This op-ed was originally published in the Miami Herald on Sunday, September 6, 2020. Click here to read the September 6, 2020 e-edition.

By Zelalem Adefris, Catalyst Miami;
Meena Jagannath and Alana Greer, Community Justice Project

The Sept. 3 Miami-Dade County Commission’s budget hearing should have every resident, regardless of political views, deeply concerned about the state of democracy in our county. The meeting defied all conventional assumptions about civic engagement. The message was: If you turn out in numbers and organize around a collective vision, you are more likely to be belittled and ignored.

More than 200 people, including many youth, delivered three and half hours of public comments, imploring the commission to invest more in housing, health and environmental sustainability in these extraordinary times. Yet, their message and personal stories were summarily dismissed by Mayor Carlos Gimenez as “scripted,” unworthy of careful consideration by those on the dais who purport to know what’s best for us.

The mayor would have us believe that periodic voting by an unacceptably small percentage of the electorate is plenty democracy for us. A healthy democracy requires active engagement and accountability once leaders take office. The residents who take time off work to attend commission meetings, educate themselves on complex agendas and spend their evening waiting to speak, many for the first time, understand that. Our leaders must, too.

We often wonder why Miami-Dade is disengaged with what goes on in governmental halls. The answer lies in the consistent attempt to make those who speak out feel small and foolish. People shouldn’t have to subject themselves to censure to participate in democracy. People are exasperated by the state of governance in Miami-Dade, but speak we must. The future of Greater Miami’s democracy depends on it.

May 11, 2020

By: Sierra Club Florida News

Voices serving frontline communities both disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus crisis and vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis came together from across Florida on the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. Stories of struggle and hope, from activists rising to overcome these challenges and the environmental and social injustices they expose, made clear how these issues are interconnected, how the pandemic has laid bare our vulnerabilities, and what system changes are needed to secure a just and livable planet Earth for all.

Panelists:
- Farmworker Association of Florida: Jeannie Economos (Coordinator, Pesticide Safety and Environmental Health Project)
- Coalition of Immokalee Workers: Oscar Otzoy (translator: Natalia Naranjo)
- The Smile Trust: Valencia Gunder (Co-Director)
- Catalyst Miami: Mayra Cruz (Climate Resilience Program Manager)
- Sister Robin Haines Merrill: Upper Room Art Gallery
- Dr. Jennifer Taylor (Coordinator of FAMU's Small Farm Programs, Florida's 2019 Woman of the Year in Agriculture)

Moderator: Diana Umpierre, Sierra Club

To watch the full livestream, click here. To watch coverage by Go! Latinos Magazine, click here.

To support the work of these frontline community leaders, navigate to this bookmark.

Summary of what we heard

A reflection on the 50th Earth Day would be amiss without noting that while air and water are cleaner in some respects in many parts of the country (though not all) we are now dealing with other threats, some which are more harmful than we imagined 50 years ago, including human-caused climate change. The 50th anniversary of Earth Day should be a turning point, when we stop business as usual and together rebuild an economy that protects people, wildlife and the planet, from pandemics and the climate emergency.

How do we do that? Sierra Club Florida invited a number of strong frontline leaders to share what this moment is teaching us:

Jeannie Economos with Farmworker Association of Florida pointed out how the current pandemic and the climate crisis disproportionately affects farmworkers: “One of the things that this pandemic has pointed out is how crucial and important our food supply is…that for decades and decades farmworkers, the people that harvest the food that gets to our table, have been called the invisible workers and all of the sudden now they are the essential workers... They've been the essential workers all along… They are the first line on the food chain that gets the food to our grocery stores.” She also pointed out that (1) many farmworkers in Florida are undocumented and as a result they are unqualified for assistance like coronavirus-related stimulus programs, (2) farmworkers “have some of the worst housing conditions, the worst pay, the worst working conditions,” (3) they are exposed to toxic pesticides and fertilizers, (4) and sometimes they are left without hand-washing water or drinking water in the fields.  Jeannie said “with climate change, we're finding that heat stress is an increasing problem”.  She reminded us that “the first farmworkers in the US were enslaved people from Africa and [that]… there is a direct line from the horrors of slavery… to farmworkers today.. many... live in a kind of indentured servitude or kind of a modern-day slavery... This moment is showing us what we've been trying to say for years, that there's something fundamentally, institutionally, systematically wrong.. because our entire agricultural system is based on exploitation of labor and exploitation of our planet.”

