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 you can read about my work on Alameda County's New War on Poverty, the upcoming groundbreaking of the San Lorenzo Library Expansion Project, and the Alameda Community Garden Day of Service.
You can also learn about Alameda County's First Healthy Nail Salon Program, my annual Holiday Toy Drive 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
Declaring a New War on Poverty
in Alameda County
On January 7, the Board of Supervisors joined me in passing a
resolution
declaring a New War on Poverty in Alameda County. I was later joined by
community leaders and advocates on January 8 for the 50th
anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty at a press
conference hosted by De Colores Head Start in Oakland’s Fruitvale district. Together
we addressed the urgent need for poverty fighting tactics based on lessons
learned from the past 50 years and how we can now build upon these programs and
strategies with new technologies, new ideas, and new digital approaches.
The press conference also launched the Human Impact Budget website,
a vital tool for informing and connecting those committed to ending poverty in
Alameda County. The Human Impact Budget project aims to put a human face on the
impact of budget cuts by sharing personal stories of people that have been
directly impacted by state cuts to safety net services. In addition, the
website provides facts regarding these trends, and empowers people to take
action. Click here or visit www.acgov.org/hib/ to learn more about the
Human Impact Budget and experience the stories of Alameda County residents who
have been affected by state budget cuts and persisting local poverty trends.
Below is my
editorial on Alameda County’s New War on Poverty:
In
1964, as the U.S. poverty rate grew to 16%, President Lyndon B. Johnson
declared a nationwide priority to address the issue of the growing poor in
America. In his State of the Union address, he launched a War on Poverty and
pledged to build “a nation free from want” and proclaimed that “we shall not
rest until the war is won.”
The
nation rallied behind his call with programs such as the Civil Rights Act,
Voting Rights Act, Medicaid, Medicare, Head Start, expanded Food Stamps and the
Higher Education Act.
Today,
50 years later, persistent poverty again plagues our nation. While the nation has been slowly recovering
from the recent five-year Great Recession, many have not found a way out.
Increase in Poverty
The
U.S. Census Bureau, using a new calculation that takes into account factors
such as the cost of living, estimates that today 16% of the nation lives in
poverty – the highest percentage of Americans in poverty since 1965. By that
same calculation, California has the highest poverty rate in the nation at
23.8%.
In
Alameda County, there were 197,283 residents living in poverty in 2011 – an
increase of 40,000 individuals in just two years. During that same time period,
the number of children in Oakland who were living in poverty grew from 18% to
29%.
Even
more staggering, there are 15
neighborhoods in Alameda County with child poverty rates above 50% and another
42 neighborhoods where the child poverty rate exceeds 30%. In addition, there
are 50 neighborhoods in Alameda County with overall poverty rates – including
both adults and children – that exceed 25%. This is at a time when income inequality is at a historic high.
It
is clearly time that we declare a New War on Poverty and launch a campaign that
examines both the legacy of the past 50 years and opportunities for moving
forward into the future. Our pledge will reflect a cross-generational
commitment – from Baby Boomers to Millenials – and an urgency to protect
democracy through the eradication of poverty.
Lessons Learned
During
the past 50 years, we have learned many valuable lessons and waged countless
partisan battles. Some anti-poverty programs proved to be very successful.
Others were not. But one undeniable fact remains: far too many Americans live
in poverty 50 years later. And the challenge to lift families out of poverty
has become even more difficult with the staggering rise of income inequality
during the past three decades.
The
New War on Poverty in Alameda County will address critical elements that lead
to economic security including nutrition, education, employment, housing,
transportation and child care. To ensure that we make a significant impact, we
will focus our initial efforts on jobs, early childhood education and food
security.
The
campaign will rely on proven strategies that combine the best elements of
self-reliance, community engagement and government support. We also will deploy
the latest technology and call upon the entire community to become involved in
helping individuals and families lift themselves out of poverty.
For
example, the Human Impact Budget, an innovative process adopted by the Alameda
County Board of Supervisors in 2012, utilizes digital media to both educate and
mobilize communities around the local impact of multi-year budget cuts on our
most vulnerable populations. Residents can access the latest county-level data,
share their personal impact stories as well as connect with policy makers and
advocates with only a few clicks of the mouse.
Our
multi-pronged approach – self-reliance, community engagement, government
support, and technology solutions – combines the best strategies that have been
put forth by liberals, moderates and conservatives. This New War on Poverty
should and must be a bi-partisan effort.
Role of Government
We
want to be clear that there is a critical role for government in providing the
resources for lifting millions of Americans out of poverty. Many of the larger
programs from the War on Poverty – such as the Civil Rights Act, Medicaid,
Medicare, Head Start, and Food Stamps– helped millions move from poverty to the
middle class.
