Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma
What is the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma?
The Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma (LBACA), started in 1999, is a partnership to improve the lives of children with asthma in the Long Beach community and surrounding areas of Carson, Wilmington and San Pedro, California. A program of Miller Children’s Hospital of Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, LBACA was one of 7 sites in the US and Puerto Rico awarded grants under the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation’s Allies Against Asthma program, one of 12 sites in California awarded grants under The California Endowment’s Community Action to Fight Asthma (CAFA) program and also recently received funding from the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s British Petroleum Settlement for the new program expansion into communities outside of Long Beach.
What are the coalition’s current activities?
LBACA’s activities include a community health worker home visiting program, an asthma resource center, Physician Asthma Care Education training to improve physician asthma management skills and training medical assistants to provide asthma education to patients at provider sites. LBACA is also teaming up with schools, after-school programs, parks and recreational centers to develop asthma-friendly environments and policies; and mobilizing the community to respond to air quality issues, both indoors and outdoors.
To view LBACA’s strategic plan link to for more detailed information about its programs: http://www.lbaca.org/pages/english/strategicplan.htm
What are the coalition’s long-term objectives?
1) To change the profile of childhood asthma in the most affected areas of the City of Long Beach, Carson, Wilmington and San Pedro through improved healthcare delivery and quality, outreach, education, support systems, improved living environments and changes in policy at all levels.
2) To improve clinical outcomes including reduction in preventable hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and school absenteeism due to asthma, and enhanced quality of life measures.
Who is represented in the coalition?
To view an updated list of LBACA’s coalition membership, and it current and past funding agencies, link to http://www.lbaca.org/pages/english/enghome.htm
LBACA’s Current Activities
LBACA creates a monthly newsletter which contains recent scientific studies, coalition membership spotlights, asthma education and policy related activities and other updates about LBACA. Please link to the past 4 month’s newsletters at (left hand side under “Newsletters”): http://www.lbaca.org/pages/english/enghome.htm
LBACA’s CAFA-Funded Policy Work
LBACA identified the policy priority areas of Housing and Outdoor Air for its activities under CAFA II.
Outdoor Air Pollution
LBACA has been working hard as part of a number of coalitions to curb Port and Goods Movement-related pollution. Its key issues are:
(1) Work with the Mayor of Los Angeles’ Los Angeles Working Group for the Environment, Ports Subcommittee to encourage stricter pollution control strategies for the twin ports’ Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP). Although these efforts, set to “go live” this month, are a step forward for the communities near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, there is a great deal of work to be done to ensure that the ports continue to protect the health of local communities. http://www.polb.com/environment/air_quality/clean_air_action_plan.asp
(2) Work with the Mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach’s Goods Movement Advisory Task Force for the Bond (Prop 1B) to ensure that communities are protected in any infrastructure projects that may be bond funded, should it pass on November 7th. LBACA was one of four community organizations present at the 6 months of meetings to determine what the allocation criteria for the bond monies should be and pushed for clear criteria that protect the health of local communities. (For Prop 1B details link to http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2006/1B_11_2006.htm)
(3) LBACA also has been working with local communities and coalitions to ensure that the expansion of the local 710 freeway occurs in a clean and safe way. As part of the Coalition for Environmental Health & Justice, LBACA will be fighting for clean and alternative options as opposed to concreting and building our way out of congestion problems being generated by expansion of the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
(4) As the ports continue to expand into our communities, so do the other associated “Goods Movement” links to the chain. In particular, LBACA has been one of many community groups extremely concerned about a proposed Intermodal Railyard facility nicknamed the SCIG (For more SCIG details, link to: http://www.portoflosangeles.org/facilities_Rail.htm#scig). LBACA helped to pack the house of local community meetings requesting that the Ports expand their on-dock rail capacity rather than expand their railyards into communities, directly adjacent to schools, day care centers, parks and neighborhoods. As the SCIG project “heats up” LBACA has continued to meet with Harbor Commissioners at the Port of Los Angeles about the health impacts that such a project would cause.
(5) The hits just keep on coming! There are many more proposed projects impacting our communities and their health. As outlined in the California Air Resources Board’s Emission Reduction Plan, the health impacts are real and immense. In the coming months, LBACA will have its policy activities more clearly outlined on its website with a calendar of events and ways to get involved! www.lbaca.org
Housing
(1) LBACA has created a new community group through collaboration with the Community Partnership Council (CPC) called the Health & Housing group. Through our monthly meetings we have been able to train community members on local housing advocacy opportunities and on tenant rights and responsibilities. These community moms have become involved in local housing projects by attending city council meetings and advocating for increased affordable housing in Long Beach.
(2) LBACA also joined Housing Long Beach a coalition lead by the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles County with housing advocates, local developers and activists working towards increased affordable and livable housing in Long Beach. Through the work of this coalition LBACA has involved its Health & Housing trained advocates in numerous local advocacy and education efforts.
(3) Through the community advocacy efforts of LBACA’s community base, the local South Coast Air Quality Management District awarded LBACA with it’s Clean Air Award!! For more information, link to: http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/2006/CleanAirAwards2006.htm
(4) LBACA looks forward to 2006 to begin increasing its community base, its education of those members and to work more actively to improve local code enforcement and housing inspection through collaboration with California Asthma Partners.
LBACA’s Staff
You can link to bios of LBACA’s staff at: http://www.lbaca.org/pages/english/staff.htm
Contact us with any questions or comments:
Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma
2651 Elm Ave, suite 100
Long Beach, CA 90806
562-427-4249
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