Input sought on health endowment

Proposals needed to build excitement for major grant, program officer says

Local residents residents are being invited to join a conversation that could bring a lot of money to Del Norte County.

The California Endowment recently chose Del Norte — along with a small portion of Humboldt County because Yurok tribal lands were included — and 13 other areas across California to take part in the endowment’s “Building Healthy Communities” program.

Over the next 10 years, the endowment will provide grants to all 14 sites that could total up to $1 billion for various health-related initiatives.

Laura Olson, the endowment’s program officer for Del Norte County, is inviting community members to an informal luncheon Monday.

“I want to make sure that I am available for the community,” Olson said. “This is really a checking-in kind of dialogue.”

Olson said she wanted the back-and-forth of an informal meeting to hear people’s input and to tell them about planning tools the endowment is using and introduce an endowment Web site.

Olson wants input on how the community engagement process is going, how she might help facilitate the process and how to best communicate with community members in the future.

 She hopes to communicate how the endowment is prioritizing different approaches for different communities and what’s next as the planning stage moves into further stages.

Olson said she understands that it would be easier for people to get excited about the endowment’s role in the community if there were specific examples of how funds could be used. The problem, as Olson explains it, is that the planning phase is designed to come up with those specifics.

“We have just started working toward getting specific ideas,” Olson said. “Prior to this it has been promoting a broader engagement.”

That doesn’t mean the endowment didn’t have some specific guidelines and results before it even began the planning process.

The original four results the endowment is seeking to promote in communities include reversing the youth obesity epidemic, ensuring all children have access to comprehensive and coordinated health services, improving school attendance and reducing youth violence.

With these four results in mind, the endowment has generated 10 outcomes, which, according to Olson “do the work that leads to the results.”

The outcomes range from ensuring all children have health coverage to promoting safe and healthy neighborhoods, homes and schools.

Part of the process for each community is figuring out what outcomes require the most focus.

“To begin with, we would like to select three of the 10 that are a real priority for Del Norte County, than start work with those,” Olson said.

She stressed how valuable community participation is for choosing which outcomes are important.

“The only way we can figure out what outcomes need the most work is through interaction with as many facets of the community as possible,” Olson said.

Part of this communication process is a recently launched Web site.

“It’s Facebook style,” Olson said. “It was co-designed by one of the designers of the Facebook Web site. That way it’s familiar to people who have used those type of networking tools.”

To access the endowment’s Del Norte Web site, go to calendow.org/calconnect/delnorte/.

Olson said that the purpose of the Web site is to not only provide a public forum where people could be part of the planning process, it also to educate the public as to how the planning process is going.

“The more communication the better,” Olson said. “The most important part of this whole process is connecting with the community.”

The site does have a Facebook feel to it.

Users are able to make profiles, post and receive messages and even up-load photos and video, all with the focus on building healthy communities.

“If someone has an idea that works really well, this is the perfect way to share it,” Olson said.

The informal meeting is Monday, October 19, from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Del Norte School District Office Conference Room CI, 301 West Washington Blvd. 

People interested in attending should bring their own sack lunches.  “Drinks and cookies” will be provided.

If you go

WHAT: Brown-bag lunch to discuss California Endowment’s plans for Del Norte County; bring lunch — drinks and cookies provided

WHEN: Noon Mon.

WHERE: School District conference room, 301 W. Washington Blvd.