Wishing you a happy Cambodian New Year! |
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Meet Our New Team Member! |
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With more than 12 years of nonprofit program development and advocacy, Tony joins our Team as the Equity & Community Engagement Program Specialist. Tony has experience developing and maintaining programs that address the health needs of the LGBTQ+ community, such as Transitions Health and Wellness, LGBTQ Cultural Competency Trainings and Education, HIV and STI testing, Community PROMISE, Hermosa Y Protegida, Covered CA Education and Enrollment, and Tobacco Advocacy and Prevention. He has chaired several local and state LGBTQ health committees and coalitions like the HIV Integrated Plan Committee and the California Planning Group, where he helped develop HIV prevention strategies at the State level. Tony received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and a Graduate Certificate in Theater Arts from the University of California Santa Cruz. He is currently working on completing a Master’s in Public Health from the California State University, Long Beach.
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Every month, our newsletter will introduce you to the incredible people and innovative programs that are advancing equity across the City. This month, we are highlighting the Health Department’s New Collective Impact Bureau Manager and the Health Equity Team. |
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Erica Valencia-Adachi
Collective Impact Bureau Manager
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Erica Valencia-Adachi is the new Collective Impact Bureau Manager in the Health Department. In this role, she will be responsible for managing the programming for violence prevention, place-based initiatives, youth development, fatherhood and family preservation, mental health awareness, and early childhood initiatives. The Collective Impact team will also focus on strategic planning, accreditation, and fund development, as well as the health and racial equity efforts of the Department. Erica previously served as the Homeless Administrative Operations Officer, and she served as an equity ambassador, creating trainings for department team members and safe spaces for employees of color to strategize on ways to implement both racial and health equity throughout the City. |
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Kevin Hatcher
Black Health Equity Coordinator
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Kevin is a Black health equity expert thriving in higher education, government, and community health settings. With over 20 years of experience, Kevin builds consensus among diverse stakeholders, drives collaborative strategies and improvements, manages programs and projects, and improves the patient experience. His professional motto is, “empowering individuals and teams to make their highest contribution by acknowledging gifts and talent.” |
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Nicole Sun
Cambodian Health Equity Coordinator
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For over 5 years, Nicole Sun has been an advocate in the Cambodian community. In her previous role, as a substance abuse prevention coordinator at the Cambodian Association of America, she worked closely with government agencies, community-based organizations, and community members to close the health disparities in Long Beach and Los Angeles County. Nicole holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration, and she’s currently obtaining her master’s in legal studies from Washington University, St. Louis. |
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Harold DelaCruz
Filipino Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Health Equity Coordinator
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Harold Dela Cruz grew up on the Westside of Long Beach and graduated from St. Lucy’s in 2008 and later from the California Academy of Mathematics and Science in 2012. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Studies and Planning from the University of California, San Diego where he discovered a passion for fighting for justice in the world. Harold then trained as a community organizing fellow with Tramutola to pass the soda tax in San Francisco in 2016 and continued his organizing career training low-income parents to build political power and fight for an equitable education for their children in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Harold has been involved with the Long Beach Filipino Festival, the Long Beach Parol Lantern Festival, and is the Vice Chair of the board of directors for Public Health Advocates. He is excited to now continue fighting for equity with his community in Long Beach. |
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Diego Gamboa
Latinx Health Equity Coordinator
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Diego Gamboa is excited and grateful to serve the City of Long Beach as the new Latinx Health Equity Coordinator! He previously worked as a Health Program Coordinator with the County of Imperial through their California Accountable Communities for Health Initiative (CACHI) efforts. He brings over 6 years of public health, equity, research, and administrative experience to the health equity efforts in Long Beach. Diego received his Bachelor’s degree in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Master’s degree in Public Administration from San Diego State University. He strives to support, empower, and build the capacity of our community organizations, businesses, and other stakeholders to engage in the health equity efforts in their communities. |
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Marciela de Rivera
Multicultural Health Council Coordinator
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Maricela was a foster youth who has lived throughout Southern California before making Long Beach her home over 20 years ago. She spent the last 11 years as a stay-at-home parent and served our community by founding Long Beach Breastfeeds. Maricela also used her voice to advance equity as a City Commissioner, on Long Beach Transit’s Board of Directors and the Equity & Human Relations Commission, and while serving on the boards for Leadership Long Beach and BreastfeedLA. In addition to her roles as a mamá and Multicultural Health Council Coordinator, Maricela serves on Long Beach Unified School District’s Equity Leadership Team, Metro Los Angeles’ Public Safety Advisory Committee, and APLA Health’s Board of Directors. Maricela received her Associate and Bachelor’s degrees from Mount Saint Mary’s University. |
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Jeremy Scruggs
Health and Racial Equity Program Manager
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Jeremy Scruggs began his college experience at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), where he earned his Bachelor of Social Work and Masters of Higher Education and Student Personnel. During his tenure at Ole Miss, he was a committed student leader and advocate for underrepresented populations across campus and the local community. Jeremy began his professional career as a Student Affairs practitioner at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), where he served in many capacities to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. As he continued his career trajectory, Jeremy was honored to serve as the inaugural Assistant Director for the Black Resource Center at California State University Long Beach. Jeremy offers his robust skillset and service to the City of Long Beach with a community-first ethos. |
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Alternate Crisis Response Workshops |
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Over the last month, the Office of Equity and the Health Department hosted two community workshops (virtual and in-person) to provide updates and gather community input on the development of a local Alternate Crisis Response Program. We received robust feedback from these events, as community members and service providers shared their experiences with first responders and their hopes for this program. We are truly grateful for your engagement, and we look forward to sharing more updates soon. Thank you!
