9.17.2019

By Santra Denis, Chief Program Officer

Catalyst Miami will join forces with the Florida International University (FIU) Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine (HWCOM) and its NeighborhoodHELP™ (Health Education Learning Program), as well as with the FIU Sea Level Solutions Center (SLSC), The Miami Foundation (TMF), and Florida Clinicians for Climate Action (FCCA) to offer expertise and connections critical to navigating climate change’s complexities and community/political dynamics.

Miami-Dade County is ripe with opportunities to influence climate resilience and health policy. The groundwork for taking advantage of these opportunities has also been laid, with robust coalitions already active. By amplifying the connections between health/wellness and climate change, we hope to galvanize increased community mobilization and additional system-level reform. We are eager to plan how to maximize all the current possibilities for change.

Although Miami is internationally known as ground-zero for climate change, climate change’s impacts may feel far away for local residents. However, we have evidence that when health concerns are incorporated into local climate policy, we see significant movement in both grassroots advocacy and grasstops response. Through this initiative we will create a strategy to 1) tie climate resilience initiatives necessary for the survival of our region beyond the end of the century to long-ignored health inequities, and amplify these issues to the general public, 2) expand the number of climate & health advocates equipped to create and influence equity-centered policy, including low wealth residents, and health professionals, 3) identify key policies and systems changes centered on community priorities that would result in present-day and future resilience and health equity improvements for low wealth individuals and families in Miami’s urban core.

Kresge Foundation awards $100,000 grant to Catalyst Miami

to build climate resilience, improve health

The Kresge Foundation has awarded Catalyst Miami a $100,000 grant to advance policy solutions aimed at improving climate resilience and equitably reducing health risks in low-income communities. Catalyst Miami is one of 15 community-based nonprofits nationwide receiving grant funding as part of the planning phase of Kresge’s Climate Change, Health and Equity initiative.
With this funding, Catalyst Miami will work with partners from multiple other disciplines and sectors to develop multi-year work plans that address community-defined health and climate priorities.

“Climate change is impacting people in real ways – today. The good news is that community leaders across the country are making smart choices about how they can combat climate change while improving people’s lives and well-being," Lois DeBacker, managing director of the foundation’s Environment Program, said. “Our newly awarded grants will help more communities proactively tackle the health risks that climate change introduces or exacerbate.”

Following the one-year planning phase, Kresge will award multi-year grants to up to 12 planning grant recipients. The organizations will be supported by the Institute for Sustainable Communities, which serves as the national program office for the planning phase of the community-based strategy of the Climate Change, Health & Equity initiative. ISC's mission is to help communities around the world address environmental, economic and social challenges to build a better future shaped and shared by all.

For more information on the Climate Change, Health & Equity initiative, visit
www.kresge.org/CCHE.

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About The Kresge Foundation:
The Kresge Foundation was founded in 1924 to promote human progress. Today, Kresge fulfills that mission by building and strengthening pathways to opportunity for low-income people in America’s cities, seeking to dismantle structural and systemic barriers to equality and justice. Using a full array of grant, loan, and other investment tools, Kresge invests more than $160 million annually to foster economic and social change. For more information visit kresge.org.

Catalyst Miami has trained hundreds of resident leaders to advocate for issues that could improve their communities for the long-term. Through our Leadership programs, we transform individuals into grassroots leaders. We believe that everyone can lead–at home, in the classroom, in the community. We teach individuals how to find their voice and make a difference in their communities; and we offer training and practice opportunities for youth and adults in advocacy and public policy.

Meet Daniella Pierre, Catalyst Miami leadership alumni and housing advocate in Miami. As a mother, thought leader and champion for her community, she takes on the challenges of affordability and accessibility in the housing market, lending her voice as an advocate for those who are priced-out of living where they work.

We recently had a conversation with Daniella about the affordable housing landscape in Miami and the need for a community-level advocacy training for this important issue. Here's what she had to say:

CM:  Why did you decide to become a housing advocate?

DP: I was called to be a housing advocate because of my own experience. In 2014, myself and my children lost the only place we have ever called home to foreclosure. As we worked through the experience, I met more people going through the same thing. I decided to be a positive influence for change, working to move housing forward for all people, regardless of creed, color or income level. Everyone deserves to have access to safe, decent, affordable place to live.

CM:  A housing advocate witnesses the often negative consequences of gentrification: Displacement and pricing-out of long-time residents, higher rents and increased policing. What is the most important factor for residents experiencing these challenges?

