The document outlines a panel discussion focused on amplifying community voices in Snohomish County to achieve health equity and strengthen community capacity. Panelists discussed current initiatives, gaps, and strategies involving community engagement, particularly around issues affecting undocumented students and the overall health of residents. The conversation highlighted the need for representation and collective action to address community-specific challenges and improve overall well-being.

1. AMPLIFYING Community
Collaborating to Achieve Health Equity &
Community Capacity
Panelists:
Victoria Breckwich Vásquez, Assistant Professor, University of Washington-Bothell
Sophia Beltrán, Family Support Program Manager, Lutheran Community Services NW
Maria Peña, Chief Diversity and Equity Officer, Everett Community College
Diane Douglas, Executive Director, Seattle City Club
Moderated by:
Jody Early, Associate Professor, University of Washington- Bothell

2. Introducing the Panelists

3. Guiding Questions
• What are we, as a community, doing to amplify the voices
of residents of Snohomish County—especially those often
“not at the table”?
• What are we currently doing to improve:
• Health Equity ?
• Community Capacity?
• What /where are the gaps and how do we address them?

4. Amplify YOUR Voice!
• Tweet your comments, thoughts,
or examples to #AMPVOICES2015
OR write them down on the
comment card provided. Submit
your card to Jody or Vicky at the
end of the session.

5. What does it mean to “Amplify Community
Voice”?
• Strengthening
community impact
through representation
and engagement
• Begin with the community’s
perceived needs—listen!
• Use an asset-based
approach vs. deficit
approach
*”Start where the people are.”
(Nyswander, 1956)
• Research shows that
community participation can be
significant in improving:
• Health behaviors and
health status
• Perceived control
• Empowerment
• Individual coping
• Building community
capacity
• Lasting change
Sources: Marmot, 2009; Kegler et al, 2009;
Wallerstein, 2006

6. A Starting Point : Amplifying Community Voice
Efforts
• PIHC efforts: community conversations with Sno.Co residents across the county
(119 people; and 11 groups thus far)
• Additional Efforts: *”Picture Health” -community photo contest *Interviews
*Quantitative surveys *Synthesis of existing data
• Intent is to let people discuss these issues from their vantage points
• Hear voices often excluded
• Deepen our understanding of health through the eyes of residents
• Ground models of understanding in here and now
• Determine ways in which to address gaps and leverage community resources

7. Amplifying Community Voice to Achieve
Health & Well-Being in Snohomish County:
Health Equity in Snohomish County
Victoria Breckwich Vásquez, DrPH, MPH, MA
Assistant Professor/Director, Community Engagement & Education
University of Washington Bothell/ Seattle
vbreck@uw.edu

11. How does EQUITY
affect HEALTH?

13. Institute of
Medicine
(IOM)
“Engaged
People”

14. Using an Asset-Based Approach
to Community Transformation
• “Our institutions and agencies
cannot solve all of our social ills.
Most are at max capacity. Only
people can create community….
Change relies largely on those
living in the community.”
• --John Kretzman and John McKnight (1993).
Building Communities from the Inside Out: A
Path to Mobilizing Community Assets.

15. ABCD Approach to
Healthy Community Building
• Asset-Based Community Development
Includes:
• Identifying resources, strengths and
talents of the community
• Involve community members
• Focus on what they care about
• Build relationships and grow
collaborations
• Develop strategies for groups to act
• Help to increase community capacity
and mobilization

16. Examples of
Building Community
Capacity and
Amplifying
Community Voices

17. Presented by Sophia Beltrán, Family Support
Program Manager, Everett & South Snohomish

18. ”I’m going to
introduce you to..”

19. Malcolm Gladwell explains:
Connectors are people who
link us up with the world.
People with a special gift for
bringing the world together.

