The New Mexico Health Equity Partnership (HEP) believes every New Mexican should have the opportunity to lead a healthy life, live in neighborhoods where children and families thrive, and have a say in decisions that impact their lives. We work with residents to share their ideas and transform how decisions are made so the processes, and decisions themselves, center the solutions of people most impacted by health inequities. One way we do this is by providing funding, training, and coaching to support Health Impact Assessments (HIA), HIA's are community-led research designed to inform and improve policy decisions. We are excited to share with you a graphic illustration, created by Erica Bota with Think Link Graphics, depicting the HIA process. We encourage you to utilize this graphic in your work. 

Please consider supporting HEP’s future efforts by donating here. Thank you for your continued investment in the health of New Mexico’s families and children.

Together for Brothers releases HIA Fact Sheets
 

Free universal bus passes for youth: Beginning in 2017, Together for Brothers (T4B) conducted a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) to analyze the health impacts of free bus passes on young people in Albuquerque. As part of the HIA, the young men who lead T4B developed and administered surveys in English, Dari, Persian, Spanish, Swahili, and Turkish to more than 300 individuals and collected qualitative narratives at community events. They presented their research results to city-level decision makers. Because of the young men’s leadership, the City of Albuquerque piloted a “free bus pass” program for youth during summer 2018. The young men were featured on New Mexico In Focus PBS due to their policy impacts and Mayor Keller recently highlighted the successful summer bus pass program in his newsletter. View T4B's HIA videos and one-page fact sheets for more information on their research about specific health impacts around employment, education, recreation and healthy habits.

Submitted by - Xavier Barraza, Program Coordinator - Together for Brothers

HEP recently participated in Strong Families New Mexico Legislative Day, Public Health Day, and Environmental Justice Day at the roundhouse. Environmental Justice Day included HEP facilitating a HIA workshop with community members the day before the event. The week of Strong Families Day included a peer visit between Dona Ana Communities United AmeriCorps vistas and Opportunity Santa Fe vistas. 

On February 6, 2019, Strong Families New Mexico convened a Legislative Day with 200 community members who receive training and visit legislators in teams to educate them on the issues that impact their own families and communities. The following foundation partners also joined: Arcus Foundation, Con Alma Health Foundation, Ford Foundation, General Service Foundation, Packard Foundation, and the Santa Fe Community Foundation. Every other year, Strong Families receives community input and creates legislative report card that highlights key bills and grades both chambers and individual legislators on how they voted according to the Strong Families Policy Criteria. 

Legislative priorities include:

Trinity Downwinders 2nd Annual Benefit is being held on Sunday, March 17, 2019 to raise funds for members of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium (TBDC) to travel to Washington, DC for further Congressional Hearings.  There was a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on June 27, 2018 which was attended by over 12 members of the TBDC.  Members of the TBDC are preparing to travel to Washington, DC for hearings on expanding the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to include the people of New Mexico.  Members will testify before Congress on the negative health effects suffered by the people of New Mexico due to the over exposure to radiation after the July 16, 1945, nuclear detonation (atomic bomb).  Many people living in and around the Trinity Test Site (150 mile radius) have suffered and continue to suffer with health problems since the time of the test.

RECA was passed in 1990 by the US Government to provide health care coverage and compensation to downwinders from other parts of the country but has never included the people of New Mexico.  The fund has paid out over 2.3 Billion Dollars in reparations to downwinders in parts of Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Arizona and Colorado but never to New Mexico downwinders.  It also provides the best health care coverage available with no limits, deductibles, co-payments, etc.

The TBDC has the full support of the New Mexico Congressional delegation.  Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich are co-sponsors of the bill to Amend RECA to include the people of New Mexico.  Representative Ben Ray Lujan is the primary sponsor on the House side and both bills have bi-partisan support in the US Congress.  Newly elected Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham is also in support of the bills to Amend RECA.

The Benefit will feature local Musicians:
New Mexico’s 2018 Hall of Fame recipient
Franc Chewiwie & the Latin Jazz AllStars,
Paul Pino & The Tone Daddies
and Nosotros

Tickets: $20/person,  $35/couple.
 Tickets can be purchased at door - Cash/Checks only.
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety (CCNS) is the fiscal nonprofit agent for the TBDC (Tax Deductible).
Checks payable to CCNS  

 

Sponsorships Available
       For information on Benefit call or email: 505-235-3427 / 505-897-6787 tcordova@queston.net    

 

For more information about the TBDC - go to www.trinitydownwinders.com

Valerie Rangel recently wrote the book, “Environmental Justice in New Mexico: Counting Coup”. The book takes the reader on a journey starting that starts with the history of land use which transformed New Mexico’s landscape and paved the way for an era of mass resource mining, extraction, and environmental degradation. The first section of the book focuses on the environmental legacy of uranium and the impact on communities that have been affected by its extraction, dumping, testing, access to water, and storage. The following section focuses on water issues highlighting the stories of Isleta Pueblo, the Gila River, Zuni Salt Lake, the Rio Grande, Las Animas River, and Santa Fe. Land contamination issues such as illegal dumping, Superfund sites, immigrant farm workers, and the preservation of historic cultural resources and archaeological sites such as Chaco Canyon illustrate other types of social and environmental justice issues within the state. 

