Home: Highlights
CCCS NFO/RWC Partners Discuss CCCS Workgroup 2.0
After a year of CCCS NFO/RWC partners meeting on a biweekly basis to share critical information and resources for immediate COVID-19 pandemic response to the most vulnerable residents, the group has now shifted to focused discussions on connecting the Neighborhood Action Plan Strategies identified pre-pandemic with the ever-evolving COVID-19 recovery assistance and outreach efforts of its partners.
East Palo Alto Kicks Off Housing Element Community Meetings
All jurisdictions across San Mateo County are updating their housing elements, a once-in-a-decade opportunity to plan for the future of our communities. East Palo Alto started hosting community meetings in English and Spanish. If you want to engage in the update of the housing element for your city, check out Let’s Talk Housing San Mateo County.
Get Healthy SMC Community Implementation Funding Is Back This Fall!
Get Healthy SMC Community Implementation Funding will be open for applications in early October! We will be seeking projects that will help us build healthier communities and ensure an equitable recovery. Stay tuned in the coming months as we will be sharing more information via our newsletter and social media. Check out previously funded projects here.
Still Time to Apply! Youth Civic Empowerment Trainings
In an effort to build a pipeline of youth who have been underrepresented in decision making bodies such as youth councils and boards and commissions, there will be two training cohorts this summer that will offer the opportunity to build youth’s skills to become inclusive decision makers. Applications are due June 1st.
Leading the Healthy Retail and Safe Routes to School Work
Dear Get Healthy SMC partners,
Farewell Dr. Lockett
Dr. Cassius Lockett served as Director of Public Health, Policy and Planning for San Mateo County Health for five years, including guiding our local public health response to the global pandemic. We were sad to lose his stellar leadership as he accepted an important leadership role serving the residents of southern Nevada. Deputy Chief of Health, Srija Srinivasan, is serving as the Acting Director of Public Health, Policy and Planning while we recruit for a new leader to join our team and continue to partner with all of you.
Equity-Driven Organizations Advising Housing Policies
The Health Policy and Planning Program is excited to be part of Let’s Talk Housing San Mateo County Equity Advisory Group to ensure that the next decade of housing policies reflect the needs and also the assets of historically marginalized communities. The pandemic shed light on the severe housing crisis that many of our residents experience and how their poor housing conditions impacted their health outcomes.
New Tool! Building a Pipeline of Youth Leaders and Decision Makers
Civic empowerment is key to youth health. The Health Policy and Planning Program is supporting The Daly City Youth Health Center and Youth Leadership Institute to build a local pipeline of underrepresented youth in boards and commissions.
Congratulations to Our Staff!
Justin Watkins, one of Health Policy and Planning’s Community Health Planner’s has accepted the Work Out of Class Senior Community Health Planner role. In this role, Justin will be taking over supervision of the County’s CalFresh Healthy Living Program staff and continuing to lead the Healthy Food Access and Healthy Schools efforts. Angie Cavazos, who has previously supervised the CalFresh Healthy Living Program has transitioned back to Family Health to support the County’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts for the next year, along with our colleague, Liz Sanchez.
Daly City Youth Health Center and Jefferson Union High School District Awarded Funding to Deliver Civic Empowerment Training for Youth
We are excited to share that the Daly City Youth Health Center (DCYHC) in partnership with Jefferson Union High School District has been selected to implement their Be The Change (BTC) Advisory project as an additional youth-focused civic empowerment training effort of the CCCS Racial Equity Subcommittee. BTC will empower and educate youth in Daly City to address social determinants of health through civic engagement and policy change, culminating in the creation of a youth advisory board to inform the programming and services of the DCYHC. We look forward to sharing more update
South San Francisco Adopts Vision Zero Goal!
On February 24, 2021, South San Francisco (SSF) city council adopted a Vision Zero resolution to achieve zero roadway fatalities by 2025. By adopting this goal SSF joins five other San Mateo County cities (San Mateo, East Palo Alto, Redwood City, Menlo Park, and Daly City) prioritizing roadway safety. At the special council meeting, the council highlighted their previous involvement and commitment to safer streets near schools by participating in walk audits with the County Office of Education (COE) and Health Policy and Planning (HPP) at Sunshine Gardens and Los Cerritos.
San Mateo County COVID-19 Recovery Initiative and Vaccine Communications and Education Working Group
San Mateo County’s COVID-19 Recovery Initiative convened the Vaccine Communications and Education Working Group (VCEWG) on January 14, 2020.
Center for Disease Control (CDC) & Eviction Moratoriums
President Biden signed an executive order requesting the CDC extend their eviction moratorium on his first day in office. The CDC followed by extending the moratorium through at least March 31st. This extension could help households struggling financially stay in their homes, while also helping mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Free Access to Mental and Emotional Health via Headspace App
The impacts of COVID-19 are felt by so many of us in our mental and emotional health. To address this, San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services and Headspace are working together to provide free tools, videos, guided exercises and more via the Headspace app to help residents manage stress, concerns, or anxiety. Normally this resource costs $70 annually but is now available free of charge to anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in San Mateo County. CCCS partners are excited to share these important resources with their clients and communities.
Share Your Views on Biking and Walking Needs in San Mateo County
C/CAG, the San Mateo County Congestion Management Agency, is updating its Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan and vision for biking and walking in San Mateo County. C/CAG is requesting your feedback to make sure that the final Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan recommendations reflect the values, interests, and priorities of community members throughout San Mateo County. The Draft Plan will be available for public review from February 5th to March 5th, 2021 on our website at bikewalkccag.com.
Restorative Practices Now More Important than Ever
With the majority of schools in San Mateo County continuing with online learning due to COVID-19, students have fewer opportunities to interact with their friends and classmates. This isolation can be difficult for children and their families and the toll on mental health continues to grow. While schools are implementing remote learning, they can look to Restorative Practices as a tool to increase students’ connectedness.
Increasing Food Insecurity due to COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has had far reaching impacts on many aspects of our life. Our economy has been extremely hard hit, with unemployment rising due to business closures. As unemployment has risen, so has food insecurity. While food insecurity can be difficult to measure in real-time, one indicator is fairly certain, the number of people accessing emergency food resources. Second Harvest of Silicon Valley has seen a steady increase in demand for food in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties since the beginning of the pandemic in March.
My Final Post with Deep Gratitude
Greetings, GHSMC partners! I write my final post with deep gratitude and optimism during one of the more challenging years in recent memory. As I wrap up my transition this month working for the County of San Mateo, I am encouraged by all the great health equity work that I was fortunate to be a part of during my three years with the Health Policy and Planning team. We were able to advance policy efforts such as Daly City being the first city in the county to adopt a Vision Zero Action Plan to eliminate traffic deaths, which disproportionately affect our most vulnerable communities.
Sharing Opportunities and Challenges: Implementing Racial Equity in County Health Web Forum #2
Public Health, Policy and Planning (PHPP), BHRS’ Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE), and County Health’s Governmental Alliance for Racial Equity (GARE) team hosted its second racial equity web forum to deepen our understanding of the key gaps, opportunities, and priority areas for advancing racial equity in County Health.
San Mateo County Health Joined 38 Health Systems to Declare: It is Undeniable, Racism is a Public Health Crisis
County Health is part of the Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN), a national collaboration of leading healthcare systems, which published the “Racism is a Public Health Crisis” statement in which 39 health systems signed on to. HAN’s members employ over half-million employees across 45 states and Washington, DC. and have committed to take concrete action to address the impact of structural racism in our communities.