Health for All

Democracy for All | Equality for All

Did you know ...

      … that the rate of growth in the spread of HIV in the San Diego/Tijuana region is now faster among women of color than it is among gay men?

      … that over 31 percent of Latinos in San Diego County lacked health insurance for all or part of last year?

      … that Latinos and Native Americans in San Diego County are more than twice as likely as Whites to lack a usual source of medical care?

      … that San Diego County is losing $40 million a year in federal help because of its substandard participation rate in the food stamps program?

Worker Health & Justice

Subject to enormous stress and most often living and working in sub-standard conditions, immigrants working in the informal sector of the economy face both enormous health challenges and innumerable obstacles – cultural, legal, institutional and economic – to gaining access to even basic health services.  When illness strikes or times get tough, workers like these are too often left in the dark, with little support on the ground and little recourse to hold employers accountable for lost wages, medical services or other forms of assistance.  Times of economic crisis and natural disaster merely serve to highlight what are ongoing, urgent needs.

 In 2009 and 2010 the Foundation for Change awarded grants totaling $175,000 to grassroots organizations engaged in advancing the workplace and reproductive health and rights of this most vulnerable population.

Under the leadership of Program Officer Andrea Rocha, these 2009 grantees Funds are being incorporated into a Social Justice Network for Immigrant and Border Communities.  Only by creating a lasting and vibrant network of this sort will the people living in San Diego’s immigrant and border communities be able to thrive in these challenging times.

We understand that in this kind of work indigenous leadership is of the essence. Our grants guidelines make clear that the Foundation for change will “only fund the work of groups that are: committed to democratic and participatory styles of leadership.” 

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Want to learn more about our other initiatives?  Visit: Democracy for All and Equality for All.

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Fires - Fund for Change

“I wanted my relief dollars to go to local groups that would get immediate help to communities that have the least and need the most. That’s why I chose the Foundation for Change.”- Chuck Lowery, Pacific Bakery

In October of 2007, the San Diego community mobilized in the face of disaster. We joined in saying "thank you!" to firefighters and other loyal workers from the public, private and non-profit sectors who helped so many get through the week. We also applauded the tens of thousands of San Diegans who contributed hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to emergency relief.

And yet, for all the good they did, mainstream relief efforts were hampered by social structures which impair their ability to help those most in need.

As the smoke cleared we learned that thousands of San Diegans unable to prove residency in evacuated neighborhoods were denied access to emergency services. Thousands more steered clear of mainstream services for fear of being reported to immigration authorities. This fear appears well-founded: in the first days of the fire more than one hundred immigrants were seized and deported, and area law enforcement officers were instructed to enforce immigration laws even while pursuing humanitarian assignments.

In response to this humanitarian crisis, the Foundation for Change established the “Fires Fund for Change.” Grants distributed from this fund offered critical resources to organizations with demonstrated capacity for reaching the hardest-to-reach populations with emergency assistance, advocacy vis-à-vis mainstream relief organizations and documentation of abuse.