The Alliance for Health Equity is pleased to share our first edition newsletter for April 2021. Please send any opportunities, resources, or events to Lucy Peterson to be included in an upcoming newsletter. Thank you for your continued partnership!
Opportunities
- Trust for America’s Health (TFAH)
- Senior Development and Operations Officer—TFAH seeks a candidate with 5-7 years of experience in overseeing financial and administrative operations in a nonprofit setting and a master’s degree in business administration, accounting, finance, or related field.
- Chicago United for Equity (CUE)—position descriptions
- Managing Director—The team manager will build and support groups that facilitate CUE’s programming, narrative strategy, and day-to-day operations.
- Lead Community Cultivator—The cultivator will lead co-design and implementation of programming that promotes personal well-being, community connection, and collective action for racial justice.
- City of Chicago Department of Housing, Policy and Research Division—position description
- Program Director—The Program Director will function as a mid-level manager, responsible for managing the operational and administrative functions of a social service, public health or public service program of considerable size and scope.
- RUSH University Medical Center—position description
- Recovery Support Specialist—The RSS is responsible for building connections with organizations to help provide a network of wrap around services to support patients connected with the inpatient and outpatient addiction medicine services at Rush and other regional partners. Three positions are available in Chicago, Oak Park, and Aurora. Apply online.
- The Road to Zero coalition is circulating a sign-on letter to President Biden urging him to commit the efforts of the federal government to achieve zero roadway deaths by 2050. Organizations wishing to support the letter can add their name here. Signatories will be accepted on a rolling basis.
- Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) has launched a crowd sourcing project to collect Asian American and Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander in-language COVID-19 resources organized by language. APIAHF will gather all of the responses and organize. Please fill out the form here to submit a resource.
- National Association of Chronic Disease Directors is circulating an organizational sign-on letter encouraging Congress to address the prevention and control of chronic diseases and risk factors at a meaningful level. This letter calls for increasing funding to the National center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion to $3.5 billion. Sign-ons will be accepted on a rolling basis. To join the letter, please email llasseur@cgagroup.com.
- Strengthening Chicago’s Youth (SCY) solicits feedback through their annual survey. The survey is for any partners who are interested in assessing SCY’s strategies, activities, communication, and partner resources. The questionnaire takes 10 minutes to complete.
- Systems for Action (RWJF) has opened their 2021 call for proposals. This grant will provide funding for new research to rigorously test and evaluate innovative solutions to the wrong-pocket problem that persists across health and social service systems. Deadline June 9th, 2pm CT
- Evidence for Action (RWJF) has opened their call for proposals. The program funds research that expands the evidence needed to build a Culture of Health which is broadly defined as one in which good health and well-being flourish across geographic, demographic, and social sectors; public and private decision making is guided by the goal of fostering equitable communities; and everyone has the opportunity to make choices that lead to healthy lifestyles.
- Nourishing Neighbors has established a fund to help local families impacted by the current crisis. This opportunity includes two priority areas: Summer Meals grant for support organizations in their effort to provide summer meals to children and the Connecting Families and Children to Federal Meal Programs grant for organizations who enroll families in SNAP, WIC, and P-EBT benefits. Deadlines vary. Apply here.
- The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has put out a request for information on clinical algorithms that are used or recommended in medical practice and any evidence on clinical algorithms that may introduce bias into clinical decision-making and/or influence access to care, quality of care, or health outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities and those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged. See here for more details.
- Violence Prevention: Recruitment of Volunteer Evaluators CDPH, Office of Violence Prevention and Behavioral Health (OVPBH) is actively recruiting volunteers for the upcoming Request for Proposals (RFP) for organizations that work on violence prevention initiatives. As part of this process, the city is seeking volunteer evaluators who understand the needs of local communities or are familiar with effective violence prevention strategies and programs. Please email Rick Ortiz with questions or submit an evaluator application (linked in title).
Resources
- The 2019 Public Charge Rule came to an end in early March. The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) has published more information on the end of the 2019 rule and Protecting Families IL has organized several resources on how to proceed with communicating the changes as they relate to several key topics:
- Emergency Medicaid. Spanish Language here
- Back to School. Spanish language here
- Education and Public Charge Fact Sheet. Spanish language here
- WIC and Public Charge. Spanish language here
- Moms & Babies and Public Charge
- Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors Program
- P-EBT and Public Charge
- The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) has launched their HoUSed program. Partners are invited to read more about the campaign’s top priorities and sign onto a number of legislative opportunities.
- As part of National Nutrition Month, the CDC has published a webpage with Food & Food System Resources during COVID-19. This webpage highlights the impacts of the pandemic on the food system and shares several resources.
