| Dear Friends,
It is my pleasure to update you on the work I have been doing to make Alameda County an even better place to call home.
In this edition of my newsletter you can read about the work I have been doing to bring more resources for child care and early education.
You can also learn about the various community events I hosted in my district, my advocacy work to protect immigrant and refugee children and families, and much more.
It is an honor to serve you. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any comments, questions or concerns that you may have regarding the district or Alameda County.
Sincerely,
Wilma Chan
Supervisor, Third District
County Update
Last month, I held my third “County Update” at the San
Lorenzo Library where over 75 community residents attended. I began hosting
“County Updates” in March 2016 to provide the unincorporated community regular
reports on major projects and key initiatives for the area.
Attendees heard from the Alameda County Arts Commission,
Public Works, Sheriff’s Office, Community Development Agency, and the San
Lorenzo Unified School District about ongoing efforts in our community and
exciting planned projects. In addition to the presentations, attendees had the
opportunity to meet and share their concerns with representatives from the San
Lorenzo Library, Alameda County Code Enforcement, and the Hayward Area
Recreation and Park District.
I
would like to thank the many residents and county staff who attended this
informative event.
Human Impact Budget
 Between 2008 and 2013, the state of California cut over $15 billion from social safety net programs, while at the same time, many residents lost their jobs, making all the more difficult to have their basic needs met. As a result, I launched the Human Impact Budget in 2012 to inform the public about the ways that state budget cuts to social services affect Alameda County residents, to share personal testimonies, and to empower people to take action.
This June, with the support of my colleagues on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors and ALL IN Alameda County, we held a special meeting to discuss the real effects that the proposed federal budget cuts will have on people living in Alameda County.
Nearly 150 concerned residents heard a presentation on proposed federal cuts to Medi-Cal, CalFresh, disability, housing assistance, public protection, and other federally-funded assistance programs. Attendees also learned how these proposed cuts will affect services in our County and listened to testimonials from individuals who are living in poverty and how they will be impacted by these federal budget cuts. I encourage you to take time to listen to their stories and watch this informative presentation.
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Advanced Care Planning in Alameda
 According to national studies, there is a large disparity between residents who believe communicating their end of life wishes to family is extremely important and those who have actually done so. Without an opportunity to provide clear instructions for end of life care, these critical decisions are often left in the hands of surrogates instead of trusted caregivers. Participating in these types of conversations helps to erase fears and misunderstandings, creates opportunities for advanced health care planning documentation, and reduces disparities to underserved communities.
Following the success of May’s inaugural Advanced Care Planning event in San Leandro, I was pleased to host another informational panel on September 14 at Alameda’s Mastick Senior Center. Nearly 50 Alameda residents attended the event and received valuable information needed to plan for a secure future, including arranging healthcare orders, preparing legal documents such as wills and trusts, and navigating skilled nursing. I was pleased to welcome back Katy Brady from Legal Assistance for Seniors, Dr. Steven Rosenthal from San Leandro Hospital, and Jodi Phillips and Peter Shelton from Peter Shelton Law to take part in the speaker panel. Thank you to all who participated.
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Showtime in San Lorenzo
 This May, I was proud to co-host our second annual “Showtime in San Lorenzo”, a free event that brought together over 300 families and neighbors in celebration of San Lorenzo. Thanks to the work of staff, partners and volunteers, we were able to expand our event this year to include a live performance from A Flock of Seagirls, an 80’s rock-n-roll cover band as well as an Expo showcasing our local businesses. Additionally, residents enjoyed free tours of the Lorenzo Theater, bounce houses, and food trucks. I also offered free raffles for various pairs of A’s tickets throughout the day. The event ended with a showing of Pixar’s Finding Dory.
I would like to thank the Alameda County Community Development Agency, the Castro Valley/Eden Area Chamber of Commerce, San Lorenzo First, the San Lorenzo Village Homes Association, Hayward Area Recreation and Park Department, the Alameda County Library, Kaiser Permanente, and the many volunteers who worked hard to make this event a great success.
Protecting the Health and Safety
of All of Our Residents
Alameda County is the fourth-most diverse county in the nation and almost one-third of our residents were born outside of the United States. Recent anti-immigrant policies under the current federal administration, has led to increased anxiety and fear among our immigrant communities. In October, I joined the Alameda County Public Health Department, Centro Legal de La Raza and Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiatives to discuss the impacts that the current immigration climate has had on Alameda County residents.