Oscar Otzoy with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), assisted by translator Natalia Naranjo, recounted how the coalition has been helping farmworkers in southwest Florida to improve their wages, benefits, and working conditions. CIW educates and empowers farmworkers to defend their own rights while working in the fields. They provide educational materials in at least three languages devoted to preventing problems that commonly afflict farmworkers. Oscar shared that they have been distributing facial masks and doing outreach via local radio and flyers so workers understand the risks and how to protect themselves during the coronavirus pandemic. Other important CIW initiatives include worker to worker education, public education to consumers and the Fair Food Program that is motivating retailers to buy from farms that respect the human rights of farmworkers. Without farmworkers, agricultural producers cannot feed the nation.

Valencia Gunder shared how The Smile Trust has been helping vulnerable populations in urban Miami, including unsheltered homeless and others experiencing food insecurity, many of whom are black and brown. She pointed out that climate change, pandemics and natural and man-made disasters multiply the threats to communities already experiencing social hardships. With the assistance of a local physician, unsheltered folks are being tested for COVID-19 and provided tents. They also have a mutual aid fund that is providing food stipends to people in need, including the undocumented. With the help of volunteers that speak different languages they are also phone banking vulnerable senior citizens to make sure they are okay and to identify unmet needs. The Smile Trust does not get any funding from the government. Valencia looks at their work as “solidarity not charity.” She pointed out how America is a first world country that creates second class citizens who have to live in third world situations.

Mayra Cruz with Catalyst Miami shared how they aimed to build the health and wealth of low and middle income individuals and families in Miami.  Catalyst Miami provides financial literacy training and leadership and advocacy training, including on issues related to climate and affordable housing. They have shifted how they deliver these services due to the coronavirus pandemic, including a hotline that provides advice with housing issues and navigating the unemployment benefits website. With the hurricane season nearing, they are also looking into how people can safely shelter in place while social distancing and have safe access to food supplies. They have organized demand letters and petitions to the Governor and Florida Power & Light (FPL) to call for a moratorium on utility shut offs. Mayra said “we already knew that a lot of these systems that are in place have been failing our most vulnerable… [and] it's really important… to connect the dots for people: climate change and coronavirus have a lot of similarities. People that are feeling the most impacts are the same ones that have been feeling the impacts of climate change already.” She also warned to not be fooled by the fact that as soon as these economies open up again the assistance people are getting will go away:  “We should be asking... local officials.. how do we come back in a way that's stronger, more resilient?”

Robin Haines Merrill from Fort Lauderdale shared how she was inspired to start a street market initiative to help local farmers and folks in the food and entertainment service industry affected by the pandemic. She said: “I'm basically a recycler…when I saw on social media these huge mounds of green & yellow squash being dumped... I just decided .. I'm gonna go down and just fill up my car and give it away. So that's how it started." Robin is now using donated funds “to buy from the farmers... because they've lost their orders of cruise ships, theme parks, school boards and the restaurants that are closed.” She's been loading up her SUV, going up to a local farm about three times a week and then hosting a “street market” where she gives away the produce for free to those in need. She’s particularly focused on helping those who have lost their jobs in the hospitality and entertainment industries, including restaurant workers, housekeepers, and janitors. She has also been giving produce to “Food Not Bombs” in Fort Lauderdale, who cook it and give it out to the homeless in the area.

