Pete Golis wrote an editorial piece in this weekend's paper highlighting a local research brief of sorts many of us might never hear about, but all of us can benefit from reading. "Hidden in Plain Sight" (scribed by the Sonoma County Community Foundation) paints a picture of the "growing, graying, and diversifying" Sonoma Valley.
The report introduction begins with this compelling invitation to consider the assets and challenges:
"American philanthropy is in the midst of an historic moment. Greater wealth and greater inequality exist alongside new levels of ambitious philanthropy. Sonoma Valley is a rich region that epitomizes these national trends.
Underneath Sonoma’s beautiful facade, hidden in plain sight, are two growing forces: the stresses of the Bay Area’s boom and its accompanying inequality, alongside the growing need for philanthropic giving and nonprofit leadership."
By page 7, the report pulls us into the current stresses and growing poverty in Sonoma Valley. While I live in Santa Rosa, I am paying close attention to what the report reveals. As we discovered with the Portrait of Sonoma, our County's overall health is closely tied to regional and neighborhood level health. With the high cost of living, even fully employed families are struggling. Could this be tied to pay disparity? What about other complexities like the high cost of health insurance, school access, and housing? "Hidden in Plain Sight" begins to answer these questions.
If Sonoma Valley can use its assets to meet these challenges, there will be lessons for all Sonoma County regions to learn.
In particular, there is a strong case for public health (not just the agency, but all those concerned with the public's health) to continue to highlight these problems and support the community in finding self healing.
As my colleague Clare Reidy and coauthors explore in the "Expanding the Boundaries Health Equity and Public Health Practice" article published via NACCHO and the CDC in 2014, there is a fresh view on how we might pull apart issues of equity. "Exploring root causes of health inequities is a way to consider how public health can influence the social inequalities that contribute to the 'unnecessary, avoidable, unjust and unfair' differences in health." (Reidy et al 2014)
"Tax policy, minimum wage, living wage, organizing low-wage workers, foreclosures, education, immigration policy, and other issues related to inequalities of wealth and income are public health matters, although public health will not often be in the lead. Public health will instead more commonly have to align strategically with social movements and political forces that are advocating for policies and practices that will reduce inequalities and improve health, lending public health evidence and perspectives to larger campaigns." (Reidy et al 2014)
In the case of the "Hidden in Plain Sight" report, the Community Foundation nicely assumes the role of reporter, convener and leader calling the community to action in their report. Could it be that a local movement to address equity is brewing?
Let me know how you feel after reading these two compelling reports. Please share these with friends to keep the local conversation flowing.
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