CHIP June Update

Greetings CHIP Partners,

The past month has brought upheaval across our community and country as we face the ongoing impact of racism on the life, health, and well-being of our community. In the face of the brutal racism that has harmed and killed so many Black and Brown people in America, and in the midst of a viral pandemic disproportionately affecting Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), the call is clear to support each other in working for equity and justice.

On Friday, June 26, the Buncombe County Health and Human Services Board will be addressing making a Proclamation of Racism as a Public Health Crisis along with a call to action. This step forward by our local health leadership is in no small part due to years of tireless advocacy from so many of you. Thank you!  

At our upcoming virtual CHIP Advisory Council meeting on Thursday June 25th we will begin to prepare for how to support this proclamation and what actions we may want to take as our Advisory. This conversation will also include how we might engage our respective and partner organizations.  After Friday's HHS Board meeting we will also follow up with you about next steps that may be identified based on the Board discussion.

Thursday's agenda will also include finalizing and putting into action shared equity principles that guide CHIP Advisory Council efforts to dismantle structural racism in our community.  Continuing our intention to learn from and support leaders of color in Buncombe County, we will also get an update from Rob Thomas of the Racial Justice Coalition on the work the RJC is doing to advocate for racial justice, address implicit bias and dismantle structural racism.

Please visit our blog pages frequently for updated information and resouces.  Noteworthy additions to our Support page include new job postings at the United Way and the Area Agency on Aging.  Let month we introduced you to resources from Public Health Awakened. You'll find a new resource from them on how public health can support Black Lives Matter protests on our Engage page (even includes public health messaging for your protest sign). You'll find upcoming webinars posted on our Learn page including Building & Measuring Community Power for Health Justice on Thursday. County Rankings and Roadmaps launched a webinar series on COVID-19 Response and Recovery with COVID-19: Disproportionate Impact on Black Communities also scheduled for Thursday.  All webinars are recorded for you to view at a later time. 

We've added a number of new additions to our Resources page this week.  In particular we want to highlight resources recently shared with Mothering Asheville partners in response to community frustration with the limited mental health clinicians of color in Asheville. You'll also find a new curated collection by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation of articles on the Coronovirus pandemic with a focus on health equity on our Resources page.

Take good care,

The Buncombe CHIP Leadership Team