Dr. Jennifer Taylor is a university professor at Florida A&M University (FAMU) and an organic farmer who grows vegetables and fruits and models the type of organic systems she teaches about. She coordinates  FAMU’s Statewide Small Farm Program which among others provides hands-on training opportunities to farmers on regenerative organic farming practices and alternative market development via participatory capacity building that helps identify needs and develop solutions. They work to equip underserved farming populations, including indigenous, minority and small-scale farmers. Farmers learn about food sovereignty and organic sustainable living and how to be good stewards of their own farms, their community and the ecosystem. During the current pandemic, they provide guidance so farmers can offer healthy organically-grown produce using social distancing, gloves and masks. Farmers have been experiencing a resurgence of interest from many customers who have found empty shelves at the grocery store. "It's really important for us to reexamine our food system... building in agroecology… providing healthy environments for our farmworkers...and the local community at large…[It’s] a time of reflection.. at seeing how we can do things differently."

Panelists were asked to reflect on how some say to stay in our lane, to focus on just environmental issues, and that social justice has little to do with environmental advocacy.

Valencia responded by quoting Audre Lorde: "There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives." She reminded us how the environmental justice movement started because black communities were getting waste dumped in their neighborhoods and how environmental injustices started with slavery. She said: "I don't even understand the ideology of the separation... Environmental advocacy has to align with social justice because who are you advocating for? What are you pushing if you're not responding to people, to human beings?.. There's no environmental advocacy without it being tied to social justice. It must be, and it always should be... It ain't no lane to stay on when it's only one."

Oscar replied that he finds it very interesting when people not directly affected are talking about climate change. Farmworkers are directly living the consequences of corporate decisions, which is why it’s important for farmworkers to share how they are directly impacted by climate change.

Mayra reflected that "the people that might think that social justice and environmental justice aren't linked don't recognize their privilege...They might be blind to the fact that climate change impacts certain populations disproportionately...You have to humanize these issues.”

Ways to support these frontline groups and community leaders

Farmworker Association of Florida

• Sign these 3 petitions: Tell House Speaker: Stop the Trump admin from lowering farm worker wages during COVID-19, Tell Congress: #ProtectAllWorkers (Food Workers are Not Disposable) and Tell Congress: Future COVID-19 ag legislation must include farm workers
• Donate to their Coronavirus Relief for Farmworkers
• Hear more farmworker stories here, including about their exposure to heat.
• Subscribe to their newsletter.

Coalition of Immokalee Workers

• Sign petition (for individuals): Ask Gov DeSantis: Protect FL farmworkers during the COVID-19 crisis and/or this organization petition for non-profits, unions or any other organization.
• Donate to them here.
• Learn more about their Fair Food Program.
• Subscribe to their newsletter.

The Smile Trust

• To learn more, subscribe or volunteer to fight against homelessness, add your email here.
• If you would like to sponsor an individual or a family, email: mthsmia@gmail.com
• To phonebank senior residents, email: miamiclimatealliance@gmail.com
• Donate to them here

Catalyst Miami

• Sign-on to letter calling on FPL to provide transparency and forgiveness in light of COVID19
• Learn about housing justice in the face of climate change, here.
• Donate to them here.
• To partner with them, click here.

Robin Haines Merrill

• To donate to her street market initiative, click here.

Dr. Jennifer Taylor

• To learn more about her work helping small underserved farmers, click here.
• To learn more about IFOAM principles of organic farming she talked about, click here.

For other ways to volunteer online to help FL vulnerable communities during the pandemic, click here.

This story originally appeared in the Sierra Club Florida News

May 11, 2020

By: South Florida Caribbean News

Nonprofit Brings Virtual Mindfulness Practice to Families Who #stayathome with Breathe Overtown Campaign

MIAMI – Holistic Life Foundation (HLF), a nonprofit empowering underserved communities through yoga, mindfulness and self-care practice, along with partners Catalyst Miami and Overtown Children and Youth Coalition (OCYC) is bringing a virtual 14-Day Self-Care Challenge to Overtown families – and beyond – with its Breathe Overtown campaign.