21. Social capital works through multiple channels:
Information flows (e.g. learning about jobs, learning about candidates
running for office, exchanging ideas at college, etc.) depend on social
capital.
Norms of reciprocity (mutual aid) rely on social networks. Bonding
networks that connect folks who are similar sustain particularized (in-
group) reciprocity. Bridging networks that connect individuals who are
diverse sustain generalized reciprocity.
Collective action depends upon social networks (e.g., the role that the
black church played in the Civil Rights movement), although collective
action also can foster new networks.
Broader identities and solidarity are encouraged by social networks that
help translate an "I" mentality into a "we" mentality.
http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/2010/08/23/connectors-mavens-and-salesmen-the-secret-to-your-success/

24. I know a guy,
who knows a
guy, who
knows a gal…

32. Everett Community College
the DREAMERs Success Project
:Serving Undocumented Students
• Presented by Maria Peña, Chief
Diversity & Equity Officer/Title IX
Coordinator, Everett Community
College

33. Quick Overview
•Review federal and state
legislation
•Undocumented students:
Who are they?
•DREAMERs Success Project:
How is EVCC helping
undocumented students?

34. Federal Policy:
Undocumented Students
1982: Plyler vs. Doe: U.S.
Supreme Court decision that
granted undocumented students
the right to a public school
education from K-12 grade in the
U.S.

35. Federal Initiatives
DACA
(Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)
Expanded DACA & DAPA
(Deferred Action for Parents of Americans &
Lawful Permanent Residents)
DREAM ACT
(Development, Relief, and Education for Alien
Minors Act)
2012
• Grants a 2 year renewable
working permit
Eligibility requirements:
• Entered U.S. before 16
• Continuously lived in the U.S.
for 5 years
• Are currently in school,
graduated from high school,
earned a GED, or served in the
military.
• Be of good moral character
• Are under the age of 31
2014
• Grants 3 year renewable
working permit
Eligibility requirements:
• No Age limit
• Continuously lived in the
U.S. since January 1,
2010
2001
• Still developing
• Could provide a pathway to
citizenship

36. HB 1079
(House Bill 1079)
SB 6523
(The Real Hope Act)
May 2003
• Grants in-state tuition to Washington State
undocumented students who meet specific
eligibility requirements
April 2014
• Grants some WA undocumented students
eligibility to apply for Washington State
Need Grant
Eligibility requirements:
• Earned a high school diploma or GED from a
Washington State high school
• Lived in Washington at least three years prior
to receiving a diploma or GED
• Signs an affidavit state he or she will apply
for U.S. residency as soon as possible.
Washington State laws

37. Undocumented Students:
Who Are They?
Similar to peers:
• Low-income
• Poor academic preparation
• First gen college students
• English is frequently their second language
• Limited access to college information and
support
• Desire the real college experience
• Highly involved in school extracurricular
activities
• Active in their community
• Most work to pay for college
Differ from peers:
• Difficulty gaining employment
• Cannot acquire a drivers license in most
states* (WA does offer license/ID)
• Most must pay out of state tuition to attend
college in other states* (HB 1079)
• Not eligible for most forms of government-
sponsored financial aid
• Challenge finding scholarships
• Limited in fields of study/majors
• Live in fear of their status being discovered
and face possible deportation
• Face marginalization & prejudice

38. PURPOSE:
• Help Dreamers make gains in their
educational and career pathways
• Identify inequities and address
barriers to access
• Focus on dignity and fair treatment
of immigrant youth and families,
regardless of immigration status.
Everett Community College
Dreamers success project

39. PROJECT:
Serve a cohort of WASFA-eligible students (46 W15)
GOALS:
Build community
Develop a network of support
Community engagement
Identity development
Leadership development
Everett Community College
DREAMERS SUCCESS PROJECT

40. Task Force:
• Campus-wide representation,
participation and support
State Partnerships:
• Beyond HB 1079 Conference
• Washington State Dreamers Coalition
• Northwest Immigrant Right’s Project
National Recognition:
• United We Dream
• Commitments
Student Data:
• 100% retention Winter to
Spring Quarter
Dreamers Success Project:
Outcomes

41. Presented by:
Diane Douglas, Executive Director

42. Seattle City Club’s
mission is
to inform, connect and
engage the public
to strengthen the civic
health of our region.
Organizational
Mission

43. In school,
they don’t tell us
we can
change the world.

44. “Too often, young people come to believe they cannot make a difference in their
own lives or in the life of their community.
(by engaging) students in learning experiences that give them a sense of
their own power and ability to effect change for themselves and others
around them.”
--Sheldon Berman, Citizenship Matters
One central element in (closing) the achievement gap…
is (closing) the empowerment gap

45. Skills Values Attitudes
for
Active Citizenship

46. Educational attainment is the single most important
predictor
of strong civic agency.
Make education our most important
civic health investment.

