The New Mexico Health Equity Partnership (HEP), an initiative at the Santa Fe Community Foundation believes every New Mexican should have the opportunity to lead a healthy life, live in neighborhoods where our children and families can thrive, and have a say in the decisions that impact their communities and their lives. HEP plays a critical role in connecting people, community groups and decision makers. We help elevate the community’s voice so residents can be the drivers of change.
If you are new to HEP, please consider joining as a network member to be part of a larger movement making lasting positive change for all New Mexicans, engage in dialogue through our online discussion forum, and donate to support our important efforts!
Action-Oriented Small Group Gathering Funding and Technical Assistance Opportunity
Achieving social change in New Mexico requires collective action among multiple organizations and communities throughout the state. HEP works to create critical connections and linkages by facilitating relationship building via convening. HEP’s Action-Oriented Small Group Gathering series is an opportunity to strengthen authentic relationships with peers across New Mexico to improve racial equity and community health through focused actions connected to movement building, capacity building, and systems and policy change.
This opportunity will be prioritized for small groups comprised of 4 to 12 individuals who:
Are actively engaged in the HEP network and/or would like to be in the future; and
Up to $2,500 to support approved gathering expenses.
Coaching on how to plan and design content and logistics for a community-based gathering (if desired).
Logistics set up (i.e. venue, hotels, catering, etc.) for the gathering (if desired).
To learn more, please review the application here. Applications will be accepted until September 29, 2017.
HEP Welcomes Vaughan Glidden, Creative Logistics and Operations Associate
Vaughan provides operational and logistics support for the NMHEP’s events and gatherings. In addition she serves as a HIA point person, supporting organizations as they go through the rigorous HIA process.
Vaughan joined HEP after spending 10 years in New York, where she worked in non-profits and the arts. Vaughan’s work in non-profits has always focused on a holistic approach to health for children and the communities they live in. This goal has taken many forms, from working in with corporate and foundation partners to raise funds to carry out UNICEF’s work internationally to focusing locally, serving as a case-manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters. She also has a background in commercial and fine art photography. Vaughan holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University of New Mexico and a M.A. in Human Right and Advocacy from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Studies.
In her free time Vaughan enjoys spending time in the mountains, hiking, skiing, camping, and catching sunsets.
Policy & Advocacy
Building Bridges and Informing Policy via Health Impact Assessment
On Saturday, July 22, 2017, the HEP co-hosted a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) Training in Farmington with Unidas por Justicia, Somos Un Pueblo Unido, and the San Juan Collaborative for Health Equity with over 20 participants. Training participants were affiliated with two HIA teams working to assess the health impacts of two different policy topics that affected Latino immigrant and Native American communities.
Familias, a membership team of Somos Un Pueblo Unidos, is partnering with Sexual Assault Services and Engaging Latinos for Communities for Education (ENLACE) to conduct a HIA to explore how ending or restricting the collaboration between local law enforcement agencies and Immigration Customs Enforcement would impact the health and well-being of immigrant workers and their children in New Mexico. The San Juan Collaborative for Health Equity is working to assess the health impacts of fracking on indigenous communities.
Through the HIA training, participants depended their understanding of HIA and built knowledge and skills which they will utilize in their communities. While participants’ HIAs focused on two different policy topics, through the training they learned that every community faces struggles and it is important to share their narratives with each other and be united to achieve their goals. By sharing stories, Latino immigrants learned that Native Americans have been confused as undocumented immigrants and faced deportation until the showed their documents. Similarly, Native Americans learned that Latino immigrants’ health is impacted by water contamination related to fracking. Participants viewed the HIA process as an opportunity to build community. At the training, participants not only met families who were in similar situations to them, but they met people from other cultures who had shared experiences – for this they were grateful. One participant said, “Today, I built relationships with our Native American brothers and I realized how much we have in common”. Another person said, “I met other families who are in the same situation I am and I am grateful. You are my family.”
Collectively, participants cultivated new relationships, deepened their understanding of HIA, and developed practical skills to make policy recommendations to decisions makers. Moreover, they built bridges across communities and cultures to strengthen their collective power to create a healthier New Mexico, a place each one of them calls home and loves.
Building Bridges and Informing Policy via Health Impact Assessment
In August of 2015, Chainbreaker Collective, in partnership with New Mexico Health Equity Partnership and Human Impact Partners published a report based on the findings of a Health Impact Assessment. The report is titled EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT AND RISK OF DISPLACEMENT: Profiles of Four Santa Fe Neighborhoods. Chainbreaker is an incredible membership-based economic and environmental justice organization which has been doing great work in the city since 2004. It defines equity as equal access to resources and equal exposure to risk. This report shows that the current distribution of resources in our city is anything but equitable. The main takeaway from this important report is that Santa Fe is facing a housing and equity crisis. This is forcing many people, particularly our Latino population to move farther to the outskirts of the city, where access to other resources such as green space, sidewalks and bike lanes, and bus service becomes more limited, thus perpetuating the inequity. This displacement not only creates a more segregated city, but it also creates a loss of the thriving culture that makes Santa Fe such a special place.
To bring attention to this issue, Chainbreaker is in the midst of a long-term campaign to change these cycles of displacement and segregation in Santa Fe. Chainbreaker will be spending the Summer and Fall talking to Santa Fe neighbors about our city’s equity crisis and discussing potential solutions. Utilizing the “house party” model, they’ll tell hundreds of stories and talk to thousands of people, tapping into the endless possibilities to make a better Santa Fe. Chainbreaker’s greatest asset is its members and supporters, who will be hosting these house parties throughout the next several months to help organize and educate community members while building the political power necessary to achieve equitable policy goals. If you are interested in hosting a house party, please contact Chainbreaker at chainbreaker@chainbreaker.org
Submitted by Maria Perez, HEP Steering Committee member, and Chainbreaker member and supporter
Capacity Building
The HEP team congratulates Together for Brothers on graduating their fifth cohort of young men of color leaders!
On August 14, 2017, Together for Brothers (T4B) graduated their fifth cohort of young men of color which included their summer HIA crew. T4B, an organization led by young men of color, is conducting an HIA to assess the health impacts of the City of Albuquerque providing free bus passes for all young people in New Mexico, 8-18 years old. Please check out a video the young men created illustrating the connection between what free bus passes for young people would mean for increased access to educational opportunities, recreational opportunities, and healthy habits.
Partner Capacity Building Opportunities and Events
Santa Fe Community Foundation - The HEP’s institutional home, the Santa Fe Community Foundation (SFCF), is committed to supporting nonprofits in achieving their missions with excellence. The SFCF’s Philanthropy HUB has been designed as a learning and gathering place for the philanthropic sector. The HUB's programs strive to: 1) deepen philanthropic practice; 2) build nonprofit capacity; 3) provide support for professional advisers; and 4) provide platforms for learning about social issues in community. Upcoming trainings and presentations include:
If you are a HEP network member and you have an upcoming training, workshop, or other capacity building opportunity open to community members and organizations, please send information about it to David Gaussoin and the HEP team can include it an upcoming newsletter.
New Mexico Health Equity Partnership – Generously supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Santa Fe Community Foundation, for more information, please visit nmhep.org
Our mailing address is:
P.O. Box 1827, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504-1827