Beginning May 11th and concluding May 28th, Holistic Life Foundation senior staff will lead a 10-minute mindfulness practice via Instagram @HolisticLifeFoundation daily at 10 am.

This “10 @ 10” live daily practice is to encourage and support Overtown-based children and their families to “take a break and breathe” during this often-overwhelming time at home.

Although this partnership began in Overtown, the organizations hope families nationwide will participate in the community mindfulness initiative.

“We are excited to introduce this 14-Day Self-Care Challenge to Overtown with Holistic Life Foundation,” said Graylyn Swilley Woods, Ph.D, executive director of the Overtown Children and Youth Coalition. “The Overtown Children and Youth Coalition welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with the Holistic Life Foundation, nationally recognized for delivering transformative services for at-risk youth.  We want to ensure that our residents have skills to cope during the pandemic and beyond.  The innovative programming with the Holistic Life Foundation will help strengthen the resiliency and Social-Emotional Learning skills of all families in Overtown.”  

“The global pandemic has altered nearly everything about the way we live,” said Holistic Life Foundation co-founder Ali Smith. “Adjusting to this new reality is hard for everyone, with a lot of stress on working parents and young people in particular. Much like our hometown of Baltimore, Overtown is a place with a rich history and a vibrant community, but one with significant obstacles for its residents. We created the Breathe Overtown campaign after a recent Overtown community meeting where local community leaders expressed concern over the impact of such heightened levels of stress. The goal is to alleviate anxiety and focus on self-care to help navigate their feelings through this confusing and difficult time. We also love the idea of making this a family activity for families who are learning how to navigate new routines with children of all ages.”

The Baltimore-based nonprofit recently expanded into South Florida and until school shutdowns due to COVID19, HLF was serving 10,000 youth each week through its partnerships in the Baltimore City Public School system. HLF has been able to pivot its organizational approach to still meet the HLF mission of empowering underserved communities in both locations.

“Catalyst Miami is thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with both the Overtown Children and Youth Coalition and the Holistic Life Foundation,” said Gretchen Beesing, CEO of Catalyst Miami. “Synergies exist between the three organizations where we may leverage each other’s strengths to provide innovative programming, working together to strengthen the resiliency and an overall culture of health of all families in Overtown.”

“We are excited that our local partners in the Overtown community helped design this innovative program and are the ones on the ground who can allow us to reach more people,” added Phoebe Haupt, Regional Director of the HLF South Florida Initiative. “Both Catalyst Miami and the Overtown Children and Youth Coalition are well-respected organizations in the community known for their grassroots presence and knowledge of the community.”

To participate in daily instruction from anywhere in the world, follow @HolisticLifeFoundation on Instagram and view stories beginning at 10am 5/11. 

Live video instruction will be available for replay until 10a the following day.

This article originally appeared on South Florida Caribbean News

April 20, 2020

Originally published by Inside Philanthrophy

By: Laurie Mazur

Climate protestors in Miami, where advocates successfully pushed for greater community involvement in key decisions. Hernando Sorzano / Shutterstock

As the saying goes, “When white folks catch a cold, black folks get pneumonia.” Centuries of racist policy and practice mean that people of color are hit first and worst in every crisis. That’s true of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is disproportionately killing African Americans. And it is true of the ongoing crisis of climate change.

Consider this: Neighborhoods scarred by racist redlining practices are nearly five degrees hotter, on average, than their whiter, wealthier counterparts. As a result, those communities are literal hotspots for the urban heat island effect—the deadliest climate impact.

Environmental funders are increasingly aware of the need for a more equitable response to climate change. And in impacted communities across the U.S., local groups—often led by people of color—are tackling the twin challenges of climate and equity.  But for the most part, philanthropic dollars are not reaching those frontline groups. Today, about half of climate funding goes to just 20 national organizations, which are overwhelmingly led by white men.

