The New Mexico Health Equity Partnership (HEP) believes every New Mexican should have the opportunity to lead a healthy life, live in neighborhoods where our children and families thrive, and have a say in the decisions that impact their communities and their lives. More than 50% of health is determined by the social determinants of health. Economic, social and political systems have the potential to either contribute to healthier communities or harm them. The pandemic has exposed and exacerbated existing racial, economic, and health inequities. Yet, community partners continue to actively organize and work to make systemic changes that will outlive the pandemic.
In this newsletter, we uplift community partners’ community solutions, care, and relief. We highlight a series by USA Today which finds racism in America to be the pre-existing condition to COVID-19 for Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Anna Rondon with the New Mexico Social Justice & Equity Institute and McKinley Mutual Aid is featured in the series. We also share resources and creative engagement tools that communities can use to share their stories, reclaim their narratives, and understand each other’s experiences to organize for healthy and just policy change.
We hope you’ll take a moment to read the HEP newsletter and
please consider supporting our efforts by donating here.
Policy & Advocacy
USA Today – Black, Indigenous and People of Color –
Impacts on COVID-19 and the Environmental Injustices
In a six part series, USA Today examined how racist policies have made BIPOC communities more susceptible to COVID-19. They found that America’s history of racism and the ways it is codified into education, employment, and health care systems, and housing and environmental policies was itself a pre-existing condition. Anna Rondon, Director of the New Mexico Social Justice & Equity Institute is featured in one an article and video on the federal government's underfunding of healthcare and response to COVID-19. She speaks truth of the health impacts of colonization and racism on Indigenous people by stating:
“It’s really an unbelievable chain of oppression — it’s still squeezing us, it still has its grip,” said Anna Marie Rondon, executive director of the New Mexico Social Justice and Equity Institute in McKinley County. “And it’s still killing us.” Please read the full article here.
video - COVID deaths of Native Americans
linked to limited access to resources and healthcare
A second article in USA Today highlights how the New Mexico Social Justice and Equity Institute, Indigenous Life Ways, Strengthening Nations, and the McKinley Community Health Alliance as part of McKinley Mutual Aid (MMA), are offering community solutions and relief. MMA is a grassroots effort to prepare and deliver care packages of food, water and PPE to community members on the Navajo Nation, Ramah Navajo, and Zuni Pueblo. You can support and learn more about MMA here.
Submitted by Anna Rondon, NMSJEI Director (HEP core partner)
Ensuring the Health and Wellbeing of the Land and
Current & Future Generations
The San Juan Collaborative for Health Equity is involved in COVID-19 relief efforts on the Navajo Nation. They have been providing food and supplies to elders, children, and families with high-risk individuals in their household. Last week, in collaboration with the Four Corners Food Coalition, they provided 40 bags of groceries to families without running water or electricity in White Horse Lake and other parts of the Navajo Nation.
As a longer-term strategy, SJCHE realizes that going back to a traditional relationship with the land will help the Diné people get through the pandemic. In addition to food distribution, the Diné Centered Research and Evaluation team, established through SJCHE has been meeting regularly regarding their research projects designed to inform policy and systems change, utilizing an Indigenous Diné lens. The intent is to ensure the health and wellbeing of the land and current and future generations. By improving the connection to the land and food access, this will help to alleviate health inequities that persist in Diné communities due to infrastructural inequities and historical traumas.
Submitted by Hazel James, San Juan Collaborative for Health Equity Coordinator (HEP core partner)
Community and Public Health Solutions for
Healthy Communities
Place matters for health. It is well documented that one's zip code can be a more reliable determinant of how well and long people live than genetic code. Housing quality, affordability, and location are directly connected to health status and quality of life. Substantial literature has shown that gentrification negatively impacts individual, family, and community health. Rising housing costs put strain on residents’ income; lead to displacement of people and culturally appropriate local businesses; disrupt social networks and social cohesion; and change social, cultural, and political environments. Due to the current economic insecurity tied to the pandemic, more BIPOC families are at risk of displacement and evictions.
Creative Storytelling Tools to Reclaiming Narratives
During October 2019 – August 2020, HEP was honored to work with the Notah Begay III Foundation to co-host a series of in person and virtual gatherings with Native Youth on the Move. During the learning sessions, HEP partners shared creative engagement tools, from zines to graphic harvesting and videos to photovoice. We invite you to utilize the tools to tell stories, reclaim narratives, and create positive systemic change to ensure the wellbeing of current and future generations. These tools can be used for participatory community action research and data collection, as well as for communications and advocacy. Below are a few key resources:
You can also register here for Mabel Gonzalez’s upcoming virtual photovoice training on December 16, which is part of the Santa Fe Community Foundation’s Learning Lab’s series.
Thank you to Doña Ana Communities United, Mavel Photography, McKinley Collaborative for Health Equity/NM Social Justice Equity Institute, Opportunity Santa Fe, Tewa Women United, Taslim van Hattum, and Together for Brothers for facilitating sessions and sharing tools.
Partner Capacity Building Opportunities and Events
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.
