G-2009-16396

This investment supports Catalyst Miami in further developing its community organizing and racial equity approach within Miami and statewide oral health policy efforts. Catalyst Miami previously served as one of the DentaQuest Partnership's Grassroots Lead Organizations and has continued to play an essential role in elevating the voice of communities of color and marginalized communities within an aligned approach to oral health policy. With this funding, Catalyst Miami will work to address the root causes of a lack of oral health access among Miami-Dade's low wealth community through strategic policy and advocacy for advancements in Medicaid benefits. They will leverage the Miami-Dade Oral Health Network to additionally develop and implement an advocacy approach to advocating for Jackson Hospital to lower its co-payments for oral healthcare. Lastly, Catalyst work's aligns with an existing window of opportunity to training, capacity building, and networking to connect key communities to necessary services while also working to address the digital divide so as to reinforce telehealth opportunities. The outcomes of this project will be an increase in the advocacy engagement within community stakeholders in Miami-Dade County, movement on key policies and structures to increase access to critical care, and an increased capacity by community members to access the care they need. The budget for this proposal is $60,000.58 which goes to staff time, supplies, and community stipends that contribute to the deliverables.