The Kresge Foundation’s Environment Program is an exception. In 2014, Kresge launched the Climate Resilience and Urban Opportunity (CRUO) initiative, a five-year, $29 million effort that prioritized work led by advocates and organizers in frontline communities.

“We wanted to address the historic disinvestment in community-based organizations,” says Shamar Bibbins, a senior program officer at Kresge who led the CRUO grantmaking. “Our question was, what would look different if we provided significant, sustained funding to help those groups deepen their influence, leadership and capacity around climate change?”

A Path to Victories on Climate

The answer to that question is now coming into view. A recent evaluation of CRUO, conducted by Spark Policy Institute and Ross Strategic, affirms the value of Kresge’s approach. CRUO grantees scored impressive policy wins in their communities, regions and states. Collectively, they built a broader coalition and helped shift thinking about climate resilience.

Importantly, the CRUO grantees showed that investing in frontline communities is a path to victories on climate: “At a time when the U.S. has abandoned global efforts on climate change and there is either paralysis or attacks on environment at the federal level, this grantmaking strategy is working and winning,” says Rachel Leon, executive director of the Environmental Grantmakers Association (EGA).

There are several reasons for climate funders’ neglect of frontline communities. First, in the mid-2000s, many of those funders aligned with the Design to Win strategy, a policy agenda focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. That strategy called for technically focused, market-based solutions, establishing funding patterns that remain despite diminished prospects for such policy changes at a national scale.

Also, “There was a perception that highly local work couldn’t add up fast enough,” says Lois R. DeBacker, managing director of Kresge’s Environment Program. “And the reality is that it's difficult to get money to small organizations—it’s not easy to give away $18 million in $10K grants.”

There is sometimes a misalignment of scope: “Frontline community groups are often multi-issue, as they should be,” says Leon. “But historically, philanthropy has focused on very specific goals and metrics.” And funders question the capacity of local groups. But that is a “chicken-and-egg” question, says Leon, because foundation support would bolster local groups’ capacity.

More insidiously, grantmaking decisions are shaped by the less-than-inclusive culture of environmental philanthropy. “We hire people and they bring with them certain networks,” says DeBacker, “Many environmental grantmakers are white, and that influences the networks they have and know. And we have mental models of who we view as experts, those we go to for advice—and that creates unintentional, but actual, bias.”

Flipping the Frame

Given those realities, Kresge’s approach was to “flip the frame” of their climate investments, says Bibbins. That meant changing assumptions, strategies and even the foundation’s culture of grantmaking.

As part of a foundation-wide pivot toward expanding opportunities in America’s cities, Kresge’s environment program was charged with developing a climate strategy that prioritized the interests of low-income urban communities of color. “So rather than funding mainstream environmental groups, hoping that they would strengthen their competency around equity, we decided to fund groups whose work was already grounded in equity, to deepen their engagement on climate,” says DeBacker.

CRUO’s grantmaking was divided into two phases. Nine-month planning grants enabled Kresge staff to work with a cohort of grantees as they devised strategies and identified areas for capacity building. Then, in the implementation phase, Kresge funded 15 of the 17 community groups from the planning cohort, focusing on those with the greatest likelihood of success.

Throughout both phases, Kresge worked to remain flexible and adaptive, allowing grantees to respond to changing conditions. This was particularly important after the 2016 election, which presented many grantees with urgent community needs and new political realities. That adaptive approach was supported by dialog with an external advisory committee and grantees, as well as other supports such as peer-learning funds that fostered learning and engagement across the climate-resilience field.

Community building and technical assistance were baked in from the start. In addition to support for local groups, CRUO made grants to a handful of national “field-building” organizations, including the Center for American Progress and EcoAdapt. And Kresge supported various mechanisms—annual convenings, peer-to-peer learning and special-issue convenings—that enabled those groups to learn from one another.