- The Biden Administration announced March 29th an extension of the federal eviction moratorium through June 30th. The extended moratorium and its enforcement are essential to help ten million families remain in their homes as state and communities work to distribute emergency rental assistance to address arrears and prevent evictions. A White House fact sheet with more information is available.
- DuPage Federation has been awarded a grant to provide no-cost language access services for COVID-19. Partners who are interested in using in-person or virtual interpreters, telephonic interpreters or document translations should refer to the Language Access Resource Center (LARC).
- The Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy (IRRPP) presented a video to highlight findings from their report on the racial wealth gap centering the experience of middle class Blac, Latinx and White families to demonstrate that there is much work to be done to support middle class families.
Events
Ready or Not 2021: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism
Wednesday, April 7th, 1-2pm CT—Virtual
Join Trust for America’s Health for a virtual Congressional briefing on the new report. A panel of subject matter experts will discuss the nation’s readiness for public health emergencies, examine the findings of the report, and discuss recommendations for policymakers.
Register here
Community Health Workers & Pharmacists: Their Frontline Role in Response to COVID
Thursday, April 8th, 1-2pm CT—Virtual
Leaders are calling for the rapid scale up and integration of CHWs to strengthen COVID-19 prevention plans and address longstanding inequities. Pharmacists also play a unique role at the local level to address vaccine hesitancy, ensure equitable distribution and access. These trusted messengers are central to reaching vulnerable communities and addressing determinants of poor health, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
Register here
Right to Recovery: Local Town Halls
Right to Recovery is working with community members across the city to answer the question: “How should Chicago spend $1.8 billion in COVID relief?”. In addition to generating a public report, Right to Recovery will also host town halls on the subject.
Friday, April 9th, 6pm—Virtual
Hosted by Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez of the 33rd Ward
Monday, April 12th, 5:30pm—Virtual
Hosted by Southsiders Organizing for Unity and Action
Register for one or both events here
Cannabis Legalization and Expungement for Individuals in Recovery
Two session times are available: Monday, April 12th, 9-10:30am or 1-2:30pm—Virtual
The training will include: 1) an overview of the Cannabis Regulation & Tax Act, 2) explain how to expunge cannabis convictions, 3) discuss how the law impacts employment, housing and immigration, 4) review employment opportunities in the cannabis industry, and 5) provide information about free legal resources for expungement.
Please register for either session 1 or session 2
Advancing Urban Health Equity in Chicago: 20 Years of Transformative Work at SUHI
Thursday, April 15th, 10am-3pm—Virtual
Join the Sinai Urban Health Institute (SUHI) for their 20th Anniversary Conference. The event will showcase and celebrate SUHI’s work and research accomplishments in advancing health equity in Chicago over the last 20 years. Dr. Aletha Maybank, Chief Health Equity Officer and Group Vice President of the American Medical Association is the keynote speaker.
Register here
What Can Cities Do to Ensure Climate Success?
Tuesday, April 20th, 1pm—Virtual
Hosted by MPC, expert panelists answer what role our cities play in combatting the global challenge of climate change, while asking the audience to reflect on the role of cities as key drivers of sustainable and equitable climate success.
Register here
Promoting Community Health Through Nutrition Guidelines: A Workshop for Food Pantries
Tuesday, April 20th, 3-4pm—Virtual
In this workshop hosted by the Illinois Public Health Institute, pantries will learn about creating custom food guidance, explore opportunities to support local food procurement and promote healthy options, and have the chance to sign up to receive free technical assistance.
Register here
All In: Data for Community Health Webinar Spotlight—Capacity Building through Shared Community Power
Wednesday, April 21st, 12:30-1:30pm—Virtual
In this webinar, hosts will spotlight two organizations working to combat infant and maternal mortality through multi-sector data sharing and explore how they’re building capacity through shared community power while fighting racial health disparities.
Register here
Disability as Disposability: AIDS, COVID, and the Manufacturing of a Viral Underclass
Wednesday, April 21st, 3-4:30pm—Virtual
IRRPP and the Health Humanities Program at the College of Medicine (UIC) will present a talk by Northwestern University professor Steven Thrasher based on his upcoming book that explores how SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus, and HIV are connected because they affect populations considered disabled and disposable capital.
Register here
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Tuesday, May 11th, 12-1pm—Virtual
Learn more about our region’s pedestrian environment and hear from organizations who are actively working to make Chicagoland more accessible for all. In addition to highlighting some of the region’s change-agents, presenters will also share new research on how local governments can take concrete steps to improve walkability within their communities.
Register here