Meeting Notes

Follow up - 1/11/23 - Thank you for our meeting on Saturday! It was a rich discussion. Thank you! If I could capture our discussion, it would be, "Our Needs for a Neighborhood Culture of Health". We will continue building on this list, which will serve us going forward for community and political engagement. Our meeting on Saturday will continue planning for an on-site meeting where community representatives and ambassadors can convene.

Our Needs for a Neighborhood Culture of Health

(in no particular order)

• Deadlines for important health-related events - open enrollment, farmer's market voucher registration

• On-site/virtual events with health experts and community members, including persons with shared disease or condition, on health prevention, mental health, and disease management

• Community dialogue within safe spaces to discuss health topics and challenges and to exchange shared knowledge and experiences to include mental health, diabetes prevention and management

• Mental health support including and beyond clinical care to include community chats, engagement with professionals, informal discussion

• Improved quality of in-home support, care, and responsibilities

• Greater insight into the health needs and challenges with access and affordability within our communities

• Central repository of health educational materials, resources, and resources

• On-site/virtual support groups

• De-stigmatizing health needs including mental health needs

• Increased health knowledge and interpretation vital health data, including blood glucose testing, blood pressure, vitamin levels

• Increased food education

• Increased knowledge of body system and organ health

• Community spaces for dialogue and education, especially during evening hours

• Quality housing - decrease housing determinants of health including elimination of lead, mold, inadequate remediation and repair, elimination of pests, rodents

• Data on lead threats within and around home (lead particulates/air quality, lead-based paint, lead-contaminated water, lead pipes)

• Access to previous lead data conducted within community properties

• Decreased ambient noise

• Ensure redevelopment planning that eliminates related resident mental health stress and worsens physical health conditions

• Fund preventative public health workforce within community-based work

• Elimination of Southwest as perpetual construction site

• Family housing that is safe, affordable, and modern

• Educational system and workforce development system that promote community health and enhance positive social determinants of health

• Decrease determinants that lead to incarceration

• Research partners to conduct assessments of health threats to include air quality, lead, noise, community health burden

• Legal assistance to challenge laws and regulations negatively impacting health

• Affordable foods

• Group exercise activities both indoor and outdoor - both onsite and virtual

• Community togetherness to promote culture of health

• Collective power-building

• Reform of the DC Housing Authority to work for residents

• Less individualism

• Community events to promote culture of health and togetherness

• Regular meetings with elected and public officials at local and federal levels

• Insight into housing finance

• Affordable mechanisms to communicate efficiently across community

• Strengthen relations with health care providers and pharmacists for community education and engagement

• Public safety that works and is trustworthy

• Access to addresses and contact information of displaced community

• Support for equitable self-development

• Direct financial support to build neighborhood culture of health

• Encourage internalized liberation in affected populations, including self-affirming storytelling

• Monitor and respond to public health economy to drive health equity

~Chris

Meeting Notes - 1/7/23
Communicating deadlines (open enrollment, farmer's market voucher, physician)

Mental health resources (address suffer in silence, trauma-informed treatment (something deeper), let it out and somebody care)

Mindfulness activities (“It’s ok not to be ok”; deescalate)

White paper - Policy violence and mental health (stress and control)

Survey in community of practice (access for telehealth and computers/Internet)

Host on-site, virtual events (professionals in community, holistic eating, glucose monitor, manage care)

Central repository of information

Storytelling and community knowledge-exchange

Host support group (sharing experiences, hope, even something like this.)

Culture of self-care (reading, knowing stats, making health choices, de-stigmatized)

Letter to DC Council and DC Health - Ask for more support and coordinated services/care (DC Health?)

Host community dialogue circles/listening session (with food, health conditions (diabetes, mental health), NEED to hear from WITH diseases or had experience); right folks in the room to voice concerns; Voice concerns and even frustration; (informal); Rec Center; Logistics –

More opportunities for the residents; need a topic? Meet and greet? Let the conversation flow. Old and new housing?; community rooms in these meetings; neutral space; friendly townhall; Chat and chew – served food; got a caterer to come; brought in speaker for former Park Morton; had residents sing;

Root causes

· Housing and culture (disrespect for tenants)

· Housing authority and health – the fall guy;

· Systems designed to fail - new housing (1 bedrooms and studio, used to be family of 4..and used to be for 1.5)

· Educational system – gateways to poverty; literacy (e.g., football player and read/write)

· Legal system – gateways to poverty

o Incarceration determinant

· Housing determinants of health and financing

o Family size

o Costs

o Finding resources

o Public safety (securing property, and racial profiling)

· Social determinants of health

o Self-sufficiency within community

· Built environment

o Park (who gets to sit)

o Food deserts (types of food deserts vs. EOTR and Whole Foods in gentrified)

o Transportation

o Crime

· Community determinants of health

o Away from individualism (rhetoric of self-uplift) to togetherness (challenge the narrative and language)

o Call our power back

o Coming together in our community

o THIS IS CONNECTED to mental health (isolated)

· Ideas

o Preparing and eating food together and sharing (x2)

o Watch a movie together (who we are and why we are)

o Talk about family history

o Pray together

o Walk around personal living room

o PHL choir

o Share a hobby

o Meet with Robert White, Housing chair

o Meet with DCFA (financing agency behind redevelopment deals; how they fund; set requirements for some of these deals; community benefits)

o DC Health Care Finance – Wayne; also deputy mayor for health

o Medicare and Medicaid

o Inviting them to us (with events; come)

o HUD – set up meeting with HUD [redacted]

o Human issues [conveying the complexity of the human condition – in approaching, connecting across demographic/interest groups]

o Reach out to health care providers and health systems with pharmacists

Opportunities for Structural Change – Health Equity

o [redacted] – 15 left; 140 total; connections; will not share where those people are; restore community connection; Resolution 22-19 (resident management corporation; authority to manage property; act as resident council throughout process); 4-5 phases; potential for creating a health space;

o [redacted] – RAD; invert model; ask people what they need; concern about taking back;

o [redacted] – being assessed; dealing with trauma; a lot of that does intersect; mental health sources (declining housing quality, neighborhood change and left behind; no investment; shoddy work) and what support and resources to health and dealing with; youth crying out for help;

o [redacted]– disability population; DC Family Council (in home support and quality of care concerning); building neglect; how to use monitors (supposed to be showing people how to do that; not getting house cleaned and washing dishes); services are not being done for Senior and disability pop.

o [redacted] – infestations.