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School-Based Health Centers Are Essential

School-Based Health Centers Are Essential

Every day Vesper Society links arms with leaders and communities to uplift through service, break down barriers, and elevate community voices. This month we highlight the importance of school-based health centers. The California School-Based Health Alliance reports that “most of California’s more than 10,000 schools do not have the resources to meet their students’ physical and mental health care needs. Only 43 percent of public school districts in California have a nurse, and only two percent of schools have a school-based health center. And yet, students are six times more likely to receive evidence-based services in a school compared to other community settings. School-based services are therefore essential to ensuring students have access to timely and quality mental health.” For over two decades, La Clinica de la Raza has provided health care services and education at its eight School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs). La Clinica has worked closely with school partners to expand the reach and scope of school health services in Oakland, San Lorenzo, and San Leandro. In collaboration with the Alameda Health Care Services Agency, La Clinica delivered primary medical, dental, vision, behavioral health, and health education services to over 3,000 youth in 2021. As schools begin the new year, clinics are leading outreach efforts to ensure linkage to care, especially behavioral health services. Staff are seeing unprecedented behavioral health needs across all school sites, and an increase in suicidality and depression as youth adjust to the loss of loved ones. Behavioral health clinicians are helping students deal with grief and anxiety. Youth are experiencing social anxiety as they transition back to in-person learning, with many attending a new school for the first time. Clinics are seeing more students who report thoughts of self-harm, and there is an increase in fights and student conflicts on campus. Given the... Read More

Vesper Board Visits Humboldt County

Vesper Board Visits Humboldt County

Vesper Society believes a just society begins when everyone is well and respected as a human being. Every day we link arms with leaders and communities to uplift through service, break down barriers, and elevate community voices. Last month, Vesper board members immersed themselves in Humboldt – Del Norte Counties to listen and learn from community leaders. Board members gathered in the Bay Area on a Wednesday, carpooled five hours north to Humboldt County, and over the next two days learned about a part of the state that many had never visited before. We are deeply grateful to our partners for welcoming us to the land of the Wiyot, Yurok, and Hoopa Valley Tribes. Ancestral Guard, United Indian Health Services, K’ima:w Medical Center, and Two Feathers Native American Family Services told stories, introduced their staff, board members, family members, and youth, leaving an indelible mark on the Vesper board members. During three evening dinners, we met with Wiyot Cultural Center, Mayor of Eureka, First Five Humboldt, Yurok Tribe, Humboldt Area Foundation, Cal Poly Humboldt, and Blue Lake Rancheria. At its Saturday meeting, board members reflected on the purpose of the visit: to listen, learn, and understand the people, place, and possibilities. The power and beauty of Native peoples and culture, the connection between the health of the people and the land, and the profound sense of community-based leadership transformed how Vesper board members see the region. The coming years will bring major developments to this northwestern part of California. The largest dam removal in US history will begin on the mighty Klamath River next year. Cal Poly Humboldt will be doubling their student population in the next seven years. The first west coast offshore wind farm is being planned in Humboldt. Vesper is honored to walk alongside our partners... Read More

Congratulations Sid Stolz!

Congratulations Sid Stolz!

Vesper Society believes in a just society where everyone is well and respected as a human being. Our board members exemplify these values and we celebrate Sidney (Sid) Stolz, Vesper Board Chair, who recently joined Blue Zones, LLC as its Chief Design and Experience Officer. His primary focus will be the Blue Zone brand and the Blue Legacy Ventures project in Miami, Florida. What are Blue Zones? Blue Zones, LLC was founded by Dan Buettner who expanded the demographic work of Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain by identifying five places around the world with the highest concentration of centenarians: Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California. Buettner’s research pointed to nine specific lifestyle habits that lead to longevity, now called the Power of 9. In April 2020 Adventist Health acquired Blue Zones as part of its effort to redefine healthcare in the United States. Adventist Health has always believed in creating environments of belonging and easy access to healthy lifestyles, and they know the future of healthcare goes beyond the role of traditional hospitals. Adventist Health is launching a Blue Zones project in every community where they have a presence. In Miami, they have partnered with RPC Legacy Hotel and Residences to open the first flagship well-being and medical facility. The Blue Zone experience at Legacy will combine modern medicine, holistic healing, and the most sophisticated artificial intelligence and technology. Sid Stolz brings more than 35 years of healthcare experience, holding leadership positions at CVS Health/Caremark, United Health Group, Towers Watson, and Maxicare. Sid holds a bachelor of arts in economics from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, and a masters of business administration from the University of Texas at Austin. Sid is a member of Augustana Lutheran Church, Washington, D.C., one of the... Read More