At
the same time, we know that many families did not escape persistent poverty,
and they would have benefited from strategies that promoted individual
responsibility, self-sufficiency and community-based support systems.
No
political party holds the key to eradicating poverty. We must work together. We
must put aside our differences and find common ground. Millions of families are
depending upon us, and we cannot afford to wait another 50 years to deliver on
the bold and noble promise made by President Johnson.
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Alameda Community Garden
Day of Service
One in six Alameda County residents depends on the support
of their food bank. In the City of Alameda, over 4,000 residents currently
receive food stamps also known as CalFresh. Over the past few months, I have
partnered with the City of Alameda Recreation and Park Department on a
Community Garden Project with the goal of improving food security for local
residents by growing fresh produce for Alameda Food Bank recipients.
The community garden will be a plot-based garden and include
educational opportunities and most importantly, increased access to nutritious
food for local residents in need. The vision of the community garden is also to provide gardening information and education through demonstrations and
teaching gardens along with more growing
spaces for Alameda residents. This effort is supported by the Alameda Food Bank, Alameda Backyard Growers and Project Leaf. The community garden site is located at
the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Constitution Way directly behind the Alameda
Food Bank and is part of the 22-acre Jean Open Space Park.
On Saturday, January 18, as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service
and in partnership with the Alameda Recreation and Park Department, community
members helped clean up the future site of the Alameda Community Garden. Over
315 volunteers attended and built planter boxes and compost bins, painted
several murals and created art that will be displayed throughout the garden,
including painting over blighted walls and wooden art displays designed by
children and youth volunteers. Alameda Backyard Growers also provided
educational workshops about various gardening topics. Click here to see photos from the day of service.
San Lorenzo Library Expansion Project
Groundbreaking Ceremony
I am pleased to announce that construction is set to begin
this February- only a couple of weeks away! Please join me on Wednesday, February 19 at 11:00 AM to celebrate the
start of the construction of the San Lorenzo Library Expansion Project. You
are invited to a groundbreaking ceremony to commemorate the next step of this
exciting community project. All members of the community are invited to be part
of this celebration. I would like to thank everyone that was involved in the
planning process of the San Lorenzo Library Expansion Project.
The expansion project will nearly double the size of the
library to 19,500 square feet. Construction
is expected to last up to 15 months and be complete in the spring of 2015.
During construction, the library will be fenced off and the adjacent lot will
be protected from any construction debris. Minimal impact to the San Lorenzo
Village Homes Association parking lot can also be expected.
The temporary library will operate out of the building
adjacent to the Lorenzo Theater, located at 16032 Hesperian Boulevard. The library is currently moving into the
temporary site and will open to the public on Wednesday, February 5. If you
have any questions or concerns during the construction period, please do not
hesitate to contact my district office at (510) 278-0367.
Alameda County’s First Healthy
Nail Salon Program
Every day, nail
salon owners and workers handle solvents, glues, polishes and other beauty care
products containing a number of chemicals known or suspected to cause cancer,
allergies, and respiratory, neurological, developmental and reproductive harm. In Alameda
County, there are more than 350 business establishments and approximately 1,000
nail technicians that are exposed daily to these harmful chemicals. Numerous
local consumers are also exposed to hazardous chemicals and poor air quality
inside nail salons that can cause harmful effects and health risks.
In order to
address this health concern, I partnered with the Alameda County Department of
Environmental Health and the California Healthy Nail Salon to develop and
implement Alameda County’s first Healthy Nail Salon Recognition Program, which
rewards nail salons that make safer choices for their employees, customers, and
the environment.
On December 18,
I held a celebration in honor of Alameda County’s First Healthy Nail Salon Day.
I recognized the first seven nail salons
in Alameda County to use healthy nail practices and presented a proclamation to
Leann’s Nails of Alameda as the first ever recognized Alameda County Healthy
Nail Salon. As part of this celebration, all seven nail salons offered free
manicures and pedicures to their first five customers.
Among other
requirements, participating salons use only nail polishes without chemicals that
are linked to reproductive and developmental harm or cancer. Nail Salons that join in the voluntary
program receive formal recognition on the Alameda County Environmental
Health website as well as receive assistance with improving their
businesses’ air quality and ventilation.
As a County leader, I will continue to support
programs that aim to create a healthy and safe environment for all workers and
residents in Alameda County. For more
information about the CA Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative and the nail salon
community, visit: www.cahealthynailsalons.org. To find
out where you can find a recognized Healthy Nail Salon in Alameda County, click here.
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Building a Community Garden at
Wood Middle School
I have organized many Adopt-A-School projects at public schools throughout
my district. This past October, I organized a volunteer day at Wood Middle
School in Alameda, where over 120 community members helped enhance the school
grounds. Parents, students, and community members transformed a sandpit into a
beautiful garden and built 12 planter boxes that will be used to teach students
about earth science and gardening. Other projects included an oceanography
mural, landscaping work throughout the school and art that will be displayed
around the garden site.
