Grantee Address
Vision y Compromiso
CA
United States
California: Support to Vision y Compromiso (VyC) to act as a lead convener in select regions spanning California as part of the Grassroots Engagement Strategy. During the Engage, Empower and Equip Phase, VyC began the process of building the capacity of VyC’s Network of Promotoras and Community Health Workers to raise awareness about oral health and increase understanding about the connections between oral health and overall health. VyC worked to expand its statewide Network partners to engage promotoers, employers, grassmiddles, statewide agencies, social justice and health equity organizations, institutional partners, oral health providers, legislative champions and others. During this year’s engagement process, VyC learned— through a series of community forums, regional meetings, and ongoing relationship development— that many communities have very limited access to multilingual and culturally relevant oral health services and prevention information about oral health. Based on community-driven engagement process from phase II, VyC identified the two key priority areas as they move into Phase III, Act in Community, Act in Network. Oral Health 2020 investment of $100,800 will be used to promote a campaign focused on 1) Education: Create a multi-level educational campaign to increase awareness about oral health as an integral part of physical health and well-being that incorporates educational activities and positive health messages and that is designed to reach diverse audiences through age appropriate and culturally and linguistically relevant strategies and methodologies, and 2) Advocacy: Advocate for policy and/or administrative changes that reflect community needs and that will promote long-term systems changes to promote equity and improve oral health for all by increasing availability, accessibility and affordability of dental services for children, youth, adults, and older adults regardless of income and/or documentation status. The Community Engagement Project for Latino Community Health will build upon the oral work done thus far: data gathering, oral health forums with 196 promotores, and the community-defined priority-setting work. VyC will mobilize promotores as advocates bringing community voices into a multi-level oral health campaign and increasing education and awareness about oral health inequities while also building advocacy skills to create administrative, policy and systems changes that reflect local community needs, particularly increased OH services and support for adults. This proposal aligns with the Oral Health 2020 Goal 6 of improving the public perception of the value of oral health to overall health and the target that oral health is increasingly included in health dialogue and public policy.
Grant Amount
$100800.00