On January 18, the Camellia Basic Elementary School auditorium played host to the first “BHC HUB” of 2012. The adults and youth from the community met with a sampling of the newly organized groups designed to serve families in need.
Co-chair of the Sacramento BHC steering committee, Francisco Gutierrez and steering committee member Michael Minnick, welcomed the 75 plus people in attendance before sharing a few facts about the ten year commitment TCE is making in South Sacramento. “We are so glad you are here this evening”, “We are one of fourteen communities in the State of California designated to receive a total of one million dollars per year for ten years. Together, we will improve the health of our communities”.
The BHC groups represented at the meeting included Connect Center (a service of Sac City Schools), Ubuntu Green (eco and gardening training for youth), Panacea Services (specializing in gang intervention), Legal Services (low/no-cost legal advice), Neighborhood Assn. (start-up neighborhood support group) and Capitol Community Heath Network (health services). A raffle was held with prizes such as Kings tickets, electronic copies of the new “Healthy-E Man” comic book and t-shirts.
Additionally, Isaac Gonzalez and Ron Cooper from Access Sacramento were introduced and all participants were encouraged to discuss how their organizations can become part of the Neighborhood News Network.
Gonzalez explained, “I have so many appointments scheduled. Everyone I talk to is excited to start telling their stories on our partner site, AccessLocal.tv.” The community based news website will assist in reporting the success of the BHC organizations by collecting and sharing their stories and distributing them through the local media and social networks.