Click here to see photos on my Facebook
page.
During the volunteer day, I also presented a commendation signed by the Alameda
County Board of Supervisors to James Fritz, owner of Future Building and
Design. James has volunteered his time and expertise to help build community
gardens at Henry Haight Elementary School (Alameda), Allendale Elementary
School (Oakland) and most recently at Wood Middle School as part of my
Adopt-A-School initiative.
I would like to thank the members of SEIU-ULTCW, Wood Middle School
staff, students, parents and all of the volunteers that helped make the day a
success. I would also like to thank our community donors whose contributions
made this day possible. If you are interested in volunteering on future
Adopt-A-School projects, please email us at district3@acgov.org.
Holiday Cheer at Centro Infantil de la Raza
Childcare Center
Many families facing financial uncertainty often experience
additional stress during the holiday season. For example, Oakland’s child
poverty rate increased from 18% in 2009 to 29% in 2011 according to the U.S.
Census Bureau. That is why every year I partner with a childcare center to
provide holiday gifts for low-income children in my district. Last month, I
held my 3rd annual Holiday Toy Distribution, where we collected over
100 toys, books and educational materials for the children of Centro Infantil
de la Raza Childcare Center in Oakland.
Centro
Infantil de la Raza is a Childcare Center that prepares children from
low-income families to succeed in elementary school and beyond. The generous
contributions we received from community members throughout District 3 helped
provide these children with a little extra cheer during this holiday season.
I would like to thank Kat Romo, Centro Infantil de la Raza’s
Site Administrator for helping coordinate the distribution as well as the
wonderful teachers that provide quality early care and education to the
children. I would also like to thank community donors, including my District 3
county board and commission appointees whose generous contributions helped
create a successful toy distribution at Centro Infantil de la Raza.
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Fighting Against Senior Fraud
Nearly 25 million Americans are victims of consumer fraud each year
and almost half of those people are adults over the age of 50. In order to take
on this wide-spread issue, I developed an educational series last year to help
older adults learn about how to identify and protect themselves from financial
fraud and scams. On October 24, I held my fourth senior fraud workshop at
Mastick Senior Center in Alameda where over 50 older adults received important
information on common forms of fraud and scams aimed at seniors, including
identity theft, fraudulent bank withdrawals, fake sales and much more.
Attendees also received educational tools and resources, including important
tips and contact information to agencies to contact if they think they may be a
victim of fraud. The speaker panel included representatives from the Alameda
County District Attorney’s Office, Alameda County’s Adult Protective Services
and Legal Assistance for Seniors. Click
here to check out photos on my Facebook page.
I would like to thank Jackie Krause, the City of Alameda Senior
Services Manager at Mastick Senior Center for helping put together the event. Our next workshop is scheduled for
Thursday, February 6 at the Temple Israel of Alameda. Please scroll down to the
“upcoming events” section for more information.
Newest member of
Alameda Health System Board of Trustees
Kinkini Banerjee, Principal at the public health
consulting firm, Sage Transformations, is the newest member of the Alameda
Health System Board of Trustees. Kinkini partners with community and
public health stakeholders to build and sustain strong multi-objective
initiatives impacting health, employment, civic engagement, safety, and
community capacity. She
currently works with the United States Breastfeeding Committee spearheading a national initiative to build state, territorial and tribal breastfeeding
coalitions to implement the
Surgeon
General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding.
Kinkini
began her career as a dietitian at Sion hospital in Mumbai, India. She has a
Masters in Nutrition from Washington State University. She is currently the
President of the Board of Trustees of Building
Futures with Women and Children, Alameda County’s lead agency in providing
housing, safety and stability to homeless and domestic violence survivors. I am
happy to have Kinkini on the Alameda County Health System Board of Trustees and
look forward to working with her as San Leandro Hospital joins the network of
Alameda Health System and its facilities throughout Alameda County.
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$2,000 for East Bay Asian Youth Center
This winter, I donated $2,000 to
the East Bay Asian Youth Center (EBAYC), which serves nearly 2,000 children,
youth and young adults in Oakland’s San Antonio, Eastlake, and Chinatown
neighborhoods. EBAYC partners with 12 neighborhood schools, U.C. Berkeley, and
the Alameda County Probation Department to provide young people and their
families a continuum of support and opportunities.
The $2,000 grant will provide
much needed funds to support the various services that EBAYC provides such as
intensive support for youth who are on court-ordered probation, high school
outreach to close the academic achievement gap of students, summer and after
school programs and the annual camp that serves 200-300 youth. Additionally,
EBAYC provides nutritional snacks, academic support, enrichment workshops,
mentorships and family engagement events for neighboring elementary schools.
