Exemplary Health Equity Practice Award
2014 Awardee | SHASTA COUNTY | Exemplary Small County Practice
The Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency, Public Health Branch application features Reach Higher Shasta, a community collaborative focused on addressing the root causes of poverty by increasing educational attainment and career development among Shasta County youth. Based on evidence that education and income are the strongest predictors of premature death, the initiative involves over 45 partner organizations, including all 25 school districts, as well as community organizers who work in the county’s lowest income neighborhoods, isolated rural areas and with racial and ethnic minorities to help build community power. A goal is to improve community health by increasing career opportunities for local youth that will result in higher incomes.