Vitalyst Spark

After the passage of Prop 207 in 2020, The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) was charged with creating the Justice Reinvestment Program. The proposition legalized recreational marijuana use for adults 21 and older and created the Justice Reinvestment Fund, which funds initiatives to increase safety and community resilience around arrest and incarceration, including the Justice Reinvestment Program.

There are approximately $10 million in grants across four priority areas:

All information is at www.azjusticegrants.org 

Nonprofits and professionals all across the country are on edge right now. With federal grants pausing and unpausing, the limbo must be a whirlwind for so many people working in the nonprofit sector. We all get into this work because we want to help people. But along the way, stuff gets in the way. The organizations and systems we all work with can be cumbersome and lead to frustration. How can we get out of our way? Heather Hiscox tells us on this episode. 

Heather Hiscox - PAUSE for Change Website 

Discover the Five Skills to Address Uncertainty

Top 20 Questions to Ask Your Collaborative Partner

On today's mini-episode, Vitalyst's Gabriel Jaramillo sits down with Nicole Newhouse of the Arizona Housing Coalition and Pastor Jeff Procter-Murphy of Dayspring UMC in Tempe to discuss the YIGBY initiative.  This innovative proposal would allow faith-based organizations to develop affordable housing on their properties without burdensome rezoning requirements. This initiative addresses one of Arizona's major obstacles: restrictive zoning that limits land availability for multi-family housing development. 

Yes, in God's Backyard Initiative - Arizona Housing Coalition 

Nicholas Vasquez, MD, was a Vitalyst Trustee for 12 years and Chair from 2020 to 2022. He often joined the podcast during the pandemic. On this episode, we wanted to talk to him about his experience on the Board of Trustees and Vitalyst's evolution. He sprinkled in other thoughts and wisdom throughout our conversation.

David Martinez III hosts this episode and has an insightful conversation with partners from Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership at the Flinn Foundation, and the Center for the Future of Arizona about how Arizonans view civic language. A recently published study finds that Arizonans react strongly to different civic language terms—more so than the rest of the country—and that these perceptions can enhance or hinder collaborative community conversations. 

At Vitalyst, we have been trying to demystify systems change as our Systems Change Grants application deadline nears in the middle of November. But we know it can still be confusing, so we had our friends at FSG join us for a conversation. 

Additional Links: 

Understanding Systems Change Spark Report – Report by FSG in collaboration with Vitalyst

The Water of Systems Change Report by FSG

The Water of Systems Change: Action Learning Exercise

Clarifying Systems Change: An Interview with John Harper, CEO of FSG

“Thinking in Systems” by Donella H. Meadows

As Latino Heritage Month was wrapping up, we sat down with the team at ALL in Education for a great conversation about the benefits of growing up bilingual and bicultural. Their new Initiative, Multilingual Minds, aims to uplift multilingual learners in Arizona and advocate for language equity in schools through awareness and policy changes. 

On this episode, Reverend Michael Lessard of Pastoral Care Associates, a Vitalyst Spark Grant recipient, joined us before they held their Path to Complete Care Symposium. We talk about the importance of faith in healing, pastoral care and what was to come at the symposium. 

As part of an ongoing series looking into local practices, Arizona First Responder Systems and Mental Health Integration Spark Brief author, Matt Eckhoff, hosted a conversation with Dr. Gail Bradley, Emergency Medical Services & Trauma System, Medical Director, Arizona Department of Health Services; Captain Michelle Pickrom, Tucson Police Department; Sharon McDonough, Director, Public Safety Communications Department, City of Tucson; and Matt Shaw, Battalion Chief, Guardian Medical Transport in Flagstaff and rural northern Arizona. This conversation turned the lens inward into practices used by local departments to help their first responders deal with the trauma they encounter while serving communities.

Links

Arizona First Responder Systems Mental Health Integration

On this episode, we are joined by the Technical Assistance Partnership of Arizona. Juan Salas, Director of Operations and Accounting, and Kelsey Otten, Assistant Director of Partner Engagement share about fiscal sponsorship, what it is, what services are available, what organizations qualify, and much more. 

TAPAZ Website 

Learn More About Becoming a Sponsored Project