Community
Kaiser Permanente Supports Covid-19 Prevention Efforts For People Experiencing Homelessness In Oakland
Kaiser Permanente is supporting efforts to provide more COVID-19 testing to people experiencing homelessness in Oakland and raising awareness about how to prevent the further spread of the virus in the community.
A $150,000 grant to Roots Community Health Center – a full-service primary care clinic headquartered in East Oakland – will enhance the center’s Oakland Street Team Outreach Medical Program or STOMPTM. Oakland STOMP provides medical treatment and outreach services to people experiencing chronic homelessness who don’t otherwise have access to medical care.
The Kaiser Permanente funding will add one additional person to the Oakland STOMP team, which will allow the medical team to reach more individuals. The team consists of a physician, medical assistant/phlebotomist, and outreach worker. The grant will help the team provide more COVID-19 testing, flu vaccinations, and hand out more supplies such as masks and hand sanitizer to help prevent community spread of COVID-19.
Founded in 2008, Roots Community Health Center serves about 6,000 individuals a year in Oakland and offers a variety of medical and wrap-around services for people without other access to health care.
“It’s critical that we have this additional support for people who are unsheltered because there is so much more of a need now among our homeless population,” said Dr. Noha Aboelata, Roots’ chief executive officer. “To have our team supported with more materials and more staffing is crucial to helping us do more COVID-19 education and linkages to services during this time of need.”
Aboelata said the COVID-19 positivity rate is already high in East Oakland and is currently on the rise. Some of the most serious COVID outbreaks occur within congregate living settings such as shelters, Aboelata said. She added that the Kaiser Permanente funding will help provide the information and resources needed to contain some of the spread of the virus.
This is one of 14 grants Kaiser Permanente recently awarded to nonprofits and government agencies that serve homeless people in Northern California. Kaiser Permanente recognizes that individuals and families experiencing homelessness are at greater risk for COVID-19 because without a stable place to live, it’s nearly impossible to maintain good health.
Affordable housing and homelessness are a significant focus for Kaiser Permanente because housing security is crucial for a person’s physical and mental health. Kaiser Permanente has taken significant steps to preserve affordable housing, prevent homelessness, and house vulnerable seniors in our Northern California communities including:
· Since 2019, making impact investments of nearly $35 million to support the purchase of 37 properties in Northern California, ensuring that some 3,300 units of housing in those buildings remains affordable.
· Partnering with the San Francisco Foundation, a trio of nonprofit agencies, and the City of Oakland to launch Keep Oakland Housed. The program provides legal representation, emergency financial help, and supportive services to prevent Oakland residents from losing their housing and has served more than 3,000 households since its launch in 2018.
· Partnering with Bay Area Community Services in 2019 to house 515 formerly homeless seniors with a chronic health condition or disability.
· Investing $25 million in Project Homekey, a statewide initiative to turn underutilized hotels and motels across the state into interim and permanent housing.
“Kaiser Permanente recognizes stable housing is key to preventing the spread of COVID-19 among some of the most vulnerable residents in our community,” said Ed Chan, senior vice president, and area manager for Kaiser Permanente’s East Bay Service Area. “We are proud to support Roots Community Health Center as they increase access to medical care and expand COVID-19 testing among those experiencing chronic homelessness.”
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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Alameda County
DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland
Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.
Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.
City Government
Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Special to The Post
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.
Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”
According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.
“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”
When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.
At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”
While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.
On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.
“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.
The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.
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