Those connections proved transformational on both ends. Frontline groups got access to the resources of national organizations; the national groups got schooled on the equity challenges facing local groups. As one field-building grantee told the CRUO evaluators, “We've learned tremendously from the first-hand experiences of place-based [organizations]… This knowledge has helped us to craft meaningful policy recommendations that policymakers and local advocates support.”

Kresge also took on what Green 2.0 has called “an overwhelmingly white ‘Green Insiders’ club” by hiring diverse, culturally competent staff. “We’ve hired people, like Shamar [Bibbins], who have really strong commitments to equity, and who have a lived experience of understanding how racism plays out,” says DeBacker. “The intensity of a commitment to equity, and the sense of urgency around it, is stronger for those who have lived it up close and personal.”

A Growing Record of Wins

Together, these approaches led to significant policy wins. In Portland, for example, several CRUO grantees (Coalition of Communities of Color, OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon, Native American Youth and Family Center) helped secure passage of the Portland Clean Energy Fund. The fund imposes a surcharge on retailers with over $1 billion in annual sales, generating $30 million a year for clean energy projects, job training, local food production, and green infrastructure. Crucially, the fund directs resources to Portlanders who are impacted by climate change but historically excluded from the emerging low-carbon economy.

In Fresno, California, the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability worked with partners to redirect state climate funds to under-invested neighborhoods in West Fresno and secured new statewide guidelines that require community engagement and support in allocating those funds. In Miami, Florida, Catalyst Miami pushed city officials to ensure that the $400 million Miami Forever Bond includes a Citizens Oversight Board that represents the interests of the community and has a say in how bond money is allocated.

As frontline groups secure policy wins, they are producing tectonic shifts in thinking about the climate movement. “The grantees really forced us to expand our vision of what constitutes climate work, because they are coming at the work from such a holistic, intersectional approach,” says Bibbins.

That expansive vision has been embraced by other funders, notably the JPB Foundation, which supports the Institute for Sustainable Communities’ Partnership for Resilient Communities. Leon, of EGA, says that support for environmental justice issues among her group’s members has been steadily rising for the last few years.

Fundamentally, the CRUO initiative showed the value of investment in frontline communities—not only because those communities are most vulnerable in a warming world. Frontline groups bring invaluable assets to the climate fight—including trusted leaders, deep knowledge of local conditions and history, and hard-won experience fighting against inequity. Paired with philanthropic resources, frontline groups are poised to win on the entwined challenges of climate change and inequity.

This story originally appeared on Inside Philanthropy

May 9, 2020

By: David Ovalle

April 21, 2020

By: Joey Flechas

Small business Event Service Group keep workers with hope of the SBA loans promise from the government as the coronavirus outbreak creates a work stoppage, April 8, 2020. By: Charles Trainor Jr.

Miami’s city government could create a program to distribute $1 million to keep small businesses afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.

Commissioners on Thursday will consider approving a package of assistance programs that aim to help local businesses survive the economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nonessential businesses were shaken when governments ordered them to close in mid-March. Such orders have sent economic ripples through South Florida and the nation, fueling layoffs, furloughs and skyrocketing unemployment claims.

April 6, 2020

By Lautaro Grinspan

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks about the Florida unemployment rate via livestream from Tallahassee, Florida, on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. BY GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Communications@everyday-democracy.org; Sandy Rodriguez, 860-712-4047

Communications@catalystmiami.org; Carolina Fernandez-Mazzoni, 786-414-1290

Catalyst Miami, Nationally Recognized for Leadership in Democracy 

Miami-Dade County, Florida – Catalyst Miami was one of four finalists, out of 64 nominations nationwide, for the 2019 Paul and Joyce Aicher Leadership in Democracy Award, given by Everyday Democracy to individuals and organizations whose work in their community exemplifies voice for all, connection across difference, racial equity, and community change. Catalyst Miami was honored as a finalist because of its work to identify and collectively solve issues adversely affecting low-wealth Miami-Dade communities. Catalyst is dedicated to meeting the immediate needs of low-income residents, while simultaneously addressing the root causes of poverty and inequality, through grassroots organizing, leadership development, community engagement, and advocacy. Catalyst has empowered thousands of people to build financial security, lead through policy engagement, and catalyze multi-sector, cross-issue coalition efforts. 