DP: Gentrification, on the surface, is not a bad thing. It's when we are not at the table to direct the community investment dollars to benefit residents that currently reside in the area. Having a say when decisions are made for the community is vital. Not being at the table causes not just displacement, but the disruption to the way residents have built their lives. How do families come back to the area where they grew up, which was once an affordable, family-oriented, stable community instead of changing schools, transportation farther to work, and uprooting their lives?

CM: What kind of policy changes do you think we need to see in order to meet the housing needs of low wealth families?

DP: Moving housing forward will require policy change, enhancement, and innovation in the way we view and build for the 21st century.

• Create inclusive communities: Include all levels of income, homeowners and rental with the prospect of ownership
• Reduce barriers to entry: Update guidelines for income and family size that have been the same since the 1970's based on the evolving definition of family.
• Eradicating poverty: We need employers to pay a fair, living wage so we can live, meeting today's needs to sustain healthy families.

CM: Why do you think an advocacy training for affordable housing is important?

DP: Knowledge is power and the key to moving housing forward. Many of us have lived in and accepted less than desirable situations not knowing how to make it better. When we have a community of people who are informed and engaged, that is the beginning of solving the crisis of affordable housing.

Thank you, Catalyst Miami, for continuing to address the seriousness of the housing crisis in Miami-Dade and helping to move housing forward. I am applying to the program! You can never stop learning.

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HEAL starts on July 10th at Gibson Park, 401 NW 12th St. Miami Florida 33136, from 5:30pm-9pm. It is open to adults (ages 14 and up) and youth (ages 6-13). For more information, contact Nicole Crooks at [email protected].

Apply now at http://bit.ly/HEALMiami

Daniella can be reached at [email protected]

May 10, 2019
By Fransisca Meralus, Oral Health Coordinator

The Florida Institute for Health Innovation has partnered with several organizations including Catalyst Miami to produce a consumer report based on oral health. The purpose of the report is to serve as a tool to guide the mission of any organization or state agency working to understand or improve oral health services and delivery in the state of Florida. This report is just one of the many oral health initiatives that Catalyst Miami has helped to develop. Over the past years, Catalyst Miami has conducted oral health surveys at numerous local community events to gather data on consumers’ access to oral health services, oral health status, and perceived barriers to care. The report will release soon.

The Oral Health 2014 Consumer Engagement Initiative was designed in 2013 to better understand Florida’s oral health status. Surveys and focus groups were conducted to identify different barriers to health care. With the support of the DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement, the data collection from surveys and focus groups expanded statewide.

The DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement invested $6.1 million dollars in oral health initiatives during the first quarter of 2019.

The first quarter grants include investments in the following areas:

• Emphasizing the importance of oral health to overall health;
• Integrating oral health into person-centered health care, by focusing on the adoption of health care models that improve outcomes and reduce costs;
• Including an adult dental benefit in publicly funded health coverage;
• Eradicating dental disease in children and;
• Incorporating oral health into the primary education system.

Achieving these different areas will lead to systems change, which is the big result Catalyst Miami wishes to see within access to oral health care.

For more information about the following investment, read more here.

Updated April 15, 2019

Most taxpayers are being affected by major tax law changes this year. While most will get a tax refund, others may find that they owe taxes. Those who owe may qualify for a waiver of the estimated tax penalty that normally applies. See Form 2210, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals, Estates and Trusts, and its instructions for details.

The filing deadline to submit 2018 tax returns is Monday, April 15, 2019, for most taxpayers. Because of the Patriots’ Day holiday on April 15 in Maine and Massachusetts and the Emancipation Day holiday on April 16 in the District of Columbia, taxpayers who live in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 17 to file their returns.

Checking on refunds

The IRS issues 9 out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days. Using the “Where’s My Refund?” online tool, taxpayers can start checking on the status of their return within 24 hours after the IRS receives an e-filed return or four weeks after the taxpayer mailed a paper return. The tool has a tracker that displays progress through three phases: (1) Return Received; (2) Refund Approved, and (3) Refund Sent.

All that is needed to use the “Where’s My Refund?” tool is the taxpayer’s Social Security number, tax filing status (such as single, married, head of household) and exact amount of the tax refund claimed on the return.

“Where’s My Refund?” is updated no more than once every 24 hours, usually overnight, so there’s no need to check the status more often.

Check withholding

The IRS encourages taxpayers to review their tax withholding using the IRS Withholding Calculator and make any needed adjustments early in 2019. Taxpayers should check their withholding each year and when life changes occur, such as marriage, childbirth, adoption or buying a home. Doing a Paycheck Checkup can help taxpayers avoid having too little or too much tax withheld from their paychecks. The IRS reminds taxpayers that they can generally control the size of their tax refund by adjusting their tax withholding.