47. Voices from our
Communities
on Health Equity
in Snohomish County

48. “I go to the food bank twice a
month in order to eat. I can’t
afford to go and buy a lot of
groceries or anything…But it’s
hard to eat properly. They’re very
generous but it’s hard sometimes
to eat the proper foods to help
myself feel good or feel well.”

49. “…If you have a community
that has a very high
unemployment rate, that’s
an unhealthy environment.
You have a higher crime rate,
and people with lower self-
worth.”

50. “If people didn't have long
commutes and as many cars
polluting the environment, you'd be
healthier with less pollution. You'd
be healthier if you didn't arrive
everywhere stressed all the time..”

51. “This county has a severe heroine problem.
4 youth this year alone have died from
heroine overdoses.”
“There are a large number of homeless
with drug and alcohol problems. They are
not getting the help they need.”

52. “Well, I feel like doctors should
probably be one of our first resorts,
but since they are not as accessible
as we wish they would be, Google,
Facebook [and] friends become our
first resorts...”

53. “Are there good schools?”
“I work three jobs to get through school!”

54. “There are not enough
housing options for the
homeless. I have people
camping in the woods
near my house.”

55. “Most people in this County are Caucasian. I
am Columbian. When I go to school, I don’t
see people like me. I have been
discriminated against because I speak
Spanish. I have had to form my own sense
of community and find people who accept
me. When people say, “Go back to your
country, I’m like… ‘Where would you like me
to go? This is my country!’ ”

56. Achieving Health Equity:
Promising Practices
From Around the Nation

57. PolicyLink
• Promise Neighborhoods
• Healthy Communities of
Opportunity
• Corner Store Conversions
• Equitable Food Hubs
• Local Food Procurement
• Urban Agriculture & Community
Gardens
• Health Impact Assessment
http://www.policylink.org

58. Alliance for Boys
& Men of Color (CA)
“By almost every measure,
the group that is facing
some of the most severe
challenges in the 21st
Century in this country are
boys and young men of
color.”
President Barack Obama, announcing
the My Brother's Keeper initiative
February 27, 2014
http://www.allianceforbmoc.org

59. The
California
Endowment
(TCE)
http://www.calendow.org/building-healthy-communities/

62. TCE Building Healthy Communities: Roots of Success
• Invested in grassroots community organizing
• Established long-term relationships with state-level advocates and
policymakers
• Supports both local and statewide advocacy infrastructure
• Approached its place-based work with humility and with authentic
desire to let communities make decisions.
• Focusing on youth leadership and organizing infused site and state-
level work with passion and energy.
• Embedded program managers in each of the 14 sites to enable better
understanding of how to support local work.

63. Bay Area Regional
Health Inequities
Initiative
(BARHII)
http://barhii.org

64. Your Zip Code Matters!
• Seattle-King County Public
Health Department
• City of Berkeley Public Health
Division
• Intersectoral (health,
transportation, employment)
planning
• Place-based resource allocation
in selected neighborhoods

65. Centers for Disease
Control & Prevention
(2008)
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dch/programs/healthycommunitiesprogram/tools/pdf/sdoh-workbook.pdf

66. Key Take-Aways
In the context of the discussion
we just had, what are 2-3 key
priorities as we look to improve
the health of our community?

67. • PIHC can serve as a conduit for collaboration
• Continue this conversation: How can we leverage
Sno.Co resources and community assets?
• Who else needs to be heard?
• Tweet your thoughts to #AMPVOICES2015 or
submit comment card to Jody or Vicky as you leave.
Extend the Conversation!

68. AMPLIFYING Community
THANK YOU FOR COMING!
Panelists:
Victoria Breckwich Vásquez: Vbreck@uw.edu
Sophia Beltrán: Sbeltran@lcsnw.org
Maria Peña: mpena@everettcc.edu
Diane Douglas: ddouglas@seattlecityclub.org