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New Community
Park in San Lorenzo
In the spring of 2012, I initiated talks with PG&E to establish
a park at the site of their gas line testing station at the corner of Grant and
Washington Avenues in San Lorenzo. PG&E agreed and continues to make
progress on developing the park, which is located across the street from San
Lorenzo’s Gateway Park – a $120,000 project that I saw through to its
completion in 2011. PG&E conducted a community meeting in early
October that provided attendees with an opportunity to offer feedback on the
draft park design, and will soon schedule a second meeting to gather additional
community feedback. The site has already been graded and a security fence
was installed around the testing station. Residents and visitors will now
be greeted by two attractive parks at the corner of Grant and Washington
welcoming them to San Lorenzo Village
Please join me and
PG&E on Monday, February 10 at 11:30 AM to celebrate the beginning of
another beautiful park to the San Lorenzo community. The ground breaking ceremony will be
held at the site of the new community park located
at the corner of Grant and Washington Avenues in San Lorenzo.
Upcoming Events
Love Your Bones Are you ready to improve your bone health? Join me on Thursday, February 20 for a “Love Your
Bones” presentation about osteoporosis, treatment options and improving
bone health at Mastick Senior Center located
at 1155 Santa Clara Avenue in Alameda. A limited number of participants
will also receive a free bone density
screening (P-DEXA scans). Please contact Jackie Krause at (510) 747-7510 to
schedule a free screening.
Business Expo Do you own a
business in the Eden Area of Alameda County? Would you like to promote your
business and meet prospective clients? The San Lorenzo Village Homes
Association and The Castro Valley/Eden Area Chamber are hosting their 2014
Business Expo on Saturday, March 1 from 10AM to 1PM. The Business Expo will be
held at the San Lorenzo Village Homes Association Community Hall, located at
377 Paseo Grande in San Lorenzo. For more information, please call (510)
276-4554.
Covered California Open Enrollment Deadline Have you signed
up to receive health insurance for 2014? The deadline is Monday, March 31 to sign-up for Covered California or
Medi-Cal for 2014. Penalties will be addressed for those without adequate
insurance. Go to www.coveredca.com today
to find out what’s available and to sign-up for health insurance. Use the “Shop
and Compare” tool to get started. You can also call (800) 300-1506 and apply
over the phone.
Upcoming EALI Working Group Meetings At
the November “Community Charrette,” Eden Area residents, business owners and
property owners voted for priority goals in the areas of economic development,
agriculture and environment, local governance, public safety and realignment
and education. Groups for each of the
areas have been formed in order to work toward implementing the goals that were
voted at “Community Charrette”. Click here
to see the schedule of upcoming work meetings.
Arts Grants & Youth Arts Education Programs Are you a non-profit organization
that provides arts programs for youth? The Alameda County Arts Commission is
now taking applications for their 2014 ARTSFUND Grants Program, which supports
all types of programming, including dance, literature, media, arts, music,
theater, visual arts and multidisciplinary arts programs. Grants of $1,000 to $2500 will be awarded to 40-50 arts organizations
in 2014. The Arts Commission will also host 3 free workshops to assist
organizations preparing for their grant applications. Click here to download the application or visit acgov.org/arts/whats_new.html for more information.
Community Resources
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 and don’t know where to begin? Alameda County
has two great guides that will help you get started
(Ashland, Castlewood, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview,
Happy Valley, Hillcrest Knolls, San Lorenzo and Sunol)
Boards and Commissions Are you interested in serving Alameda County and District 3? There are
currently several opening to become a District 3 representative. Learn more at http://www.acgov.org/clerk/bcc.htm. Applications including a cover letter and
resume can be submitted to Disrict3@acgov.org
Lead Grants Lead poisoning, asthma triggers and safety issues in the
home are a series threat to our children’s health. The Alameda County Healthy Homes Department
has services to assist low-income residents and property owners in making their
homes safer for young children. If you
own a pre-1978 home or apartment building 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 training. For more information or to sign up for these services, call
510-567-8280 or at www.achhd.org.
Help Me Grow One
of the challenges of parenting is knowing when it is time to get help for a
child's development, behavior and learning. When a child seems behind or
something just doesn't seem quite right, it can be difficult to know what to do.
Visit www.alamedakids.org or call the "Help Me
Grow" phone line at 1-888-510-1211
to learn more about essential parent resources.
In the News...
San
Leandro Hospital ownership to transfer at end of October
Supervisor
Wilma Chan Volunteers at Alameda Food Bank
WABA
Member Among the First to Celebrate Healthy Nail Salon Day
Making Nail Salons Safer For Workers, Clients
Alameda
County Supervisor Chan launches ‘New War on Poverty’
Alameda
County Supervisor declares “New War on Poverty”
Alameda:
Sweeney Park’s first community cleanup draws hundreds |