Faith in Action Kern County is hosting a Know Your Rights Training for parents on January 30 to discuss students’ rights during suspensions and expulsions.
Lamont Residents are Invited to Hear and Give Feedback on the Independent Review of LPUD’s Plan B
Lamont and Weedpatch residents who have been working on wastewater issues for five years will finally have a chance to review the findings of an independent study of Lamont Public Utilities District’s (LPUD) plans, and ensure that the study’s recommendations are implemented to protect community health.
When LPUD developed a backup plan for handling wastewater, residents involved with Building Healthy Communities – South Kern (BHC-SK) asked for an independent review of their wastewater handling plans in order to ensure that they would not have a negative impact on the health of the community, as well as the community’s future growth and development. That study has been completed and the community will learn about the findings and be able to give input and recommendations at a community meeting to be held this Tuesday. Currently, LPUD sends more than one million gallons of wastewater to be used to irrigate compost each day.
“Residents and partners involved with BHC-SK have voiced many concerns about LPUD. Many of these concerns have focused on how the wastewater from Lamont is used and the impacts this has on the health of our families, as well as the future growth and development of our communities,” says Jennifer Wood-Slayton, BHC-SK’s Hub Manager.
Please join us on Tuesday January 26 at 5:30pm at the David Head Center in Lamont. After the presentation residents will have the opportunity to give feedback and help prioritize the recommendations to LPUD as the first step in ensuring they are held accountable for handling wastewater in a way that is responsible and supports the health of our communities. Representatives from LPUD and related agencies will be present at the meeting to respond to questions.
BHC-SK is a community initiative comprised of residents, youth, business and organizations who are working to improve community health and initiate systemic change in the areas of education, environment, recreation and health access in the communities of Arvin, Lamont, Weedpatch, and the unincorporated areas of Greenfield. For more information, visit healthysouthkern.org.
WHEN: Tuesday, January 26 – 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: David Head Center, 10300 San Diego St., Lamont, Ca.
The power of paint is being put to the test in Rexland Acres Park and it’s not too late to become involved with this amazing project, which aims to bring the community, especially youth, to take ownership of the park.
“The theme of the mural is racial unity. We hope that this mural is something that the community can identify with,” said Gerald Cantu, one of the organizers of the project.
Bakersfield’s renowned artist, Jorge Guillen is creating the mural that youth will come together to paint.
The mural is being led by the Dolores Huerta Foundation, HOPE Now, and the Greenfield Walking Group as part of Building Healthy Communities South Kern’s work in recreation.
Call Gerald Cantu at (661) 322-3033 for more information.
Join us for the first Central Table Meeting of the year, where we will share our our work plan for this year with the community and kick off our annual ‘Live the Challenge!’
Last year, over a thousand South Kern residents committed to make a healthy lifestyle change for 100 days and over 300 runners attended the Live the Challenge Run/Walk in April!’
The Central Table Meeting will be held, Thursday, Jan. 28, at Sunset School in Weedpatch from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Transportation is available.
For more information about the meeting please contact Marina at 661-845-2724 or click here.
Building Healthy Communities South Kern is deeply honored to have been selected as an Innovation Challenge Finalist in Let’s Get Healthy California, for our ‘Live the Challenge’ work in South Kern.
The California Health and Human Services Agency and the California Department of Public Health announced early this month 23 community-based innovations that work towards making California the nation’s healthiest state by 2022. BHC-SK is one of four in the goal area of “Creating Healthy Communities!”
Every year, BHC-SK launches “Live the Challenge,” which aims to improve community health by encouraging residents to commit to one healthy lifestyle change for 100 days, ending the challenge with a 5K walk/run.
The innovations will be recognized January 26 at the Innovation Conference in Sacramento.
South Kern Sol, Staff
With just day until the close of Covered California open enrollment, community groups have come together to help Kern residents enroll by the January 31 deadline.
The groups, held their first enrollment event last Saturday at East Hills mall and enrolled about 90 families.
The next enrollment event will be held tomorrow, Jan. 21 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Valley Plaza Mall.
Residents are encouraged to stop by and learn about their options for health coverage. Certified application counselors will be onsite to help those who qualify enroll.
The group will be having their last enrollment event on Jan. 31 at the Mercy Conference Center at 1600 D Street in Bakersfield from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The events are being put together by the Community Health Initiative of Kern and sponsored by Kern Family Health Care and Building Healthy Communities South Kern, with the support of Certified Application Counselor partners, and multiple other Health Care partners.
For more information, please call Emily Hernandez at (661) 632-5005 or (661) 747-6606 or visit www.coveredca.com.
For youth wanting to become more involved with their community in 2016, start now at this Youth Summit to be held on Friday, Jan. 22 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopalian Church, located at 2216 17th Street in Bakersfield.
The Youth Summit was created to bring resources to local youth and give them an opportunity to come and listen to local ‘Spoken Word’ artist, said Gerald Cantu with the Dolores Huerta Foundation.
Cantu added that “Spoken Word” is poetry intended for onstage performance and often references current events or issues relevant to youth.
For more information please visit www.doloreshuerta.org.
The new year is here and with it, a new fresh start for everyone.
Please join us for the first Central Table Meeting of the year, where we will share our our work plan for this year with the community and kick off our annual ‘Live the Challenge!’
Last year, over a thousand South Kern residents committed to make a healthy lifestyle change for 100 days and over 300 runners attended the Live the Challenge Run/Walk in April!
The Central Table Meeting will be held, Thursday, Jan. 28, at Sunset School in Weedpatch from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
For more information, please contact Maria Marina at 661-845-2724.
Building Healthy Communities South Kern is thrilled and deeply honored to have been selected to receive a Kern Council of Governments Regional Award of Merit in the category of Community Involvement.
The Award will be presented to BHC-SK partners this March by the Kern Council of Governments (Kern COG). The award recognizes BHC-SK’s success at achieving health equity by improving community health in Arvin, Lamont, Weedpatch and Greenfield.
Each year, Kern COG honors individuals and organizations for making major contributions to areas quality of life through innovative and cooperative efforts.
Past recipients of this award include the City of Bakersfield and the Bakersfield Homeless Center for their partnership to create employment opportunities for people experiencing homelessness. The City of Ridgecrest and the RidgeProject are also past recipients.
A very special thanks to BHC-SK’s partners for driving this important work.