What is Alternate Crisis Response (ACR)? Specialized and high-quality response for health and human service crises. ACR teams are unarmed, specially trained non-law enforcement employees who respond to non-violent, non-emergent, non-medical calls for service, especially those related to mental health crises.
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Long Beach Recovery Act Program Updates |
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Small Business and Nonprofit Relief |
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The City has launched the Long Beach Recovery Act Small Business and Non-Profit Relief grants, new recovery programs to help small businesses and nonprofits that have experienced financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The application period will close May 15, 2022 at 8:00 p.m. (PDT). Small businesses and nonprofits can access free technical assistance to prepare and submit applications by contacting the City’s BizCare Hotline at 562-570-4BIZ (4249) or emailing 4Biz@longbeach.gov. The hotline operates Monday’s through Friday’s from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Both voicemails and emails received will be responded to within 24 hours for customers that contact the BizCare team after normal working hours. For more information, visit: www.longbeach.gov/smallbizgrants. Additional information about the Long Beach Recovery Act is available at longbeach.gov/recovery.
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The City of Long Beach invites members of the public to participate in the Mobile Recess Program, a program that will provide opportunities for youth in target neighborhoods to connect, learn, and play. Stop by one of our locations where the Parks and Recreation staff will lead participants through a variety of fun supervised activities for youth ages 5-14, from March 1- June 17 between 2:30 p.m.- 5 p.m. at the locations below.
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MONDAY & WEDNESDAY:
ATLANTIC PLAZA PARK
CRAFTMAN VILLAGE PARK
TUESDAY & THURSDAY:
ROSE PARK
17TH STREET
FRIDAY:
23RD STREET
GRACE PARK
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Long Beach Recovery Act Contracting Opportunities |
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The City of Long Beach is seeking partner organizations for various Long Beach Recovery Act (LB Recovery Act)-related contracting opportunities. Now through the end of summer 2022, eligible organizations will have the opportunity to submit proposals for various programs and services geared toward the economic and public health recovery of the Long Beach community. Many LB Recovery Act programs are designed to partner with community-based organizations and businesses for program implementation. These procurement opportunities are advertised on the LB Recovery page, and additional opportunities will be added on a regular basis as more information becomes available. To submit a proposal for consideration, vendors are required to register in the City’s online procurement portal, PlanetBids.
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Long Beach New Procurement Program
"Long Beach Buys"
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The City of Long Beach announced it will transition to a new e-procurement software platform this May. Long Beach Buys, powered by Periscope’s ePro software, is a modern system that will widely enhance the City’s procurement abilities, including the lowering of barriers for small, local and disadvantaged vendors and improved contract management. Long Beach Buys will replace the City’s existing e-procurement platform.
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The City is now offering second COVID-19 Boosters for eligible people.
The following people may receive their second booster four months after their first booster:
- Those 50 years of age and older who received an mRNA vaccine as their first booster dose
- All adults 18 and older who received Johnson & Johnson as their primary booster dose
- People 12 years of age and older who are immunocompromised (Pfizer only)
- People 18 years of age and older who are immunocompromised
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Equity and Human Relations Commission Recap |
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Last week, the Equity and Human Relations Commission received two critical presentations. The first came from the "Change the Name" Coalition regarding Lincoln Park and the contentious history of its namesake. Representatives of the Technology and Innovation Commission (TIC) gave the second presentation on the TIC's whitepaper on the City's use of Facial Recognition Technology, which included an analysis of best practices and regulatory protocols. Both topics connect to the City's Racial Equity and Reconciliation Initiative objectives:
Goal 1, Strategy 1, Potential Action B states, "create a process to review the names of public parks, schools (in partnership with LBUSD), buildings, and monuments with a racial equity lens."
Goal 3, Strategy 3, Potential Action E recommends "[exploring] the practice of facial recognition technology and other predictive policing models and their disproportionate impacts on Black people and people of color by reviewing evidence-based practices."
Please stay tuned for Equity and Human Relations Commission updates as they continue these discussions in the coming months!
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