Catalyst Miami’s vision is a just and equitable society in which all communities thrive. Its approach is holistic—rather than working in “silos.” Catalyst identifies intersections and builds organizational capacity among and within the corridors of community development, public health, social justice, and human services. The organization houses financial and health services, leadership development, and advocacy for policy change under one roof—with programs that address mobility, well-being, and resilience at the individual/family, organizational, community, and policy levels. Through its economic and social mobility efforts, Catalyst engages its clients in the poverty-solutions movement, re-thinks the traditional role of human services, informs action in the social services sector, and empowers families and communities to achieve policy victories together. 

Martha McCoy, Executive Director of Everyday Democracy, says of Catalyst Miami, “We honor Catalyst because it is an important model for service organizations across the country. It is powerful that an organization that serves such a large, diverse population is committed to building the civic capacity of those they serve and to creating spaces where the voices of those most affected by income inequality can be nurtured, heard and valued. We salute Catalyst for its unwavering commitment to service and empowerment to address the roots and impact of structural inequities.” 

Catalyst’s Prosperity programming connects low-income families to preventive healthcare options and basic needs services and provides financial services such as free tax preparation. The programs address overall poverty, lower the number of under- and un-banked residents, help people acquire medical insurance, increase access to public benefits, and more. Through its leadership and advocacy programming, Catalyst increases voter education and engagement, boosts community-led advocacy, and increases community participation in town halls, associations, committees, schools, and public meetings. 

With its commitment to long-term change, Catalyst also has the capacity to pivot its programming to meet immediate needs. For example, in 2017 and 2018, Catalyst acted nimbly in order to aid recovery efforts for low-wealth residents who faced dire challenges as a result of Hurricane Irma. By collaborating with the United Way, BAC Florida Bank, Citibank Foundation, and the Miami-Dade County Community Action and Human Services Department, Catalyst connected residents with short-term hotel stays and no-interest relief loans, provided individuals and families with funds for urgent short-term needs, and supported young adults impacted by Irma.

“We are proud to be considered for this award by an organization that values dialogue for collective action in addressing structural racism and other social inequalities,” said Gretchen Beesing, CEO of Catalyst Miami. “Our uniquely integrated, holistic approach is specifically designed to create a more level playing field for low-wealth individuals and families—communities that are often composed disproportionately of people of color, immigrant groups, and language minorities—and to remove obstacles to their ability to effectively advocate for the needs of their communities.”

KEY LINKS

Website: www.catalystmiami.org  

www.facebook.com/catalystmiami  

www.twitter.com/CatalystMiami    

www.instagram.com/CatalystMiami/   

www.linkedin.com/company/catalystmiami

The winner of the award was Happy Johnson and Arthur Johnson of New Orleans, La., who will be celebrated December 5th at a ceremony in Hartford, CT.  

_______________________________________________________________________

About Everyday Democracy 

Everyday Democracy supports organizing across the country by bringing diverse groups of people together, helping them structure and facilitate community dialogue on pressing issues, and training them to use a racial equity lens to understand longstanding problems and possible solutions. Our function is unique and unparalleled in the community engagement field:  helping people create the spaces where they can build skills to bring difficult topics to light and address them effectively over the long term. Our work helps communities move conversation into action, and action into lasting positive change.

Everyday Democracy is the primary project of The Paul J. Aicher Foundation. The Paul and Joyce Aicher Leadership in Democracy Award was first awarded in 2017 to Generation Justice in Albuquerque, N.M., and last year was awarded to Beth Broadway of InterFaith Works of Central New York.

https://www.everyday-democracy.org/

November 19, 2019

By Jessica Bakeman

The community advocacy group Catalyst Miami is creating a collection of personal stories about the importance of oral health care. The group shot videos of people sharing their anecdotes during an oral health summit at Miami Dade College in Hialeah.

