Over the past three years, Prevention Institute (PI) has worked to strengthen the relevance and effectiveness of public health strategies to advance racial justice and health equity within the field. In this podcast, Director Ruben Cantu talks with PI staff members La’Quana Williams (Associate Program Director) and Alberto Espiricueta (Program Assistant) on their journey to accomplish this goal. The podcast details the tools produced within the grant period, the importance of cultivating partnerships with racial and social justice organizations, as well as the challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned over the last three years. This episode was made possible with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

How do you reduce the incarceration and detention of youth of color, lift up their strengths, and make a community safer? In this podcast, Dr. Assata Richards speaks personally and passionately about how the Redefining Youth Justice Coalition successfully advocated for the creation of a Youth Justice Community Reinvestment Fund in Harris County, Texas, comprised of $2 million in funds redirected from juvenile probation and $2 million from the county's General Fund. Dr. Richards uses the metaphor of making a pot of gumbo—layering ingredients and patiently nurturing the pot—to describe how the coalition brought together impacted youth and families and local and national partners to learn, organize, advocate together, and work through tension points with compassion and care. With a commitment to “power with,” not “power over,” they kept a laser focus on their shared vision and created relationships and resources for a continuum of care that is sure to nourish the community. This podcast was made possible with support from The Langeloth Foundation.

In February, a group of young changemakers partnered with CLASP, the Center for Law and Social Policy, to launch #WhyWeCantWait: A New Deal for Youth (https://www.clasp.org/new-deal-4-youth). A New Deal for Youth calls on leaders in the public and private sectors to support youth-led policy solutions to address the glaring economic and social injustices facing young people today, particularly young people of color. In this podcast, Prevention Institute's Ruben Cantu talks with Dr. Nia West-Bey, a senior policy analyst on CLASP’s youth team, and three New Deal for Youth changemakers—Isabel Coronado of Next100 in New Mexico; Kadesha Mitchell with The Cove/DFZ Adolescent Clubhouse in Maryland; and Connor Kalahiki representing the Center for Native American Youth in Hawaii—about what policies are needed for young people to be able to thrive.

On January 20, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in as the new president and vice president of the United States. During the election, they spoke out forcefully about public health, health equity, and racial justice, but what will they do now that they’re in office? Prevention Institute’s Ruben Cantu and Sana Chehimi discuss what the new administration should prioritize in the first 100 days and in the long-term to promote thriving, equitable communities.

SHOW NOTES: Here is the pre-recorded discussion on Policy & Advocacy to Advance Mental Health and Wellbeing:

https://preventioninstitute.org/tools/policy-advocacy-advance-mental-health-and-wellbeing

Here are Prevention Institute's policy priorities, and the executive actions undertaken thus far by the Biden-Harris administration:

https://preventioninstitute.org/publications/prevention-institute-policy-priorities

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/

*Photo by Steffan Limmen on Instagram

Ruben Cantu of Prevention Institute and Kathryn Evans of Rooted Strategy interview network leaders from Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC), an initiative of the Health Federation of Philadelphia that supports cross-sector, community networks using the science of ACEs and trauma to build a just, healthy and resilient world. In this episode, Ruben and Kathryn talk with Joel Fein and Crystal Wyatt, members of the Philadelphia ACE Task Force’s Steering Committee, about effective network leadership.

The MARC Podcast Series is a joint production of the Health Federation of Philadelphia and Prevention Institute. For more information about MARC, visit MARC.HealthFederation.org.

Funding for the series comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The series is also supported in part by Cooperative Agreement No. 6 NU38OT000305-02-03 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the CDC.

Photo credit: Philadelphia ACE Task Force

Ruben Cantu of Prevention Institute and Kathryn Evans of Rooted Strategy interview network leaders from Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC), an initiative of the Health Federation of Philadelphia that supports cross-sector, community networks using the science of ACEs and trauma to build a just, healthy and resilient world. In this episode, Ruben and Kathryn talk with Laura Norton-Cruz, former director of the Alaska Resilience Initiative, about the role of an effective backbone organization.

The MARC Podcast Series is a joint production of the Health Federation of Philadelphia and Prevention Institute. For more information about MARC, visit MARC.HealthFederation.org.

Funding for the series comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The series is also supported in part by Cooperative Agreement No. 6 NU38OT000305-02-03 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the CDC.

Photo credit: Laura Norton-Cruz

Ruben Cantu of Prevention Institute and Kathryn Evans of Rooted Strategy interview network leaders from Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC), an initiative of the Health Federation of Philadelphia that supports cross-sector, community networks using the science of ACEs and trauma to build a just, healthy and resilient world. In this episode, Ruben and Kathryn talk with Yusuf Ali, Soojin Conover and Suzeth Dunn from Boston’s Vital Village Network about using data to effect change.

