By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors named racism a public health crisis in November of 2020 and created a team to address issues and be responsive to the needs of local communities of color.
Led by Kirbee Brooks-Gomez, the Public Health Health and Racial Equity Unit is still fairly new but already showing the promise of change.
“The health and racial equity unit works to expand and build health and racial equity programs, policies and practices throughout public health, to eliminate, mitigate, and prevent existing and future health disparities and inequities that Black, brown, indigenous people of color, and underserved communities face in Sacrament County,” Brooks-Gomez said.
The unit worked with ONTRACK Program Resources to assess the County Public Health divisions’ capacity to advance racial equity.
“From the results of this assessment, ONTRACK developed a seven-part training series that they’re currently implementing for all public health employees,” Brooks-Gomez said. “These required trainings are really helping to build the capacity of our workforce to further strengthen our equity infrastructure across all public health programs.”
ONTRACK founder and director Madalynn Rucker says the unit is “getting it right,” despite efforts by some officials to “soft pedal” the fact that it exists because racism does.
“I think systems change as a long term investment,” Rucker said. “I don’t think anyone magically just says, ‘Oh, we’re gonna put money on this and fix this issue of racism.’”
Rucker is hopeful.
“If we get even a fraction of folks to see what steps need to happen in these institutions, that is really progress. It doesn’t take the majority for big change to happen, sometimes it’s one person,” she said. “Take for example County Public Health, the key folks that they hired to lead. I believe that they’re sincere, they’re smart, they’re committed, and frustrated, because they’re kind of in the belly of the whale. It takes really sharp, committed people to move the needle. I dont think we’ll ever get any majorities or mass movements, but I think it’ll help educate folks.”
In another key partnership with Equity Wellness Institute, Brooks-Gomez’ team is doing a “deep dive assessment” of its equity infrastructure and community participatory work to develop a healthy racial equity action plan.
“That action plan will really serve as our roadmap to advancing equity in Sacramento County Public Health over the next few years,” Brooks-Gomez said. “We’re also supporting some of the county-wide work that has been put in place since the declaration of racism as a public health crisis. Our team is supporting the county’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion cabinet that was established. We’re really there to provide a public health lens and that racial equity perspective for the cabinet and its initiatives.”
The Health and Racial Equity team is also co-facilitating an interdepartmental workgroup to foster collaboration across county departments to work on systems change projects and advance equity across the county.
“Collectively, this work all together supports our mission to prevent existing and future health disparities and inequities among communities of color in the county and those who are underserved.”
Change is visible, says Brooks-Gomez, who has been with the County for two years.
“I’ve definitely seen a shift in the culture internally,” she said. “I think a lot of it is about us putting systems in place and normalizing the conversation.
“It’s not just a few people in a siloed department making a change, but we’re collectively working together. I’ve really seen that movement and commitment just by some of the systems that have been put in place, like having dedicated equity staff in public health, the formation of the DEI cabinet, the interdepartmental work that we’re seeing and the opportunities to really have spaces to talk about racial equity.”
Part of the work has been conducting trainings on cultural competency for County public health employees, including those who operate programs that are centered on mental health and serve the local Black community. The sessions are mandatory.
“It starts off with an introduction to health and racial equity. Then we go into cultural competence and humility. We go into social determinants of health and policy advocacy and systems change. And then there’s evaluation and quality improvement for racial equity.”
Feedback ranges from indifferent to positive.
“I’ve heard, ‘I don’t do equity or my program doesn’t do equity,’ but I’ve also gotten responses from people that said, ‘This really helps me see my work differently and see how equity is, or should be, embedded into my work,’ or ‘(it helps me) have a different appreciation for different groups of people,’” Brooks-Gomez said.
“What I’m hoping that this does is to normalize the conversation for us as public health employees to realize that everything we do should be embedded in equity practices and principles, no matter where we work, so that we as a division are committed and (brought into advancing racial equity in everything that we do,” she continued.
The time for change is past due, Brooks-Gomez said.
“It’s always been the time to make it happen, or it should have been,” she said. “I think there’s just been more attention focused on equity since the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd. There’s really been a lot more support and movement in this area. But it’s always been the time. These issues have existed for hundreds of years. It’s just that some folks are just starting to see the impact that systemic racism has had on our communities. It took a pandemic to highlight that.”
Help For Black Men
As the Health and Racial Equity Unit becomes more visible in the community, it’s partnering with organizations like Public Health Advocates and the Equity Wellness Institute to identify community health priorities and develop a Community Health Improvement Plan.
While Brooks-Gomez and her team don’t focus solely on Black men and mental health, local men’s concerns are being recognized, she says.
“One of those health priorities is mental health. That was a health priority that was identified by the community,” Brooks-Gomez said. “Some of the initiatives that will be taking place around mental health will be in a specific census tract that does have a fairly large Black population.”
While the work in the Fruitridge area hasn’t officially kicked off yet, Brooks-Gomez points to the County’s Maternal Child and Adolescent Health Unit as an example of what’s possible.
“(The unit) is doing some really targeted work with Black men and mental health with the Black Fathers Inc. program,” she said. “Black Fathers Inc. is really a movement that is looking to shift how we view parenting within Black communities and uplifting leaders in their journey to raising children with love and understanding. This initiative really uplifts Black fathers and they host a number of activities that promote good mental health and wellness for Black men.”
Seeds of Change
Brooks-Gomez says as a Black woman, she was “called” to do racial equity work.
“I see the impact of systemic practices on myself and my family and I know that we have to change our system and practices in order to really move the needle on the disparities and inequities that we see in communities of color.
“The experiences that our communities are facing, I live it. I don’t take it off when I come to work every day. It’s just part of who I am. The main part of it, for me, is just wanting to be part of identifying the barriers, identifying the problem, and working to be a part of the solution.”
The health and racial equity unit reports to the County’s public health officer, another Black woman, Dr. Olivia Kasirye.
“The health and social equity team is fairly new.” Brooks-Gomez said. “We’re almost two years old. Really, the first year was just us building up the unit and staffing the unit. I really feel like we’re just starting to dive into the good work.”
This article is part of the Senior Staff Writer Genoa Barrow’s special series, “Head Space: Exploring The Mental Health Needs of Today’s Black Men.” The project is being supported by the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism and is part of “Healing California,” a yearlong reporting Ethnic Media Collaborative venture with print, online and broadcast outlets across California. The Sacramento OBSERVER is among the collaborative’s inaugural participants.