The book highlights case studies in which environmental degradation has resulted in controversial battles regarding health disparities in disenfranchised communities of color throughout the state. There is a need to voice present struggles and concerns of New Mexican communities and disseminate knowledge of these issues to a wider audience. The stories of strife and struggle shared in this book have shaped the character of the people, their traditions, and reactions to environmental and social issues within New Mexican communities. The book highlights the victories and on-going battles over sacred sites, presents public health and environmental concerns, as well as the perspectives of local residents.

It is Valerie’s hope that this book be used in New Mexico/U.S. History/Social Studies classes and that the victorious battles shared will inspire youth and incite a need for continued environmental stewardship and advocacy for sacred places and the health of all our relations.

The book is available for purchase locally at Collected Works, City Books (DeVargas Mall), Indian Pueblo Cultural Center gift shop and UNM bookstores. Available to order online at the following links:  Amazon.com, Target.com, Barnes and Noble
 

For more information about the book visit: valerierangel.com
 

During Winter 2019, JoJo Fernandez who is from Rio Rancho and a student at Williams College served as the HEP intern. JoJo was an amazing asset to the HEP team. She has a strong interest in public health, improving mental health outcomes, and ensuring interventions are culturally appropriate. JoJo supported HEP’s work by co-facilitating small group dialogues to identify health care needs and health care related policy actions taking place throughout the state. She also co-conducted follow up conversations with a few groups who recently completed HIA's to gather additional information about their policy impacts. She helped coordinate the Boys and Men of Color Peer Sharing Celebration with grantees who built their skills in research and data to improve the lives of boys and men of color. She strengthened her own policy knowledge and advocacy skills by participating in a tour of the Roundhouse, Strong Families Legislative Prep Session, and Children and Youth Day at the Legislature. JoJo also met with ten public health leaders, organizers, and advocates to learn about their personal and professional journeys. JoJo truly inspired us! We are so grateful for all she did and excited to see where her journey takes her. Here is a note from JoJo regarding her experience:
 

Hello, HEP friends. As I start my new semester in Cambridge, I can't help but miss the office and the greater New Mexico community that I was able to meet and work with in January. It was truly a blessing to learn more about the health needs in New Mexico, some that I had never even considered, and learn about them through such genuine, caring, and devoted people. From the beginning of my internship, when I took a trip to Las Vegas and learned about recidivism and addiction, to the end, when I took a trip to Las Cruces and learned about the importance of accessibility and pesticide free parks-- I am so touched, impressed, and feel empowered. I feel as though my experience has motivated me to further dive into my studies, introduce others to New Mexico in an effort to increase national acknowledgment of our needs, and definitely return to my state one day! Thank you for all of your time and leadership. Know that I am continuously thinking of you in all of my efforts and look forward to seeing you again. 
 

Con Alma Health Foundation is partnering with HEP to strengthen the health-care safety net in New Mexico and support a network of organizations to advocate for health policies and health-care reform.
 

As part of this project, we seek your input on how best to strengthen New Mexico’s health care safety net for children and families. Your answers will help us identify and connect the work that you are presently doing and help us illustrate the actions taken by you as stakeholders, advocates and others.  Your efforts will shape an ‘actionable agenda’ that can guide our state and local leaders so that they may act to ensure children in New Mexico are getting the full advantages of health care reform.
 

The HEP encourages network members to attend a screening of The Providers by Laura Green and Anna Moot-Levin. Set against the backdrop of the physician shortage and opioid epidemic in rural America, The Providers follows three “country doctors” in New Mexico at clinics offering care to all, regardless of ability to pay. As their personal struggles at times reflect those of their patients, the providers work to reach rural Americans who would otherwise be left without healthcare. A list of screenings is located below in the calendar and you can view the trailer here. 

Santa Fe Community Foundation - The HEP’s institutional home, the Santa Fe Community Foundation (SFCF), is committed to supporting nonprofits in achieving their missions with excellence. The SFCF’s Philanthropy HUB has been designed as a learning and gathering place for the philanthropic sector. The HUB's programs strive to: 1) deepen philanthropic practice; 2) build nonprofit capacity; 3) provide support for professional advisers; and 4) provide platforms for learning about social issues in community. Upcoming trainings and presentations include: 

If you are a HEP network member and you have an upcoming training, workshop, or other capacity building opportunity open to community members and organizations, please send information about it to David Gaussoin and the HEP team can include it an upcoming newsletter.

Our mailing address is:
P.O. Box 1827, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504-1827

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