February 2020 CHIP Update

Dear Community Partners and Key Stakeholders,

February is Black History Month and it is important to reflect on the impact of the history of Black Americans on their health and the health of our communities.  We have provided a number of community and learning opportunities on our Learn page.  If you missed our screening of Power to Heal:  Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution at our January CHIP Advisory meeting, there is another opportunity hosted by Asheville Parks and Recreation on February 24th at the Linwood Crump Community Center followed by a group discussion.  The City of Asheville Office of Equity & Inclusion and Rainbow Community School's Black History IS American History Film Series  includes 4 films also followed by discussion with the intent to spark dialogue and racial healing.  As redlining is a significant part of our community's history, Health Begins is offering the webinar Redlining & Health Equity: How Health Systems Can Help Dismantle Structural Racism on March 4th.  Among the presenters is Rishi Manchanda and Josie Williams from the Greensboro Housing Coalition, and one of the initial NC Community Centered Health Home cohort along with Mothering Asheville.  

If you have other opportunities you would like CHIP staff to share, please either share directly on our Facebook page or reach out to Terri to add to our blog resources.  Continuing to think about housing's role in equity, on January 14, 2020, HUD formally published a proposed rule in the Federal Register that would redefine the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule (AFFH), eliminating its focus on addressing residential segregation. Join the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Build Healthy Places Network for a webinar on Wednesday, February 19 at 11 am to learn more about the proposed change, what it could mean for health equity and what communities can do to respond.

Thanks to all of you who participated in input sessions to help craft Healthy North Carolina 2030 which has just been published!  Western North Carolina had the largest number of community members participate in statewide input sessions. This document, with it's health indicators and targets, will serve as the State’s Health Improvement Plan for the next decade and is an important reference and guide to support all the work we do.  The 2030 guidelines have taken a major step forwarded in including a indicators that address a broader view of the influences on health and well-being with a much needed emphasis on health disparities and in assuring that the state collects and provides disaggrated data to the greatest extent possible.  Thanks also to Zo Mpofu for serving on one of the working groups that helped guide this process!

Our January CHIP Advisory Council ended abruptly with a fire alarm as we were discussing what changes and emerging issues our community is experiencing since finalizing our CHA process.  These will be included in our State of the County Health (SOTCH) report due to the NC Department of Public Health in a few weeks.  We gathered up all the notes that were left on the table and added them to our list, however we want to gives those present (as well as community partners who do not attend the Advisory Council) an opportunity to review and provide additional imput.  You can find the summary here.  Please email Terri any input.  Many of you know that we are in the process of developing an application for organizations or existing coalitions to serve as chairs (or co-chairs) for coalitions that will guide the CHIP work around Birth Equity and around Mental Health and Wellbeing.  This is a change and one that we hope will further ground this work in community.  We had great input and insight into the structure and content of the application at our February CHIP Advisory as well as from those who served/are serving in this capacity from the previous cycle (thank you!!!!).  A small group of individuals have volunteered to provide some additional review as we finalize the application.  If you would like to be part of this process as well, please let us know!

We are also excited to announce that the CHIP Advisory unanimously voted to have Jacylyn Kiger, Chief Operations Officer with Pisgah Legal Services will serve as our new co-chair. 

We are sharing two ways for you to engage this month. We hope you will consider participating in a survey to inform VAYA's annual community needs assessement.   You'll find more information and a flyer to share with others on our Engage Blog page.  Also, now is the time to use your “trusted voices” to raise awareness on the 2020 Census.  You'll find resources and a listing of related local community events on the at the League of Women Voters of AVL/Buncombe website.

Keep up-to-date on more timely information and partner updates on our Facebook page. You'll also find resources and learning opportunities on our blog pages. We try to keep up-to-date on postings related to ways to support our partners and engage in advocacy.  
Please help us better support your organizations and advocacy platforms by sharing your info on our Blog and Facebook pages. And, of course, you can send content to Terri at anytime.

With gratitude,

The CHIP Team!