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A Program of the South Los Angeles Community Health Council
Fact Sheet Project Profile
HISTORY OF THE AHRT COALITION:
The South Los Angeles Community Health Council (formerly the South Central/Watts/Willowbrook Council) brought a group of consumers, health care providers, health advocates, and representatives from educational and religious institutions and public health agencies together in May 1996 to begin a dialog on the issues affecting the physical and mental health of adolescents in South Los Angeles. The response to the discussion was positive, with many members of the initial group requesting to continue meeting as a workgroup. In March 1997 the workgroup formalized as the Adolescent Health Roundtable Coalition (AHRT) whose mission was to ensure that every child in the South Los Angeles community reach adulthood as a self-sufficient, independent person, having experienced a safe, healthy and nurturing childhood.
AHRT Meeting Schedule and Projects:
- The AHRT Coalition meets monthly. Quarterly meetings are held at the offices of Community Health Councils, Inc. and, to allow for on-going youth participation, the Coalition meets on a rotating basis at high schools within the South Los Angeles community (Crenshaw, Dorsey, Fremont, Jefferson, Manual Arts and Washington Preparatory) in the intervening months.
- The Focus Group Project - Six focus groups/"Speak-Outs" were conducted in the summer and fall of 1997 with youth participants from local community programs and schools (including one drop-in shelter for homeless youth). Groups were conducted to encourage youth to discuss with their peers, in an open, non-judgmental environment, the issues they felt impacted their health and the health of their families and community. The groups were also conducted to provide coalition members with a better understanding of the health needs of youth in this community.
- The "Youth Training Youth Leaders" Pilot Project (YTYL) - With special assistance from the Los Angeles Chapter of Jack & Jill of America, Inc. (LAC - JJOA) and the Fremont Resource Coordinating Council, the AHRT Coalition developed and conducted a 4-week/16-hour pilot leadership training program for Fremont High School students. Sessions were facilitated by Shade Tree Multicultural Foundation. Youth coalition participants, along with the Girls Club of L.A, T.H.E. Clinic, the South Central Family and Hubert H. Humphrey Health Centers and the Crenshaw/Dorsey, Jefferson, Manual Arts and Washington Clusters of the Los Angeles Unified School District participated in the development of this project. The Coalition is currently seeking the funds to implement similar projects at high schools throughout South Los Angeles.
- The South Los Angeles Teen Resource Guide - At the recommendation of both focus group participants and teen participants of the Coalition, a one page, two-sided resource guide, with services specific for the South Los Angeles area youth, was developed in the Fall of 1999. The guides will be ready for distribution to high schools and youth organizations in the first quarter of 2000.
FUNDING:
Major funding for the South Los Angeles Community Health Council and the Adolescent Health Roundtable Coalition is provided by a Community Integrated Service Systems grant from the Federal Maternal Child Health Bureau. Funding for the "Youth Training Youth Leaders" project was provided by the Jack and Jill of America Foundation, Inc. and the Los Angeles Chapter of JJOA. Corporate donations provided incentives and support the focus group and youth leadership training projects.
PROJECT PROFILE:
History of the Coalition:
The Adolescent Health Roundtable Coalition was convened in May, 1996 by the South Central/ Watts/Willowbrook Community Health Council as a way of bringing together consumers, health care providers, community-based organizations, religious and educational institutions and public health agencies together to discuss and develop strategies to improve the health status of adolescents in the South Central, Watts and Willowbrook communities. Initial areas of concern included lack of access to and education re: immunizations and mental health services. The Coalition was committed to "move to action", to develop a strong advocacy base and to support youth in gaining a voice in program development and planning.
Mission Statement:
"It is the intent of the South Los Angeles Adolescent Health Roundtable Coalition that every child in our community reaches adulthood as a self-sufficient, independent person, having experienced a safe, healthy and nurturing childhood."
Goals:
- to develop a broad based, multi-disciplinary coalition of community agencies and youth that oversee and support the development of effective and innovative programs that promotes the physical, emotional, spiritual, educational and political well-being of youth
- to recognize and treat youth as thinking individuals
- to create more opportunities for youth to be heard
Objectives:
- to establish a resource and referral network
- to develop a system for inter-agency communication and cooperation for implementing programs and securing funding
- to develop a strong advocacy base
- to provide opportunities for youth to acquire collaborative skills
Membership:
Membership initially consisted of agencies and organizations located in or serving the residents of the SCWW community. When the South Central/Watts/Willowbrook and Crenshaw/Adams health councils merged, agencies serving the latter community soon came to the table. The current membership includes representatives from LAUSD clusters, high schools, teen parenting program and school based clinic administrators; Los Angeles County - Departments of Health Services and Public Health administrators: Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, Community
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