Building Healthy Communities 
Newsletter 
June 2016
The Time is Now For a Bakersfield College Facility in Arvin

Building Healthy Communities South Kern's Education Action Team held a press conference early this month to encourage the Kern Community College District (KCCD) board of trustees to include $25 million in their proposed bond for a Bakersfield College satellite facility in Arvin, and provide the community with a pathway out of poverty. 

At the press conference and during the public comment session of the meeting, BHC-SK partners spoke about the need for higher education in Arvin and youth shared personal stories about the obstacles they face to achieve higher education.

"Transportation to Bakersfield College should not be an obstacle, but it is such a big obstacle for Arvin, Lamont, and Weedpatch residents," said  Yesenia Aguilar, 17, a junior at Arvin High School and a youth journalist for South Kern Sol.

Arvin and Lamont's poverty level is almost twice the State's average, and only 2 percent of the population hold a Bachelor's degree, the State average is 30 percent.

"There is a real need to have an uplift in adult education in [Arvin]," said Dr. Michelle McLean, Arvin Union School District's Superintendent. "Whenever members of the community are educated and receive a higher education, its benefiting the whole community, its benefiting our county, its benefiting our State, its benefiting our nation."
  
Click here to see Bakersfield Now's coverage. 
Summer Youth Justice Series 2016

Join South Kern Sol this summer as they use their voice to engage youth across Kern County and across the State and lead Kern County to a better and more just future.

South Kern Sol youth recognize that young people are an asset to this community and through a series of events they hope to create unity and encourage other young people across the county to use their platform to #GetLoud for issues that impact their communities. 

Youth are speaking out and standing up for schools, not prisons; a need for a community college site in Arvin, and overall greater investment in youth along with other issues. 

Free shirts and tacos will be given to the first 250 people. For more information click here. 

Kern #GetLoud Rally - June 30
MillCreek Park, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
Featuring Banda Perla del Sur and Latin Grammy nominee Ceci Bastida 

Kern Youth Arts Festival - July 7
Rexland Acres Park, 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Featuring Dulce UpFront

Kern Youth Speak Out - August 4
Bakersfield Museum of Art, 6 to 8 p.m. 
Media Panel Discussion
LGBTQ Community and Supporters Hold Vigil for Orlando Victims



[Read more here from KERO: LGBTQ, community, supporters hold vigil for Orlando "Pulse" night club victims in Bakersfield]
New Report: A New Power Grid: Building Healthy Communities at Year 5 

Editors Note: Please take a few minutes to read a mid-point reflection of Building Healthy Communities that was conducted by The California Endowment and an introduction letter from The California Endowment's President and CEO, Dr. Ross.

On behalf of our Board of Directors and staff, I am pleased to present  A New Power Grid: Building Healthy Communities at Year 5, a report that communicates our progress, lessons learned and key changes at the midway point of our 10-year Building Healthy Communities plan.

It has been five years since we first launched Building Healthy Communities (BHC) at a celebratory event in City Heights with First Lady Michelle Obama. And during that time our Board, staff and BHC partners have been working hard to catalyze the kind of changes needed to bring us closer to the goal of health and justice for all.

I am very pleased to share with you the fine work happening across the state in our 14 Building Healthy Communities sites, as well as the statewide policy work to support and strengthen those local efforts. We've made some missteps along the way - which we've included - but the fact remains we are on a path toward health equity for all Californians and our communities are leading the way.

