Sacramento equity summit focuses on how we can help the most vulnerable thrive
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- Sacramento County convened the biennial T.H.R.I.V.E. summit to center equity.
- Speakers and community groups targeted homelessness, housing, public safety and health.
- County shifted $4.4M via participatory grants to support underfunded neighborhoods.
Equity was the topic and the focus for those who attended or live-streamed Sacramento County’s day-long summit at Sacramento State on Wednesday.
Hundreds of Sacramento County staff and community leaders came together for the biennial T.H.R.I.V.E. summit, which was titled “Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges.” They discussed housing, public safety, behavioral health and food access in the region.
The event is part of Sacramento County’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiative. Cephoni Jackson, the chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer for Sacramento County, said the summit provided a platform to discuss equity in the region.
“Equity is about what the needs are in order to create a more fair system,” Jackson said. “It could be applied in multiple areas...we need to really center the needs of the most vulnerable and make sure that their voices are heard, that their needs are met, so that all of us can thrive.”
Jackson added that the summit focused on issues affecting Sacramento County’s most vulnerable communities, including homelessness. According to Sacramento County’s Point in Time count, more than 6,000 people in the region experienced homelessness. During the summit, the county shared a video of multiple temporary shelters and programs, including Joshua’s House and Safe Stay, to show how its addressing homelessness.
“The goal is for us to recast our vision to the community, to let them know that equity is not just an initiative, but it’s an integral part of our culture and our operations,” Jackson said. “We also want to make sure that we are centering (community) voices and bringing them along as a partner and a collaborator in the work that we do.”
Speakers included Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna, Deputy County Executive Eric Jones, Director of Homeless and Housing Services Emily Halcon, and covered a range of topics, from homelessness to law enforcement.
A presentation from Sacramento County’s Community Health in Action, described as a “community-led coalition” on its website, shared the results of its Youth Academy, which offered mentoring to Sacramento youth.
This three-week program included student-led projects related to housing, food access and mental health barriers. CHIA also shared that its housing security subcommittee wants to reduce evictions in Sacramento County by 50%, working hand-in-hand with legal counsel and renters assistance organizations.
Community initiatives and programs
T.H.R.I.V.E. is the result of a racial equity summit in 2023, where the majority of feedback the county received wanted more “community facing initiatives and programs,” Jackson said.
April Jean, the chief executive officer of Pure Jeanius Consulting, said Sacramento County has an external racial equity committee focused on the needs of marginalized communities. This includes reorganizing the allocations of funds throughout the county to address equity issues and changing regional policies.
So far, Sacramento County started participatory grant-making with First Five Sacramento Commission. Jean said the county’s equity committee led the reallocation of $4.4 million to First Five to support Sacramento’s “most underfunded neighborhoods,” she said. Jean said the county has not decided on which areas to focus, or what policies will be changed.
“The first step is really creating the structure, the conditions and the container for (the county) to build this community driven advisory group,” Jean said.
