Built Environment Policy Advocacy Fund (BEPAF) Program Overview
With funding from First 5 LA, Prevention Institute will award one-year (June 2020 – May 2021) grants ranging from $40,000 – $100,000 to community-based organizations, policy advocacy networks, and coalitions working to improve neighborhood conditions for children 0-5 and their families in Los Angeles County. BEPAF grantees will support resident leaders and advocate for policies and procedures to increase access to parks and open space, safe walking and biking routes, public transit options, healthy food, and resources for children and families living in communities that have experienced historical disinvestment. This is a unique opportunity to improve the built environment, with a goal of promoting healthy early childhood development in First 5 LA’s Best Start communities. The BEPAF is part of First 5 LA’s mission to ensure that all children in Los Angeles County enter Kindergarten ready to succeed.
Following a highly competitive application process, seven organizations were selected to receive BEPAF funding in Year 1 (2020 – 2021):
- Alliance for Community Transit – Los Angeles (ACT-LA) is a broad-based coalition of 37 organizations that is building a grassroots movement for more equitable public transit systems and budgets. ACT-LA, with coalition partners Community Power Collective and Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, will lead a new LA County-wide campaign for transit justice that builds the power of low-income residents to shape policies and funding decisions. The coalition will organize parents and residents in East LA and Koreatown, developing their skills to become effective leaders and spokespeople in the transit justice campaign.
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We should divest fr a punitive police-first model and invest in care-based safety. Step 1️⃣ @metrolosangeles must s… t.co/1FvQlGGIsa
We can divest from a punitive police-first model and invest in 1️⃣job creation 2️⃣inclusive safety services 3️⃣ride… t.co/VRRZ5YG9Mo
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.@metrolosangeles can move away from the punitive model and invest in a holistic vision of safety for all riders. L… t.co/kHf0bST8jo
- Community Coalition works to transform the social and economic conditions in South LA that foster addiction, crime, violence, and poverty by building a community institution that involves thousands in creating, influencing, and changing public policy. Community Coalition will apply its renowned model of community organizing and power-building to the issue of park equity. Community Coalition will cultivate knowledge, agency, and leadership among low-income African American and Latino residents of South LA to influence public policies—including tax and fiscal reform—to improve parks, open space, and recreation areas in their neighborhoods.
In case you missed it, the #LAUSD school board voted this week to invest an additional $56.7 million to the Black S… t.co/O62zTeYSgg
Without the @USCensusBureau, programs like the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) & the Natl School L… t.co/t04hxnKRSJ
The growth of generational wealth has been blocked by racist lending standards & structural barriers, resulting in… t.co/NO92gh1Wgr
Did you know @LASchools spends over $250,000 on militarized tools: guns, ammunition, K9 units, & battering rams & r… t.co/WvyQjAyoPG
Black and Brown students need #CareNotCops! .@SJLI_CA & .@BrosSonsSelves student leader Emmanuel breaks down why we… t.co/Blv68Y5JrD
- Investing in Place works to align policies and public dollars to support transportation investments that strengthen communities. Investing in Place and partners East Side Riders Bike Club, Los Angeles Walks, and South Central LAMP will advance the Moms and Mobility project in South Central LA, Watts, and other South LA neighborhoods. Recognizing that women and their young children face access and safety barriers as they travel to school, work, medical providers, grocery stores, parks, and other destinations, the project will combine new data and new voices from women to influence policy and public investments for a more equitable transportation system.
We just RSVP'ed to this not to miss event. So inspired to see more and more conversations around care as infrastruc… t.co/MQefh2MF26
Excellent article from @RyFons showing the deep mobility inequities during the pandemic, including overcrowded buse… t.co/O0pyt7U8zo
Check out the awesome new bus-only lanes on Alvarado! 🚌 t.co/r4KF6Ob5do
Investing in Place was featured in @biketalkpfk’s podcast, recapping some of the important items at last month’s Me… t.co/i3O1CXmSuz
“If you want to increase ridership, increase the service.” - Elizabeth Medrano, Los Angeles Metro bus rider. Bus… t.co/cJpSw6Obla
- Just Environment Long Beach is a collaborative of organizations and individuals working to achieve systemic changes on matters of environmental health and justice in the most affected neighborhoods of Central, West, and North Long Beach. Just Environment Long Beach will organize and build power among Long Beach residents to develop a community-led “Green Zones” strategy. These Green Zones will transform areas overburdened by pollution, disinvestment, and unhealthy land uses into healthy, thriving, stabilized neighborhoods, with parks, open space, and safe mobility as key priorities.
- Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles (PSR-LA) is a physician membership organization that advocates for policies and practices that improve public health, eliminate nuclear and environmental threats, and address health disparities. PSR-LA will engage communities across East LA, South LA, and Southeast LA County to take on the intersectional issues of increasing access to parks and open space while protecting children and their families from toxic exposures. The TIERRA project will produce a policy agenda and related tools to facilitate proactive contamination remediation as an essential element of community-driven efforts to increase safe access to parks and other green space.
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You're right @dustingardiner, it has been a bloodbath. The #CALeg kicked the can down the road to #CalGem to insti… t.co/gFw3SRC87C
A #DecadeofDelays for frontline communities means more failed promises. @CalConservation promised us that a new nam… t.co/F9TOgcRP0C
Enough is enough. It’s been 583 days. Californians deserve basic public health protections. Without 2,500 setbacks,… t.co/FU4syXevel
Yesterday, 65+ organizations sent an open letter to @CAGovernor encouraging him to act today to protect the 2M+ Cal… t.co/7BES12TKf4
The science is clear: the closer you live to an #oilandgas well, the more serious the health threats. Californian… t.co/dBqc1nRsyd
In a landmark victory for public health and climate justice, @CulverCityGov has just voted to phase out oil drillin… t.co/8EjgRugszP
Thank you @MarkRuffalo for amplifying this critical environmental health issue. Families have suffered the health c… t.co/vU8TitM2Bi
- Promesa Boyle Heights is a collective impact initiative of Proyecto Pastoral, a Boyle Heights based organization that supports educational opportunities, economic opportunities, and safety and well-being. Promesa Boyle Heights, in collaboration with Pacoima Beautiful, From Lot 2 Spot, Advancement Project California, The Wilderness Society, and other Park Equity Alliance partners, will organize residents in neighborhoods across East LA, the Northeast San Fernando Valley, and Southeast LA County, to engage in policy- and systems-change advocacy for parks and open space, and strengthening community-led oversight of Measure A implementation.
Thank you @SenatorHick and @SenAlexPadilla for introducing the Parks, Jobs and Equity Act! With your help, we're on… t.co/NAvGXZ84lL
Less than 200 out of 10k food vendors in the City of LA have gotten their permits because county health compliant c… t.co/wX8xfoYTBL
In its new policy brief, @PartnershipLA recommends six actions that school systems can take to to support students… t.co/RTpL3LwadP
@POTUS thank you for recognizing & investing in the power of full-service #communityschools to aid in the pandemic… t.co/Q3lBsG5ody
With 65 presenters across 43 organizations and companies, we hosted over 510 students and residents during our virt… t.co/88WfpPsffG
TODAY!! Join us for an informative town hall! Learn about covid-19 vaccinations, resources & hear from school lead… t.co/DgPMJLzIL4
¡HOY! ¡Únase a nosotros para un ayuntamiento informativo! Obtenga información sobre vacunas para covid-19, recursos… t.co/XQ6dlTMhMK
- United Parents and Students supports students, parents, and community members in amplifying their collective voice and advocating for the issues and changes that matter most to them. United Parents and Students will increase equitable food access in low-income communities by improving the quality of existing grocery stores, enabling and equipping entrepreneurs to focus on healthy and affordable food, and increasing the number of large-scale, high-quality grocery stores that locate in neighborhoods across South LA, East LA, and Southeast LA County.
LA County has extended COVID-19 eviction moratorium until September 30th! The moratorium bars landlords in the cou… t.co/tFopgQi3KG
LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT! Shout out to East LA resident, Mrs. Rosa Servellon for her outstanding leadership in communi… t.co/hcxbZs6aUW
President Biden signs a bill to official make Juneteenth a federal holiday marking the end of slavery in the United… t.co/D5AQ6Z293d
This is an important conversation that is open to EVERYONE: students, parents, families, neighbors, friends.. We ho… t.co/rIbuYVNrAm
Join us for our monthly organizing institute, where we come together to build community, discuss updates, and learn… t.co/eIlB0CucEw
Register using the link below for ALL the JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION & RESOURCE FAIR! This Friday, June 18th at Magic J… t.co/YZRgPufpxt
Program Management: The BEPAF is a program funded by First 5 LA. Prevention Institute will manage the BEPAF, selecting grantees and administering grants, convening grantees in a learning community, providing technical assistance, and building grantee capacity; Ersoylu Consulting will lead the BEPAF program evaluation. Since 2014, Prevention Institute has facilitated the Healthy Equitable Active Land Use (HEALU) Network, a multi-sector collaborative that works to improve health equity through land use/built environment policy and systems change in Los Angeles County. Since 2007, Ersoylu Consulting has provided strategy, evaluation, policy analysis, and systems consultation to strengthen systems and empower communities in the social justice space.
For more information, please contact BEPAF@preventioninstitute.org.