period to spark conversations and enrollment into health care coverage. With programs like My Health LA bringing health care access to those otherwise eligible for other programs, there truly now is a program for everyone.