Remembering Secretary Norman Y. Mineta (1931-2022)

Remembering Secretary Norman Y. Mineta (1931-2022)

Vesper Society believes a just society begins when everyone is well and respected as a human being. Every day we link arms with leaders to uplift through service, break down barriers, and elevate community voices. In doing so, we are closer to a vision of a world that protects human dignity and enhances human potential. During this Asian Pacific Islander Heritage month, we lift up the life of an amazing public servant, Norman Mineta, who overcame racial barriers to become mayor of San Jose in 1971 and who served in Congress from 1975-1995. He died on May 3, 2022, at age 90. We post part of a press release by Asian Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), a nonprofit that received a donation from the Vesper Board of Directors Board Designated Fund. “We are heartbroken about the passing of Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. He was a political giant not only for all Americans but especially in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, motivating and mentoring generations of AAPIs to get involved and make a difference.” “Many Americans will remember Secretary Mineta for his calm, competent, and unprecedented response to 9/11, his leadership in the creation of the Transportation Security Administration, and his stewardship of the legislation that helped victims of Japanese American internment camps receive reparations. For many of us he will also be remembered as a founding father of the ecosystem that created many AAPI advocacy organizations that exist today – including APIAVote.” “Secretary Mineta leaves behind a big hole not only in our communities and in our hearts, but within the political world. As a true bastion of bipartisanship, he represents what is missing in today’s politics. As he once said, ‘there are no Democratic or Republican bridges.’ Secretary Mineta worked across the aisle to empower... Read More

The Spirit of Renewal

The Spirit of Renewal

Vesper Society believes a just society begins when everyone is well and respected as a human being. We also understand that our well-being is deeply connected to the health of our planet. In Humboldt County, the Yurok Tribe has been working for the past 14 years to restore the condor to its ancestral home, 100 years after it was poached, poisoned, and decimated. [Photo credit: Time-Standard March 31, 2022, Courtesy of Matt Mais/Yurok Tribe] We celebrate the milestone return of  four California condors to the Redwood National Park this month. We lift up the voices of Yurok Tribal leaders as they talk about the significance of this moment. ‘The Spirit of Renewal’: Yurok Tribe, Parks Official Prep for California Condor Release, By Mario Cortez, Times-Standard, Eureka, CA April 12, 2022 Yurok Chairman Joseph L. James spoke about the importance of the California condor, known in the Yurok language as “prey-go-neesh” and its return to the region. “It is a beautiful day, a blessed day, an exciting day for the tribal government,” James said. “We use our condors in our ceremonies and use our condors and our prayers to uplift us again as we dance in our high country. Everything is about balance…. They’ll be flying back above the sky, providing that balance for us as Indigenous people.” Yurok Tribe Member Tiana Williams-Claussen heads the Yurok Wildlife Department and is a culture bearer. She has spent her professional career working to restore the condors’ presence in Yurok lands and skies. “Condors are actually the largest land-based bird in North America with a wingspan of nine-and-a-half feet and serve a vital function as a scavenger, exemplifying that spirit of renewal by going across the landscape and cleaning up the environment in a way that humans or even other scavengers can’t do,” Williams-Claussen... Read More

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