G-1901-14733

The purpose of this grant is to continue to build the capacity of healthcare consumers in California to meaningfully engage in policy and systems change; to improve the public perception of the value of oral health to overall health; to enhance collaborative, cross-blade infrastructure processes, shared power, and decision-making; and to elevate health equity and social justice approaches within the Oral Health Progress and Equity Network that are fully informed by, and reflective of, community voices. The work in this proposal is focused on aligning the Health Ambassadors Program with the greater oral health agenda in California, while leveraging the programs learnings to build the capacity of the broader OPEN Network. The Health Ambassadors Program recruits and engages youth in Southern and Northern California through a training program focused on understanding policy and systems change. Within this project, LCHC will engage a new, expanded cohort of Health Ambassadors, train them and connect them with the California Oral Health Policy agenda and support the Ambassadors as they design and implement policy campaigns. This is timely because the California Oral Health Policy Agenda is soon to be released and LCHC is poised to bring the youth voice into the broader collective work. This aligns with the Oral Health 2020 goal of shifting the public perception of oral health with a target of increasing oral health in overall health dialogue and in public policy. The budget for this proposal is $70,800 and is primarily to support staff time to facilitate implementation of the program