About Health Action Together
Who Are We
Health Action Together is a partnership of community leaders committed to ending health and social inequities in Sonoma County. People most impacted by racism are driving our efforts, including the development of an Agenda for Action created by the community. The Agenda for Action will identify the strategies needed to align partners and community resources to transform Sonoma County into a place where a person's skin color, zip code, or place of birth does not determine their health, education, or income.
Why We Do It
The Portrait of Sonoma County: 2021 Update highlighted stark the disparities in Sonoma County, particularly among Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), and immigrant and undocumented community members. It is a moral imperative that the harmful inequities highlighted in the report are addressed through a community-driven process. Health Action Together recognizes the importance of centering community voice in their design and implementation in creating systems change. We believe systemic change that addresses structural inequities needs to happen at different levels and intersections of our society, at the institutional and government level- yes and most importantly at the consumer grassroots level. Health Action Together is working to address health equity and institutional change guided by service recipients and communities often excluded from making decisions on policies that affect their health.
Our Aspiration
A Sonoma County where a person’s skin color, zip code, or place of birth does not determine their health, education, or income.
Our Values
Equity at the Center: Identify and acknowledge the racist and discriminatory structures, policies, and practices that produce gaps in health, education, and income and commit to dismantling these.
Focus Upstream: Take a big-picture, comprehensive view of the system. Ensure that efforts are connected and focused on fundamentally changing the policies, processes, relationships, and norms that produce and reinforce inequity.
Community Leads: Honor and include the voices and expertise of communities most impacted in the planning and executing of work. Center decision-making power with individuals and communities closest to the challenges.
Integrate & Collaborate: We work better together. Work between organizations, communities, and sectors to align efforts and resources, share ideas and expertise, and increase the impact of every effort.
Strive for Shared Outcomes: For every effort we will determine success measures collaboratively, especially with those closest to the challenges. We will be clear on our goals, and openly share our successes and failures.
Community power is the ability of communities most impacted by structural inequity to develop, sustain, and grow an organized base of people who act together through democratic structures to set agendas, shift public discourse, influence who makes decisions, and cultivate ongoing relationships of mutual accountability with decision makers that change systems and advance health equity. - Lead local definition of community power (lead local is a coalition funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
What Will Health Action Together Do?
Our approach:
As a collaborative, HA Together will engage, convene, build & foster authentic relationships through in-person meetings and through monthly meetings with cross-sector parteners to organize community and institutional stakeholders to take action on matters that are important to communities experiencing inequities, with the goal to coordinate institutional resources and investment through the development of a community designed Agenda for Action in response to the racial inequities highlighted in the Portrait of Sonoma Update 2021.
We will also engage and build capacity with community members and stakeholders to establish a long-term community-centered and anti-racist governance structure for Health Action Together and establish means of accountability for shifting power to community through upholding community voice in leadership and decision making.
What We Will Accomplish:
Ultimately the outcome we want to accomplish is an engaged community of grassroots leaders that have a voice in decisions that affect their health.
In the next two and a half years, our measurable, goals are three:
A community-led Agenda for Action
A community-centered and led governance (a governance that reflects the communities most impacted by racial inequities) for Health Action Together
A community-led framework for accountability for shifting power to community through upholding community voice in leadership & decision making on local issues and action.
Funding and Sustainability
County of Sonoma
Sonoma County Department of Health Services
Sutter Health
CACHI: California Accountable Communities for Health Initiative
Community Foundation of Sonoma County
Sonoma County Office of Education
Peter Haas Foundation
Health Action Together funding partners include the Peter E. Haas Jr. Family Fund, Community Foundation Sonoma County, the County of Sonoma, Sonoma County Office of Education, Providence Sonoma County, and Sutter Health.
Health Action Together leadership is developing an investment and sustainability plan for Health Action Together
If you are interested in helping to fund or supporting fund development for Health Action Together and the Agenda for Action, contact Health Action Together leadership by emailing info@hatogether.org