Some Florida dentists, hygienists, students and advocates are promoting a legislative proposal to create a new tier of providers who could offer routine procedures to people who lack access to oral health care.

A plan to create a new state license for dental therapists, mid-level practitioners comparable to physician’s assistants in medicine, was one solution offered at an oral health equity summit held Tuesday at Miami Dade College’s Hialeah campus. The practitioners perform procedures like filling cavities, placing temporary crowns and extracting loose or diseased teeth, under the supervision of a dentist.

Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg is sponsoring a bill, SB 152, that would regulate the education and licensure of dental therapists. Similar bills have received support in the state Senate but failed to pass the full Legislature in recent years.

Supporters argue dental therapists would make dental care more accessible to low-income families, especially children, as well as the elderly and residents of rural communities.

Kathlyn Leiviska is a dental therapist in Minnesota who has advocated in Florida and other states for laws that establish her position. She said while dentists can perform about 400 procedures, she can do 83, and she is paid about half as much.

“If it passes in your state, you don’t have to hire dental therapists. There’s nothing that mandates you to do that. But it’s a tool in your toolbox that you can use to help bring more providers to that population,” Leiviska said.

Susan Kass, who directs MDC’s dental hygiene program, wrote in a recent letter to the editor published in the Miami Herald that dental therapists would help more people receive care.

“Miami Dade College’s dental hygiene clinic serves thousands of patients each year, offering comprehensive care at a nominal cost,” Kass wrote in the op-ed. “When our students and licensed dentists find dental decay and the need for restorative care, we refer our patients to facilities throughout the county. What we see repeatedly, however, is that when many of these patients return, they have not had the restorative care.

“Expanding the array of dental providers to include therapists would allow Floridians access to oral health care they need and, frankly, deserve,” she wrote.

An attendee at Tuesday's summit raised a question about whether the addition of dental therapists could eliminate jobs for dentists and hygienists.

Jane Grover, a representative of the American Dental Association, argued it was better "to utilize and maximize the opportunities that are already on the ground right now," like placing more dentists in underserved areas and supporting advanced certifications for dental assistants.

Dental therapists are recognized in about a dozen states, and Florida is one of a handful of others currently considering creating new licensure requirements, according to the American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

Another legislative fix that could increase the availability of dental health care would require state funding. Lawmakers approved a measure this spring offering loan repayment for dental students who agree to accept Medicaid or work in underserved areas, but the program wasn’t funded.

During the event, participants signed letters to Republican U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, who represent Florida, asking them to support legislation that would increase the coverage of oral health care under Medicare, a federal health insurance program for the elderly and disabled people.

 

Susan Galvis, a dental assistant and graduate student in public health, signs a letter to U.S. Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio advocating for expanded coverage of oral health care in Medicare.

CREDIT JESSICA BAKEMAN / WLRN

Susan Galvis signed one of the letters. She’s a dental assistant at a children’s hospital and is studying public health at Florida International University. She said educating parents in oral hygiene is key to improving children’s oral health.

“We don’t do anything by brushing one day or flossing one day. We’re doing it there, on site [at the dentist’s office], but then, parents need to enforce it,” she said. “We need to teach the parents even more.”

Other suggestions offered during the summit include: Hiring dental hygienists to work in schools, putting toothbrushes and non-foaming toothpaste on students’ lunch trays, raising awareness about how oral ailments can develop into more serious health complications, and paying people to go to the dentist once a year.

University of Florida College of Dentistry professor Scott Tomar explained the detrimental impacts of the lack of access to oral health care.

He said emergency rooms aren’t always equipped to treat dental problems. When people report to hospitals with tooth abscesses or other dental problems, they’re often prescribed antibiotics and painkillers, including opioids, he said.

“When we can’t provide early preventative and treatment services, this is what the outcome is,” Tomar said.

This story originally appeared on WLRN.org