For 2019, it’s important to review withholding and do a Paycheck Checkup. This is especially true for taxpayers who adjusted their withholding in 2018 – specifically in the middle or later parts of the year. And it’s also important for taxpayers who received a tax bill when they filed this year or want to adjust the size of their tax refund for next year.

How to make a tax payment

Taxpayers should visit the “Pay” tab on IRS.gov to see their payment options. Most tax software products give taxpayers various payment options, including the option to withdraw the funds from a bank account. These include:

• Won’t make the tax deadline? Get six more months to file your return: http://www.irs.gov/freefile;
• Can’t pay the full amount you owe? #IRS will work with you: http://www.irs.gov/payments
• Putting off filing your tax return because you owe money but can’t pay?  You shouldn’t. #IRS can help if you’re having trouble paying all you owe at once. Listen to this audio tip to learn more:  https://go.usa.gov/xEyrA
• Avoid penalties: If you cannot pay in full by April 15, pay what you can and consider a payment plan for the rest. Check https://go.usa.gov/xEUQH
• #IRS is lowering to 80% the threshold for penalty relief to taxpayers whose tax withholding and estimated payments fell short for 2018. See details at: https://go.usa.gov/xES9z
• If you owe taxes, #IRS reminds you of the many easy payment options available. https://go.usa.gov/xEUQH

Can’t pay a tax bill?

Everyone should file their 2018 tax return by the tax filing deadline regardless of whether they can pay in full. Taxpayers who can’t pay all their taxes have options including:

• Online Payment Agreement— Individuals who owe $50,000 or less in combined income tax, penalties and interest and businesses that owe $25,000 or less in payroll tax and have filed all tax returns may qualify for an Online Payment Agreement. Most taxpayers qualify for this option and an agreement can usually be set up on IRS.gov in a matter of minutes.
• Installment Agreement— Installment agreements are paid by direct deposit from a bank account or a payroll deduction.
• Delaying Collection— If the IRS determines a taxpayer is unable to pay, it may delay collection until the taxpayer's financial condition improves.
• Offer in Compromise(OIC) — Taxpayers who qualify enter into an agreement with the IRS that settles their tax liability for less than the full amount owed.

Catalyst Miami provides free tax preparation services, but ONLY during tax season which ended on April 15, 2019. If you are still looking for free VITA tax services, please check here for other tax sites.

February 19, 2019
By Kenneth Mobley
Community Outreach Specialist, Public Allies AmeriCorps Member

“Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On Monday, January 21^st, 2019, Catalyst Miami’s Public Allies Miami (PAM) cohort joined hundreds of  volunteers from various organizations, communities, and students from Miami-Dade County Public Schools to honor The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy with a day of service.

This years’ MLK Service Day project was hosted by City Year Miami, a non-profit that focuses on educational equity. City Year Miami decided to host a school beautification project for Madison Middle School, located in the West Little River community. Here, we came together to enhance a place our youth call home for six or more hours of their day.

The 2018-2019 PAM Cohort engaged in helping to morph Madison middle school into a more engaging, visually appealing place for current and future students to learn, grow and play. Beautification projects encourage students to be more involved in their school day, while also teaching students to be more respectful of the environment and to be a part of what keeps their environment clean.

As the community recognizes how well attended their nearby school is, and how much more engaged their children are with learning and being in school, we hope that a fresh sense of pride will consume the community as a whole. We were tasked with filling in the geo-shapes outlining the walls near the entrance of the school. We also helped the host organization add more geo-shape outlining to the front of the school, that we later painted.

It was amazing adding our hands to this uplifting effort and having the chance to work with people of different backgrounds on one common goal. There is nothing more fulfilling than service to a cause larger than yourself!

March 19, 2019

On March 7, 2019, the ENABLE Project partnered with the Venture Cafe Miami to host a training called "Planning an Accessible Event". The Enable Project is a coalition that brings together non-profit and social justice organizations and their staff to create channels for integration of people with disabilities within their organizations and movements.

"Planning an Accessible Event" is a workshop designed to guide organizations on how to integrate and include people with disabilities in ongoing civic engagement and social justice efforts, as doing so can empower people with disabilities to take advantage of their rights and participate in social justice and political movements. As a society, we all benefit when everyone is able to participate and contribute.

South Florida is home to a large disability community, and events like this will ensure accessibility and integration for all people. Unfortunately, the disability community often finds itself unable to participate in social justice and civic engagement efforts due to a lack of understanding by progressive organizations of how to create welcoming and accessible environments in their organizing spaces. The Enable Project seeks to change that.