I do encourage you to take the time to read the full report, but for those who can't we've included an executive summary that captures the highlights of this compelling journey we call Building Healthy Communities. Further, we would love to hear from you about your reactions to our BHC journey.  Please email your comments to:  PowerGrid@CalEndow.org.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Your partner in health equity,
Dr. Bob Ross
Video: How Collaboration Brought Nearly $2 Million to Lamont


Building Healthy Communities South Kern Lamont partners are featured in this video by The California Endowment, "Anatomy of a Win: Neighborhoods," which highlights how grassroots organizing and collaboration between residents, government agencies, and community organizations brought nearly $2 million for sidewalks to their community. The California Endowment launched this video at their 2016 Building Healthy Communities Convening.  
California Takes Action to Address Its Drinking Water Crisis
 
The Drinking Water Advocates Coalition representing rural water advocates, urban water districts, education and children's organizations, and environmental justice, health and equity organizations expressed support for the Legislature's investment in guaranteeing that all Californians have access to safe, clean, and affordable drinking water and urge the Governor to support this investment.
 
Part of the $170.9 billion 2016-2017 state budget and supporting trailer bills approved by the Legislature on June 16 advanced two key priorities that the coalition has worked hard to see incorporated into the final budget. They are:
 
- $9.5 million for school filtration systems to ensure California students, particularly those living in low-income communities or areas of acute water shortage or contamination, have access to safe drinking water, and $500,000 for nonprofits to provide support for outreach and technical assistance; and

- $565,000 for four new positions at the State Water Resources Control Board to improve compliance monitoring and data collection.

The coalition said this is a great step forward, but more work needs to be done.
 
"The new funding for school filtration systems, as well as the four new Water Board positions, will meaningfully improve access to safe drinking water in our state and represents a significant step forward. However, our work is still far from finished, so we look forward to partnering with our allies to continue advancing the human right to water in California," said  Laurel Firestone, co-executive director for  Community Water Center.
Looking Forward to Safe, Clean Water at Arvin High

South Kern Sol, Commentary, David Acosta

I am a junior at Arvin High School. In all my three years here my peers and I have rarely drank water from the school fountains because the water is contaminated with arsenic.

So I was happy to learn recently that Arvin High School may be next in line to install filtered fountains on campus. I hope this happens soon, so that I can spend my last year not having to rely on bottled water or sugary drinks to quench my thirst . 

The plans include installing point of use filters on existing water fountains throughout the school to reduce or remove arsenic. Similar systems are already in place in schools and other sites across South Kern, thanks to efforts by the non-profit Rural Community Assistance Corporation and the Community Water Center, which have teamed up to provide access to safe, clean drinking water in rural communities across California.

Arsenic is a known carcinogen prevalent in water throughout South Kern County. The chemical compound is linked to diabetes, multiple forms of cancer and impaired cognitive development among youth under 20. 

Read more here.
Building Healthy Communities AmeriCorps is Hiring Mentors

The Building Healthy Communities AmeriCorps Program is currently accepting applications for mentors to serve middle and high school students in South Kern in the 2016-2017 school year.  The deadline to apply is June 24. 

This is a great opportunity for anyone with a desire to help youth in the community and looking to gain valuable leadership skills, experience in an educational setting, and financial support for future college expenses or to pay off student loans.  S everal positions are available in Arvin, Bakersfield, Greenfield, Lamont and other communities in Kern County.

To learn more and submit your application, please visit: http://bhcamericorps.org.  

Please contact Lorena Berumen at 661-852-5675 for further details.

About Us
 
Building Healthy Communities is a comprehensive community initiative that is creating a revolution in how Californians think about and support health in their communities.  

More than 2,500 residents, youth, businesses and organizations are leading the BHC-SK effort to improve the health of our communities through a shared vision, goals and action plan. Residents in Arvin, Lamont, Weedpatch, and the unincorporated areas of Greenfield are proving that we have the power to make health happen in our communities.
 
BHC-SK is promoting healthy change in the areas of:
  • Education: Improving education from pre-K through adult education
  • Environment: Creating a healthy environment with clean air and water
  • Health Access: Increasing access to a better health care system
  • Recreation: Improving recreational activities, facilities and parks

We have the power to build healthy communities for the next generation.

 

In This Issue
Summer Youth Justice Series, Kern #GetLoud Rally, June 30



Click here  for more information!





 

Health Happens Here
  In partnership with
The California Endowment