Dear Health Partner,
It’s been a busy few weeks in Washington D.C. and folks across the Dan River Region are concerned about the local impact of recent mandates and potential funding disruptions.
For a bit of context, in 2021 the Virginia state budget included $24.7 billion in federal funding, 18.2% of total state revenue. That same year, North Carolina received $31.4 billion, or 21.5% of its total revenue. 12.1% of Virginia’s and 19.9% of North Carolina’s public school funding in 2021-2022 came from federal dollars. (Source: https://usafacts.org/)
Some of that funding is related to federal grants designed to ensure that special populations have access to quality healthcare, education, and supportive services. Many fear that this special population funding would be considered “DEI or DEIA (Diversity Equity Inclusion Accessibility) funding, staffing, or programing” because it focuses on expanding access or improving the quality of care for specific, underserved, minority, or vulnerable groups.
The public discourse is filled with misinformation as to who these “DEIA” programs benefit, and who will be impacted if funding is interrupted. The following groups have historically been considered to be “special”, “minority”, “underserved”, or “vulnerable” populations for federal grantmaking purposes:
- People who Live in Rural Communities
- People who are Economically Disadvantaged
- People who are in Ethnic or Racial Minority Groups
- People who are Women
- People who are Infants or Children
- People who are Elderly
- People who are LGBTQIA+
- People with Disabilities
- People who are Veterans
- People Experiencing Homelessness
- People who have Immigrated and/or are Refugees
- People with Limited English Proficiency
Most of the Dan River Region is considered part of a special population group, which is one reason many of our partners are so concerned about what the future holds. Staff and programming provided through special population funding adds much needed capacity for the entire community.
The education, workforce development, housing, transportation, and public safety sectors are also all anticipating extensive overhauls to include massive cuts to federal funding, which could dramatically impact those key drivers of health right here at home.
Meanwhile, federal policy makers are in the process of stripping occupational safety measures and rolling back regulations that impact the quality of our air, water, food, and medication.
There are lots of moves being made to eliminate legal protections for vulnerable populations (refer to list above) and all of this is happening against a backdrop of violent, divisive rhetoric and imagery.
What does all this mean for The Health Collaborative?
It means that the work of The Health Collaborative is more important than ever!
Our focus and role remain unchanged. We will continue to serve as the convener for a cross-sector coalition of residents and organizations who want to work together to improve the health and wellbeing of everyone who lives, works, or plays in the Dan River Region.
We remain committed to our focus on Civic Health, Active Living, Food Justice, Access to Quality Care, and Healthy Spaces and will continue to concentrate our efforts on five key strategies:
- Shared Learning & Leadership
- Relationship & Trust Building
- Authentic Community Engagement
- Cross-Sector Collaboration
- Policy Change & Advocacy
Successful collaboration requires open dialogue and a willingness to share information and other resources. Fortunately, our partners excel in this area! This willingness to work together for the common good of our community will be even more critical in the months and years to come. We are committed to continuing our support for these efforts by providing a collaborative framework and shared leadership practices that center authentic community engagement and consensus-based decision making.
The work of The Health Collaborative rests upon the fundamental belief that every human being has value and that everyone in our community should have what they need to be healthy. It is informed by data that illuminates multiple vantage points and intersections and is led by a collective of people actively working to create a healthy, thriving Dan River Region. We seek out best practices and content experts and explore the lived experiences of our community in the context of all that data and information to help us better identify ways in which policies and systems might remove, create, or perpetuate barriers to good health.
We remain committed to working together to build our community’s capacity to take action in support of Health for All in the Dan River Region and invite you to join us for any of the gatherings and shared learning opportunities listed below.
Danville Chapter Meeting
February 13, 2025 at Noon
This month we will start our conversations on the topic of housing. To start us off we will be hearing from Western Piedmont Housing Coalition (WPBHC). It is an organization comprised of housing partners throughout the region. Come listen how this organization lends support, guidance, and funding to its members. We will also highlight one of their partners, The Southside Survivor Response Center (SSRC).
Tamika R. Whitfield, Vice President of the WPBHC and Executive Director SSRC, will be our presenter for this meeting.
This meeting will be VIRTUAL to accommodate travel restrictions currently in place at some agencies.
Caswell Chapter Meeting
Join us for the monthly gathering of the Caswell Chapter of The Health Collaborative on Tuesday, February 18th at 12:30pm at the Yanceyville Municipal Building.
We’ll explore how recent policy changes might impact local residents through discussions on where we have been, where we are, and where we hope to grow.
Pittsylvania County Chapter Meeting
Join us for the February 25, 2025 Meeting of the Pittsylvania County Chapter of The Health Collaborative where we continue to serve as a regional convener and facilitator and provide opportunities for shared learning, leadership development and collective action toward health equity.
Join us for lunch and work group sessions.
REI’s Groundwater on March 18th
Join us for a free community training on the “Groundwater Approach” by the Racial Equity Institute.
The groundwater metaphor is designed to help practitioners at all levels internalize the reality that we live in a racially structured society, and that is what causes racial inequity. With this in mind, the groundwater metaphor shifts the focus away from the view of racism as personal bigotry and bias to a historical, cultural, and structural analysis of racism.
Participants will leave the training with an understanding of how systems produce unjust and inequitable outcomes, and will thus be better prepared to work for change.
Schedule:
- 10 am – 1 pm: Groundwater Approach Training with REI
- 1 – 1:45 pm: Lunch
- 1:45 – 3 pm: Debrief and Discussion with the Virginia Department of Health and The Health Collaborative’s Health Equity Taskforce
Expectations:
Spaces are limited and all participants should be present and engaged for the duration of the workshop. Leaving or joining the training late can be disruptive to the flow and sharing of information. Out of respect to the trainers and other participants, please, only sign up for this training if you are prepared to stay the entire time!
This training is brought to you by The Health Collaborative, Dan River Nonprofit Network, Danville-Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Southside program, and PATHS AHEC.
Looking for Partner Updates?
Please be sure to check out our new online newsletter, News & Notes at TheHealthCollab.news for partner announcements, tools, resources, and a robust meeting and events calendar. Have something to share? Send it to info@TheHealthCollab.com
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