Alliances and partnerships with leading organizations, grassroots community groups, legislators, governmental departments, and all interested allies are developed and built by every member and collectively in order to support the implementation our strategic programs.
POCHEC
POCHEC, People of Color Health Equity Collaborative was found in 2009 by four organizations: THE-TREE Institute, Oregon Action, APANO Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon, and Urban League of Portland. With the passage of the HB 2009 and HB2116 where chronic health equity issues were left out affecting communities of immigrants and refugees, such as Latinos and Africans, Asians, African Americans, LGBT, Day Laborers, Homeless among other low income people, the community leaders of these organizations created POCHEC as the newest political strategic action. Eventually, in 2010 Northwest Health Foundation through its Kaiser Permanente Fund has become the main source of fund for POCHEC.
THE-TREE Institute, using its CHARLA 2009 strategies of grassroots organizing to engage and develop health advocacy capacity among immigrants and refugees, has committed to enlarge POCHEC’s capacity and to become a statewide collaborative. During 2010 two strategic actions were successful:
1-The creation and implementation, with NWHF funds, the CHARLA 2010-2011 with four other grassroots organizations: African Women’s Coalition (Portland), Mujeres Luchadoras Progresistas (Woodburn), Mano a Mano Family Center/Latinos Unidos Siempre (Salem), and The Next Door Inc/Nuestra Comunidad Sana (Hood River).
2- Invited and support other Latino and/or low income organizations to be at the POCHEC table: VOZ Workers’ Rights Education Project (Portland), CAUSA Immigrants Rights Coalition, Oregon Latino Health Coalition, and Sisters of the Road.
The goals of POCHEC for these 2010 and 2011 were envisioned as:
1- to open up political spaces for the voice of millions of Oregonians members of those communities
2- to recruit and develop the leadership and advocacy of at least 20 new POCHEC leaders to increase our capacityto work during 2011 Legislative Session
3- to engage at least 10 other community organizations that can represent such communities expanding POCHEC to a statewide FULL Collaborative