The MARC Podcast Series is a joint production of the Health Federation of Philadelphia and Prevention Institute. For more information about MARC, visit MARC.HealthFederation.org.

Funding for the series comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The series is also supported in part by Cooperative Agreement No. 6 NU38OT000305-02-03 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the CDC.

Photo credit: Vital Village

Prevention Institute Executive Director Rachel Davis joins women leaders in healthcare, health equity, and public health for a broad-ranging conversation about what we’ve learned six months into the coronavirus pandemic and what we still desperately need to do. The podcast guests discuss topics including inconsistent and inadequate data collection, attacks on public health leaders, and the importance of an equitable recovery. Rachel is joined by Dr. Shari Barkin, the Chief of General Pediatrics at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN and a well-respected community researcher; Dr. Jewel Mullen, the associate dean for health equity at the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas in Austin and a previous public health commissioner in Connecticut; and Chrissie Juliano, the executive director of the Big Cities Health Coalition, which is composed of America’s largest metropolitan health departments.

*Photo credit: Satoko Arw

In this podcast Sana Chehimi, director of policy and advocacy for Prevention Institute, interviews Isha Weerasinghe, a senior policy analyst on the youth team at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). They discuss the importance of supporting mental health and wellbeing for communities of color to achieve an equitable COVID-19 recovery and as part of dismantling systems that perpetuate structural violence and racism. Isha describes how applying a racial justice lens to center lived experiences and community leadership allows CLASP to broaden the understanding of mental health and wellbeing and develop policy solutions and strategies that are otherwise overlooked.

Read more about CLASP’s work:

Behind the Asterisk*: Perspectives on Young Adult Mental Health from "Small and Hard-to-Reach" Communities

https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/behind-asterisk

Reconnecting, Realizing and Reimagining Justice: Advancing Economic Justice for Individuals and Communities Impacted by the Criminal Justice System

https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/reconnectingjustice

“Everybody Got Their Go Throughs”: Young Adults on the Frontlines of Mental Health

https://www.clasp.org/sites/default/files/publications/2017/08/Everybody-Got-Their-Go-Throughs-Young-Adults-on-the-Frontlines-of-Mental-Health.pdf

Between the Lines: Understanding Our Country’s Racialized Response to the Opioid Overdose Epidemic

https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/between-lines-understanding-our-country-s-racialized-response-opioid

Ten Core Competencies for Youth and Young Adult Centered Mental Health Systems

https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/ten-core-competencies-youth-and-young-adult-centered-mental-health-systems

Refining Evidence-Based Practices: Expanding Our View of Evidence

https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/redefining-evidence-based-practices-expanding-our-view-evidence

Unlocking Transformation and Healing: Overview of Policy Options for Accessible Youth and Young Adult Mental Health Care

https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/unlocking-transformation-and-healing-overview-policy-options-accessible

Mental and Behavioral Health System Fixes During the COVID-19 Crisis, and Beyond

https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/mental-and-behavioral-health-system-fixes-during-covid-19-crisis-and

"We are pressed on every side, but we are not crushed" by Kisha Bird

https://medium.com/@CLASP_DC/we-are-pressed-on-every-side-but-we-are-not-crushed-5206f6de093f

"Divest to save Black lives. Invest to heal communities" by Duy Pham and Kayla Tawa

https://www.clasp.org/blog/divest-save-black-lives-invest-heal-communities?utm_source=ea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=youth&emci=2287a787-71c0-ea11-9b05-00155d03bda0&emdi=7e74bca6-8cc0-ea11-9b05-00155d03bda0&ceid=6522859

"Defund police in schools and expand school-based mental health" by Whitney Bunts

https://www.clasp.org/blog/defund-police-schools-and-expand-school-based-mental-health?utm_source=ea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mh&emci=2287a787-71c0-ea11-9b05-00155d03bda0&emdi=7e74bca6-8cc0-ea11-9b05-00155d03bda0&ceid=6522859

*Photo credit: Sarah Mittermaier

In this podcast, Prevention Institute’s Lisa Fujie Parks interviews Anthony Smith from Cities United and Cuco Rodriguez from the Hope and Heal Fund about advocating with mayors and school districts to divest from policing and invest in proven public health approaches to community safety, like violence interruption and youth employment opportunities. They highlight the need for cities and philanthropy to invest equitably, and for white-led organizations to act as allies in support of frontline, organizations led by and that support African American communities and other communities of color. These community-based organizations are not only working to stop violence, they are also protecting people from COVID-19, connecting people to food and jobs, and supporting culturally rooted multigenerational healing. This podcast was made possible with support from The Langeloth Foundation and CARESTAR Foundation.

Photo credit: Kiara Thompson, via Instagram