The training included a wide range of things organizations can do to create not only accessible environments for people with disabilities, but also simple things we all can do when we write an email, newsletter, blogpost, or create a flyer. For instance, the choice of size and color of a particular font can make a text much easier to read for people with visual impairments. Also, clean, clear fonts are more accessible to people with learning disabilities (dyslexia), ASD, as well as physical and intellectual disabilities.

Other subjects covered by the workshop included:

• How to alt-tag images on flyers, emails, newsletters, and other outreach and communication resources so that they can be read by screen readers
• How to make arrangements to ensure the venue is ADA compliant
• How to ask the right questions to make special arrangements in advance
• ...and many other details often overlooked.

The good news for those who were unable to participate is that we have the materials available to anyone interested in creating more welcoming, accessible and integrated environments. Email us ([email protected]) and we’ll be glad to share the workshop’s handout and other available resources.

Lastly, we would like to invite you to the next Enable Project’s workshop, "SSDI Training for Providers", which will focus on the Social Security Disability application process and appeals process. It is perfect for direct services providers.

Please see and share the flyer below, and use this link to register. We hope to see you there!

January 24, 2019
By Kenneth Mobley
Community Outreach Specialist, Public Allies AmeriCorps Member

On December 15, 2018, Catalyst Miami held “Overtown: The People Speak!” at A Space Called Tribe. This was the inaugural event for Catalyst Miami’s resilience hub initiative.

Catalyst Miami’s new resilience hubs, embedded in County buildings in low-wealth neighborhoods, will provide direct services, programming linked to disaster resiliency, and advocacy initiatives that Catalyst Miami has provided in various forms for over 20 years. By integrating the hubs into neighborhoods, we’ll also create a mechanism to help residents better prepare for and recover from storms.

The purpose of the community visioning workshop is to introduce a fun and interactive way for Catalyst Miami to gain insight on what is important to the residents of Overtown and the best way to engage with its residents.

The Overtown workshop featured an exhibition by local artist Alexis Caputo, who shared candid images of Overtown residents, a spoken word piece, and the premiere of her documentary “When the Morning Comes in Overtown”, featuring the children and advocates from The Overtown Youth Center.

The children who attended this event had their space to create and share their view of their neighborhood with “Zip-odes”, poetry created from your zip code and each letter in the name of your city, and postcards that reflected the faces of the residents that live in Overtown.

The residents got a chance to converse with one another about important issues in an environment that reflects them. There was also space to share insightful ways to help Catalyst Miami customize our existing services, and suggest new ones, that best serve its residents.

With tasty food catered by local Chef Shonuff, and the contemporary atmosphere provided by a Space Called Tribe, this event captured the essence of community building and showcased the best of Overtown.

April 15, 2019

Over 100 people attended the 4th Annual Oral Health Equity Summit on March 29, 2019! Event photos can be found here.

In the first panel, representatives from Jessie Trice Community Health Systems Inc., FIU Neighborhood Help Program, and Community Health of South Florida Inc. shared information about different dental care resources in Miami-Dade County. 

Following this panel, dental care was discussed from the policy aspect, to explore ways to increase or incentivize civic participation in oral health advocacy. Dr. Claudia Serna, an Associate Professor of Public Health at Nova Southeastern University’s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, discussed the Dental Health Act, the first piece of legislation at the federal level to solely cover dental care. Miriam Harmatz, the Executive Director at the Florida Health Justice Project, spoke about policy proposals in Medicare and Medicaid that affect Miami-Dade County, while also shedding light on increasing dental coverage in Jackson Health systems. Catalyst Miami’s Resilience Director, Zelalem Adefris, tied in how Catalyst Miami engages community residents advocacy for social justice issues such as oral health.

Students from Nova Southeastern University presented oral health projects. One student, researched the benefits of local drinking tap water, finding that drinking tap water is not only safe, but also beneficial to good oral health (called “Encouraging the Consumption of Water in Miami-Dade County Schools”). Another student, Lovleen Sidhu, created and presented an advocacy toolkit, hoping to serve as a roadmap on how to effectively advocate for oral health access. Following this presentation, participants were able to write a letter to their State Senator, either Marco Rubio or Rick Scott, encouraging their support for better oral health care policies.

Two oral health youth advocates, Likia Horne and Jasmine Fuller, presented their photovoice project that explored the lack of healthy food options around their school and neighborhood. Over the past year, Likia, Jasmine, and other youth advocates, have been raising awareness among their peers about the importance of oral health, collecting advocacy letters and running a social media campaign called #Rush2Brush.

We hope to continue to create more oral health advocates in Miami and avenues to share resources while increasing access. Be on the lookout for upcoming advocacy sessions on increasing oral health access within Miami-Dade County.

COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED:
Struggling Workers and Families Deserve Food
Tell the Trump Administration: Hands Off SNAP!
It’s quick and easy - Leave a Comment by Wednesday, April 10th

Procrastinators: You're in luck! If you didn't leave a comment by the deadline this week, the submission period has been extended. You can still comment by Wednesday, April 10th. 

Food assistance is under attack—again. And we need your voice to fight back.

If the Trump Administration has its way, 755,000 very poor people could lose nutrition benefits through SNAP (formerly known as food stamps). These are working-age people without dependents who receive benefits because they live in places with very high unemployment. Thanks to waivers requested by state governments, these people are exempt from the standard time limit of three months of assistance every three years if they cannot document enough work hours. This exemption means people who can’t work enough through no fault of their own still get enough to eat.

But the Trump Administration has been fighting to make it harder for states to give struggling workers a break. Right now, they’re trying to force rigid time limits through a rule change—but they cannot implement their proposed rule without first taking into account public comments about the proposal.

Public feedback works. That’s why we need your help. The government has to take every unique comment under consideration when assessing a rule change like this; the more comments, the more roadblocks to slow or stop harmful changes. Furthermore, judges deciding cases challenging these kinds of rule changes have referred to these comments in their own rulings. It might feel like leaving a comment won’t make a difference. But judges have overturned unfair rules like this in part because federal agencies didn’t take comments into consideration. This was evidence that the process behind making these changes was unfair. (You can read about such an instance involving Medicaid here.)

That’s why your voice is so important.

Here’s how to comment:

The Coalition on Human Needs’ member the Center for American Progress has a comment portal that makes it easy to send a comment. Use the comment in this platform and then add your own take to make it unique. You can talk about how everyone deserves to be free from hunger; you can tell a personal story about how benefits like SNAP have positively impacted you or someone you know; or write about any other reason that resonates for you personally.

(Note: Please make sure your comment is unique: “unique” is understood to mean that about 30 percent of the comment’s text is different from other submissions.)

Use the Center for American Progress comment platform at handsoffsnap.org

Let’s get to commenting!

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This call to action was originally published by the Coalition on Human Needs.

April 16, 2019
By Mauricio Montealegre
Community Outreach Specialist, Public Allies AmeriCorps Member

[caption id="attachment_9003" align="alignnone" width="600"] Workshop participant considers the first 3 things to address if she were elected Mayor today[/caption]

In March, Catalyst Miami hosted two community visioning workshops, one in South Dade, "One South Dade", and another in Miami Gardens, "Voices of the Gardens". These workshops continue in the footsteps of the "The People Speak" event in Overtown held in December 2018.

[caption id="attachment_9008" align="alignleft" width="350"] Rachelle works with client to check-up on personal finances[/caption]

These workshops help us gather resident-level information to better understand how to best serve each neighborhood in our expanded operations into South Dade, Miami Gardens, Overtown, Little Haiti/Little River, and Hialeah. Deepening our work in these five neighborhoods is one of the main new initiatives that emerged as part of Catalyst Miami's latest strategic plan (to learn more about our strategic plan, please contact [email protected] requesting an invitation to Coffee with Catalyst).

The goal of the community visioning workshops is to gain insight on what is most important to residents in a fun and interactive approach. Residents were able to participate in activities that piqued their interest, including:

• Marking their favorite establishments on an asset map,
• Sharing the top 3 things residents would address if they were elected Mayor,
• Getting a check-up on personal finances at a pop-up financial clinic,
• Composing "zip-odes" to their respective neighborhoods (zip-odes is poetry created from your zip code and each letter in the name of your city),
• Informing us of what services they'd like to see us provide, and
• Being specific about how they prefer to communicate.

[caption id="attachment_9009" align="alignright" width="300"] Residents used mini lego blocks to gather neighborhood demographics[/caption]

Residents and staff mingled throughout the events, discussing what was special to them about their neighborhoods and what could be improved. A few clients shared personal testimonies of free services they had received from Catalyst Miami.

The "One South Dade" workshop was held at Exit One Taproom in Florida City, a family-friendly lounge with an on-site food truck, while the "Voices of the Gardens" workshop was held at the YWCA Intergenerational Center, a bright and airy center perfect for community gatherings. Both events featured catering local from their respective neighborhoods.

[caption id="attachment_9010" align="alignleft" width="340"] South Dade residents mingle at One South Dade event[/caption]

If you live in South Dade, Miami Gardens, Overtown, Little Haiti/Little River, or Hialeah, and want to share your thoughts about our expanding operations, please contact Zelalem Adefris at [email protected].