Building Healthy Communities (BHC) Kern is launching THRIVE, a program to assist local organizations in fighting for economic justice. They will be small-to-mid-sized organizations, with one representative from each organization able to participate. Applications are due March 6.
“True health equity requires economic justice, which is one of the major reasons why BHC is launching THRIVE,” said Bryan Osario, Program Manager with BHC. “We are pushing for inclusive economic strategies to shift how development is done across Kern County. A major piece of this is building local leadership capacity. We want to empower residents and local community leaders, so they have the tools and the voice to shape our local economies.”
Consultant Jesus Salazar explained that community-based organizations are often used in partnerships solely for community engagement, but they can also influence economic development.
“The intent here once again is to really empower local leadership, to influence any economic development process either through advocacy, planning, or a project,” said Salazar. “We want them to walk away with practical skills that they could use in their day-to-day, and help them also in the professional development. We also want to strengthen the overall ecosystem in Kern by having cross-sector collaboration.”
THRIVE will consist of focus groups, learning modules, learning communities, mentorship, and community nights. Salazar emphasized that the program is about mutual learning, which is why the mentorship and community spaces are so important.
“We’re hoping this experience is about growing together and that CBOs are coming to the table ready to share their knowledge as well. It’s often CBOs are seen as just being able to do community engagement, and I think it’s important to value their expertise and knowledge within the community,” said Salazar.
He continued to explain that it is important for those within the organizations to know who the decision-makers are and how to strategize.
“I think it’s really important as an organization, if you’re getting into the space, to know who the decision makers are,” said Salazar. “You don’t want to be wasting your time with other players that may not have decision-making authority. So you want to make sure you’re very strategic in your advocacy efforts.”
When selecting organizations for the program, Salazar stated they want organizations that show an interest in continuing the work and putting the program to use.
“We’re wanting to make sure the organizations that we’re providing this experience for that they are wanting to participate in a process afterwards, right? We’re not just providing learning modules or this experience just to have it. We want to make sure that we’re going to be choosing organizations who we’re going to be seeing getting involved more and more,” said Salazar, adding that he wants to see relationships continue to build from the program.
He explained that there is no other program like this in Kern County and the importance of bringing it to Kern.
“If we are serious about having these dollars and benefits reach the communities that we serve, and that they don’t just land and sit in the pockets of players that have already been in the game,” said Salazar. “So we want to make sure that we are increasing the capacity of organizations, who are serving our communities to make sure that they’re the ones influencing where these dollars are going, without providing this kind of bridge between economic development and community, and CBOs, then, you know, there are going to be always just stuck in the community engagement role and may not be ready to participate in a planning process or even a grant.”
Salazar added that they hope to elevate partners who can engage in any economic development process.
“So the message that I hope that lands with them is that we’re not here to tell you what to do or to teach you. We’re here to grow with you and to be able to provide any tools or connections that you might need in order to influence any process that you think is important,” said Salazar.
You can find the application here.