New foundation aimed at protecting and expanding critical public health services launches in LA

In response to L.A. County's $50 million in cuts to public health programs, community leaders, public health advocates and civic partners have officially launched the Fund for Advancing Public Health LA, a new, privately funded foundation dedicated to strengthening essential public health services for residents across the county.

Established by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the new and independent foundation will be dedicated to soliciting and distributing funds to advance disease prevention, health promotion, environmental health, emergency preparedness and response and policy initiatives that improve health and well-being for those who live and work in L.A. County.

Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said that being a not-for-profit foundation will allow them to generate flexible, non-federal revenue for the local needs of public health and safety. 

“The foundation will be raising funds from all kinds of donors, from businesses, philanthropy and individual people and then using that funding to go back out to the community to support essential and critical public health,” Ferrer told CALÓ News last Friday at a press conference held at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, where the launch of the fund was announced.

The foundation will also be working hand-in-hand with community-based organizations like CHIRLA and the TransLatin@ Coalition (TLC) to support critical efforts, specifically to bolster the health of vulnerable populations regardless of immigration status, income, sexual orientation or gender identity.

“Many communities, immigrant communities, communities where there's limited income and that experience racism or marginalization, have [fewer] resources to help them be healthy,” Ferrer said. “One of the main strategies for us in this foundation will be to make sure that those communities are afforded opportunities to have resources that they need for optimal health and well-being.”

In L.A. County, seven public health clinics closed in February, including some located in Lancaster, Downtown L.A., Inglewood, South Central L.A., Hollywood-Wilshire, Pomona and Torrance. 

The closing of these clinics has left many community members without immunization services, STI testing, tuberculosis care and mental health services. 

Bamby Salcedo, president of the TLC, said they will be one of the partnered organizations that will ensure the resources that come out of the fund are rooted in inclusion, equity and protection of transgender individuals, immigrants and low-income folks. 

"It's important that when we talk about healthcare, we are not just talking about physical care. We need to understand that when someone is healthy in their full being, it means their mental, spiritual, sexual and oral health. As an organization, that is what health means to us. We are part of the public leaders responding to the specific needs, especially to those who are most marginalized,” Salcedo told CALÓ News. 

The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA has nine founding board members, including actor and restaurateur Danny Trejo, Academy Award-winning actor, filmmaker and co-founder of the Community Organized Relief Effort Sean Penn and Kristin McCowan, vice president of Government Affairs and Community Relations at the Los Angeles Dodgers, among others. 

“Public-private partnerships are essential to advancing health equity. They allow us to move faster, be more flexible and support communities in ways that traditional systems alone often cannot,” said founding board member Saree Kayne, chief executive officer of the R&S Kayne Foundation. 

According to the fund, the board is in charge of bringing different perspectives to the table that could support critical health infrastructure for L.A. County residents.

“What I've learned is that health is everywhere,” Trejo said at Friday's press conference. “Homes, our schools, and our neighborhoods. I've seen how a lack of resources, exposure to drugs and limited opportunities can shape a person's future and how the right support at the right time can change it.”

The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA will start accepting monetary donations to reach its initial goal. For more information, visit https://advancingpublichealthla.org/pledge