We hope to see you in Minneapolis, October 27–30 for the 2024 American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting. This year’s theme is Rebuilding Trust in Public Health and Science.
For those of you attending, we invite you to attend our sessions listed below.
NOTE: All sessions are listed in Central Standard Time.
Sunday October 27, 2024
4:30 PM–6:00 PM CST
Syncing for safety: Strategies for youth and neighborhood-centered (SYNC) safety
Ruben Cantu will share about Strategies for Youth and Neighborhood-Centered (SYNC) Safety, a learning community of 30 Black- and Brown-led community-based organizations, supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Developed by Prevention Institute and a team of national partners, SYNC focused on how CBOs can integrate and strengthen public health and racial justice principles into their community safety work to prevent and reduce violence. SYNC Safety’s approach addresses root causes which relies on local community data and context to develop strategies that increase protective factors while decreasing risk factors for violence. The session will include an overview of the history of the initiative, frameworks supporting its development, and future plans.
4:30 PM–6:00 PM CST
Vibhuti Kacholia will share how a community assessment process that is grounded in the principles of community power-building can prepare communities for systems change beyond projects, initiatives, and programs. The session will draw on examples from the Safety and Healing in Networks of Equity (SHINE) project—a California-based community of practice supported by the Blue Shield of California Foundation aimed to transform community conditions and influence policies, systems, and resources to promote health equity and prevent domestic violence. Conceptualizing community power-building through the Power Ecosystem Framework, the session will present the opportunities, challenges, and future possibilities of integrating this practice into community assessments.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM CST
Exploring the timeline of resistance: Liberation towards anti-racism
La'Quana Williams will share Prevention Institute’s "Timeline of Resistance" as part of our System of Prevention for Racial Justice and Health Equity portfolio which works to shift policies, practices, and investments towards centering racial justice, health equity, and inclusive power sharing to support the health, safety, and wellbeing of the public. This virtual timeline begins with an exploration of the history of the field of public health and its deep connection to social justice. Funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Timeline demonstrates how various movements have fought to dismantle the systems that maintain racism in the US, by describing how their work impacts the lives and health of people of color and establishes the conditions for thriving communities.
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM CST
Public health’s role in leveraging opioid settlement funds to advance evidence based strategies
Dana Fields-Johnson will present learnings and share new resources from a project supported by the CDC's Division of Overdose Prevention on leveraging opioid settlement funds for public health strategies to prevent opioid use, misuse, and overdose deaths. The session will provide insight into the public health field's current involvement in opioid settlement agreements. It will explore how primary prevention approaches centering people with lived and living experiences can promote healing, resilience, and long-term recovery in communities impacted by the opioid crisis and offer a set of guiding principles public health partners can consider to advance comprehensive, equity-centered investments in prevention strategies.
APHA Public Health Film Festival
We also invite you to view our 5 minute on-demand film, Increasing social and political capital to advance equity through civic engagement, that is screening as part of the Film Festival’s session on Strengthening Communities, Social Connectedness and Mental Health. Napa Valley is well known as a beautiful paradise, but beneath the surface, racial and income inequality have created health inequities and trauma for many who live and work there. This film shares the story of how the leaders of local organizations and community residents came together to form the Community Leaders Coalition (CLC). The CLC works to increase the social and political capital of their county’s most vulnerable residents by advancing robust civic engagement and advocating for equity-centered policies. The film was produced in partnership with Prevention Institute, St. Joseph Fund, and The Social Impact Artists through the Intersections Initiative.
