Over the past two-plus years, our initiative, California COVID Justice: Recovery, Response and Repair, has worked at the state and local levels to foster recovery in communities disproportionately harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our brilliant 10-member Equity Advisory Group helped us understand the myriad harm caused by the pandemic and the solutions we could advance as advocates.
Historically underinvested communities are still hurting from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are continuing to advocate for policies to foster recovery. At the same time, we are increasingly focused on repairing our systems and preparing for future emergencies. We want to make sure the mistakes made in the COVID-19 response are not repeated. We are especially interested in addressing the lack of funding for community-based organizations serving low-income communities of color in culturally responsive ways. These groups are always on the frontlines when disaster strikes, and we always rely on them to “do more with less.”
That is why we have formed a COVID-19 Recovery and Repair Working Group. This 13-member group will create an equity framework to guide how state funding is allocated in future emergencies. Our members will share their expertise and conduct research to create this framework, which we will then bring to the California legislature as a policy proposal.
Several members of our COVID-19 Recovery and Repair Working Group have been members of our Equity Advisory Group for the past two years. They are joined by new members with experience in public health, state government, community-based organizations and more. We look forward to building and co-creating with them. Later this year, we will let you know how you can help advance our goals.
If you have any questions about this effort, contact California COVID Justice Director April Jean at AJ@phadvocates.org.
