Bay Area IAF organizations have been in local action for years around issues effecting immigrants, and are getting ready for federal immigration reform. Leaders in Marin, Sonoma, Solano, and Napa counties have been organizing immigration workshops and clinics aimed at connecting immigrants with trusted legal support, educating people about immigration reform proposals, and building a constituency of immigrant and non-immigrant leaders to lay the local foundation for a successful pathway to citizenship. Since December, more than 500 people have participated in workshops and clinics focused on youth applying for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and over 100 native-born allies have taken part in local Immigration Action Team workshops on the history and current implications of US immigration policy.

 

One LA leaders fought for and won "Community Partner Status" with the LA County Department of Health Services, granting it direct access to the county enrollment system. Now 50 leaders will train to become 'Certified Application Assisters', with the power to directly enroll people through the County computer system at 25 One LA mobile enrollment events at member institutions. They will be supported 30 leaders at each institution trained as 'healthcare experts,' who will educate and recruit people to attend their institiution's events. The goal is to enroll thousands of eligible LA residents.

Over President's Day Weekend 51 leaders took part in a three-day Spanish language training which included a track in English. Leaders are preparing for the founding of a new IAF effort in the Bay Area, set for June 2013.

Check out video about the training

At the invitation of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, the Episcopal seminary at Berkeley's Graduate Theological Union, the Bay Area Organizing Committee (BAOC) led a week-long January intercession class in 'Organizing for Congregational Renewal.' Thirty-one seminarians, local clergy and lay leaders from Christian and Jewish congregations participated, experiencing an intensive training in broad-based organizing.

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When COPA leaders discovered a lapsed initiative to provide healthcare to low-income adults in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, leaders organized an assembly with seven out of the ten county supervisors and leveraged commitments to bust through the political blockage to resurrect ViaCare. Congregational and labor leaders of COPA rejoiced when the Monterey Board of Supervisors voted to implement the Low Income Health Care Plan (LIHP) and to extend healthcare coverage to as many as 1,500 additional adults. Said St. Mary of the Nativity Catholic Church and SEIU United Long Term Care Worker leader Mario Torres: "Now sooner, rather than later, I will have a doctor's appointment and that feels great."

Monterey County Board of Supervisors Approve...Pilot Program, SEIU-ULTCW

"With the presidential election over and the nation's healthcare overhaul moving forward, California officials have less than a year to clear up widespread uncertainty about future medical coverage options....Community, religious and health advocacy organizations are expected to play a critical role. Chu of One LA said the best outreach strategy is inviting people to sit down with someone they trust. 'This isn't a model of let's build it and they will come,' he said. 'They have got to go to where the customers are.'"

California Works to Get Word Out on Health Insurance Exchange, Los Angeles Times

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"The work of citizenship does not begin and end with voting because politics is not just about elections. Elections are important moments in time when we ratify decisions shaped by months and years of political action. Politics is about coming together across differences and making decisions about how we want to live together. Politics requires relationship and negotiation and compromise..."

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Leaders created additional economic opportunities for workers by pushing through a "preference policy" prioritizing local bids for contracts and vending with the City of Santa Cruz and Monterey County. This is part of COPA's regional strategy to promote hiring by municipal and school district entities from within Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey.

"Renewed hope was the sentiment of most people attending a Sept. 6 health care assembly, after state officials committed to create a system where public and private insurance providers offer education, affordable insurance and quality care…"

State Officials Urges to Make Healthcare More Affordable, The Tidings

"Tony Cardoso didn't think there was much point to voting. After all, what could his one vote do? Then he learned about an organization of 24 religious, education and nonprofit groups working together to solve economic and social justice issues....Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action, or COPA, launched a campaign Monday to push for affordable housing, health care access, public safety, economic and educational opportunity, and immigration reform."

Campaign Seeks to Enlist Voters in Support of Social Change: COPA Sets Agenda for Host of Issues Including Housing, Immigration, Santa Cruz Sentinel

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