The event highlighted the Public Health Department’s recently released Immigration and Public Health Issue Brief, which provided background information on our immigrant residents and their contributions to our county and also focused on how immigration policies and the current climate of fear are a threat to the health and wellness of everyone in Alameda County.
The event reaffirmed our values as a county – that health is a human right and that we will continue to offer services and support to all of our residents – and encouraged all residents, regardless of immigration status, to continue to use the available services that they and their families need to live healthy lives.
Supporting Oakland Schools
 This summer, I began a partnership with Garfield Elementary School and their afterschool program partner organization, EBAYC, to support the Garfield school community. My goal is to work with long-standing groups in the San Antonio area to determine what resources my office could help bring to the community. To kick-off this partnership, I made a donation of $11,500 towards backpacks and back-to-school supplies to the Lend a Hand Foundation. During Garfield’s school registration days, my staff and volunteers distributed backpacks with school supplies to every student at Garfield so that they would be ready to start the school year. Additionally, I worked with the Alameda County Community Food Bank to provide healthy food to Garfield families, including non-perishable staples and fresh produce. With 94% of Garfield’s students living in low-income households, these donations helped families provide their children with necessary supplies to start a new school year. I look forward to a continuing to work with the Garfield Elementary school community to ensure that all families have the resources that they need for a successful future.
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Fighting for Affordable Housing
Every May, the East Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO) hosts an Affordable Housing Week to engage with and educate stakeholders, elected officials, and the public on affordable housing policy. In addition, Affordable Housing Week serves as a celebration marked by grand opening and groundbreaking ceremonies for affordable housing developments throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
In San Leandro, I was proud to take part in the grand opening of BRIDGE Housing’s Marea Alta, an affordable apartment building for families located within walking distance of the San Leandro BART station. This building offers 115 rental apartments for families earning 30-50% of Area Median Income, and offers a daycare center. Additionally, BRIDGE Housing broke ground for the San Leandro Senior Apartments. The 85 unit building is the second phase of this development and is set to open in the spring of 2018.
In Alameda, I took part in the grand opening of Resources for Community Development’s Stargell Commons, a 32 unit affordable housing apartment building in Alameda’s West End. Stargell Commons received over $1.6 million from the Alameda County Housing and Community Development department and is LEED Gold Certified for its energy efficient design.
Lastly, in September, I was honored to receive the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) Affordable Rental Housing Options Pillar Award. EBALDC has dedicated over four decades to building sustainable, affordable, healthy and safe neighborhoods in Oakland and the East Bay. As the housing crisis continues to impact the quality of life for Alameda County residents, it has become increasingly important to advocate for building more affordable housing in order to maintain our workforce and fight displacement of long-time residents.
Supporting the San Lorenzo Community
 This fall, I was pleased to donate $500 to the San Lorenzo Village Homes Association’s 10th Annual Halloween Parade and Extravaganza. In addition to the donation, my staff took part in the planning committee for this year’s celebration and provided outreach support. My staff and I had a great time walking in the parade along with the many individuals and families who came out to join in the festivities. Congratulations to the San Lorenzo Village Homes Association for another successful Halloween extravaganza!
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Community Identifier Project
Over the last few months, the Alameda County Arts Commission has been working with community residents to obtain input on the Community Identifier project in San Lorenzo. This project involves designing and painting the name of our community on the 880 overpass on Hesperian Boulevard. After reviewing comments from the community, the Artist Selection Committee – which is comprised of San Lorenzo residents and local artists, selected the final design. Additionally, Community Identifiers will be painted on the Ashland/Cherryland I-238 overpass at Mission Blvd./E. 14th Street, and the Castro Valley I-580 overpass at Redwood Rd. These hand-painted designs will create beautiful gateway markers that will support a welcoming environment for the community and visitors.
I would like to thank the District 3 residents who volunteered their time on the community Selection Committees. I am looking forward to seeing these public art additions in our communities. To view the designs, visit the Alameda County Arts Commission website.
Summer Interns
 Every summer, I welcome the addition of high school and college-aged interns to my staff. This year, I hosted six interns – Royce Tran through the San Lorenzo Unified School District program, Affton Maryland and Clare Shipman through the District Attorney’s Justice Academy (DAJA), Danya Gao and Ashley Zhuang from the Chinese American Political Association (CAPA) internship program, and Abby Wu with Wellesley College’s American Cities program. Each of my offices – Oakland, San Lorenzo, and Alameda – hosted two interns who assisted my staff on numerous projects for the ALL IN initiative, Fight for Medi-Cal, and constituent services throughout the summer.
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 In my San Lorenzo district office, Royce and Danya were always ready to lend a hand to my field team. They provided valuable support on constituent services, the community survey for the Eden Area Municipal Advisory Council, research for the proposed Child Care and Early Education ballot initiative, and a website to connect Alameda County’s seniors with volunteer opportunities in our communities.
Each one of the interns were a valuable asset to my office and I wish them all success in their future endeavors.
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ALL IN Alameda County Update
When I launched the ALL IN Alameda County initiative to reduce poverty in Alameda County in 2014, one of the goals was to create a sustainable governance structure for ALL IN that allows for a lasting influence within the County. In June, my colleagues and I voted to increase ALL IN’s impact by integrating it into the Board of Supervisors and establishing ALL IN as an official initiative of the Board.
In addition to this vote, ALL IN hosted their September Community Forum at San Leandro City Hall - in partnership with Parent Voices Oakland and SEIU - on Child Care and Early Education needs in Alameda County. The September Community Forum also featured updates on ALL IN’s projects and initiatives and a recognition of the local organizations who have been instrumental in implementing ALL IN’s food recovery efforts. Thank you to Satellite Affordable Housing Associates, Daily Bread, Imperfect Produce, Gill Tract Farm, Berkeley Food Network, and WE Run Food for your dedication to preventing edible food from going to waste and redirecting to hungry families. I appreciate your contributions to ALL IN’s efforts to end hunger in Alameda County.
Resources for Our Youngest Learners
 Limited access to quality, affordable child care and early education is taking its toll on families, educators and communities across our county. Parents are struggling to find child care that they can afford and on average, families are spending up to 30% of their income on child care. Today, more than 115,000 Alameda County children lack access to formal child care and early education.
Early educators’ pay is so low that it’s difficult for them to provide the basics for their own families. The average salary of a child care worker is $29,000 per year, hardly enough to make ends meet for themselves and their families.
Due to limited access to quality child care and early education, fifty-six percent (56%) of Alameda County children are not fully prepared to start Kindergarten when they arrive, and 20% are not even partially ready.
To help address these issues, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors is studying the crisis, developing policy solutions, listening to the community, and overseeing the placement of a potential ballot measure for 2018. If placed on the ballot, the measure could generate up to $140 million per year to provide quality child care options for families throughout our county, raise early educator pay to $15 per hour for participating providers, attract and retain quality educators, and increase the quality of child care and early education.
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Fighting for Healthcare for ALL
As the Senate continued to push numerous efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), we were hard at work mobilizing our community to protect our healthcare. Our efforts in Alameda County included action alerts, Facebook advertisements, and updating our www.FightforMediCal.org website with the latest legislative news resources, and local action opportunities.
I would like to thank everyone who took the time to call, write letters, and tweet to Congress, attend town halls, and participate in other calls to action to defend Medicaid and the ACA. Your voices made a huge difference.
Community Resources
Boards and Commissions
Are you
interested in serving Alameda County and District 3? There are currently
openings to become a District 3 representative on the Advisory Commission on Aging, the Measure A Citizens Oversight Committee, the County Transportation Commission Independent Watchdog Committee,
the County Recycling Board and the Consumer Affairs Commission. Learn more
at www.acgov.org/clerk/bcc.htm. Applications, including a
cover letter and resume, can be submitted to karina.rivera@acgov.org.
Healthy Homes
Lead poisoning, asthma triggers, and safety issues in the home are a
serious threat to our children’s health. The Alameda County Healthy Homes
Department has services to help low-income residents and property owners make
their homes safer for young children. If
you own a home or apartment building built prior to 1978 in Alameda, Berkeley,
Emeryville, or Oakland, you are eligible for a free-in-home or phone
consultation to help you identify and reduce lead hazards. Other services
include free lead paint repair and free trainings. For more information or to
sign up for these services, call 510-567-8280 or visit www.achhd.org.
AAA Senior Resource Guide
Alameda
County’s Area Agency on Aging website has elder service tips, news, and
resources. Click here to
visit the website and learn more about resources available to all seniors in
Alameda County.
Alameda County Resource Guide
For information and referrals on Alameda County programs, check out our
resource guide: http://www.acgov.org/government/documents/ACResourceDirectory.pdf.
Starting a Local Business
Do you want to open a business in Alameda County but don’t know where to
begin? Alameda County has two great guides that will help you get started:
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