Vitalyst Spark

E108: Innovative Housing Solutions - The Arizona Housing Fund

Throughout the life of this podcast, we’ve hosted a few episodes speaking to the importance of housing.  Those conversations often center on the critical roles that government can and should play in preventing and addressing homelessness and housing instability in Arizona. Today’s episode, however, features someone who’s developed a unique take on housing solutions in Arizona. Howard Epstein, by trade, is a national executive for Bank of America, and by passion, he’s the creator of the Arizona Housing Fund, a voluntary donation-based fund that’s working to bring permanent supportive housing to vulnerable Arizonans.

 

The Arizona Housing Fund – www.arizonahousingfund.org

E107: Health on the Ballot

Arizona’s general election is right around the corner, and this presents an incredible opportunity for us to ensure that the people we elect and the policies we pass set Arizona on a promising path toward improved health and well-being. Ballot measures may not always be top-of-mind during an election, but their existence and their implications are critically important to our state. Today, we’re speaking with three local leaders who will give us their thoughts on a selection of ballot measures connected to civic health and health equity. Today, we’re encouraging you, our listeners, to vote and to vote in support of community health and well-being.

 

You may not know this, but nonprofits are allowed to advocate for/against public policy. As a nonprofit that recognizes the community health implications of public policy, Vitalyst Health Foundation is using our voice and taking a stance on 7 of the 10 ballot measures, and we encourage others to do the same.

 

• Vote NO on Props 128, 132 and 309.  These ideas jeopardize civic health by silencing the voice and eroding the power of Arizona’s voters. 132 specifically would have devastating effects.
• Vote YES on 209, 211, 308 and 310. These hold great promise to protect vulnerable Arizonans from the downward spiral of medical bankruptcy, build transparency and civility in our elections, provide fair tuition rates to all Arizonans, and fund Arizona’s fire districts – all of which help to create healthier communities.

E106: Dear Candidates

On November 8^th, Arizonans will cast their votes to determine who will represent their interests at the legislature and in other statewide offices, including that of the Governor. In our daily lives, we’re only exposed to a handful of these candidates – often through television ads and local media – but that’s just the tip of the iceberg of candidates running for office; candidates who need your vote and need to be informed about the issues that matter to you. In this episode, the team at Vitalyst has come together to highlight some of the issues that we believe are of critical importance for candidates to understand and consider as they move closer to obtaining public office.

• Bolder Advocacy – Policy and advocacy resources for nonprofits.
• Alliance for Arizona Nonprofits – Statewide association for nonprofits.
• Coconino Coalition for Children and Youth – Northern AZ coalition focused on children’s well-being.
• Arizona Housing Coalition – Statewide coalition dedicated to housing policy and advocacy.
• Southwest Folklife Alliance – Nonprofit focused on building more vibrant communities through the celebration of culture.
• AZ Food Systems Network – Statewide coalition dedicated to building more affordable, accessible and sustainable food systems.
• Center for the Future of Arizona – Creator of the Arizonan Voters’ Agenda and the Arizona Progress Meters

E105: Solari Crisis & Human Services

Today we’re joined by Justin Chase, President and CEO of Solari Crisis and Human Services. As you’ll hear from Justin, Solari, formerly known as Crisis Response Network, provides an array of important resources to individuals experiencing challenging times. These challenges could range from a mother needing to locate to closest food bank, to finding a safe place for your loved one who’s experiencing a bipolar episode. Solari even works with 911 dispatch units to refer mental health calls to appropriate levels of care. Solari is a connector. They improve community health by improving connections between people during some of life’s most difficult periods. Solari’s mission is simple: Inspiring Hope. And after hearing from Justin, it’s easy to see exactly what that means.

Links:
Solari Crisis and Human Services Website: www.solari-inc.org
Arizona Crisis Line: 1-800-631-1314
Arizona Warm Line: 602-347-1100
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Vitalyst’s Discovery Portal: www.vitalysthealth.org/partnering-with-vitalyst

E104: Center for the Future of Arizona - The Arizona Voters’ Agenda

Today we’re talking with Dr. Amanda Burke from the Center for the Future of Arizona about the Arizona Voters’ Agenda, a new resource which takes a radically different look at voters’ interests and political campaigns in Arizona. What is this radically different approach? Instead of continuing to fuel the fires of division that seem to inundate our lives, CFA’s latest research reveals the issues that a majority of us actually agree on. As it turns out, despite the smoldering embers we constantly encounter, there is plenty of untapped common ground where Arizonans agree – common ground which, if championed by political candidates, could lead to a winning formula for elections and an improved quality of life for Arizonans. Speaking of elections, Arizona’s 2022 Primary and General elections are on the horizon (August 2^nd and November 8^th, 2022).  Make sure your voice is heard by visiting www.arizona.vote.

 

• The Arizona Voters’ Agenda can be found at www.arizonafuture.org
• Make your voice heard in the upcoming elections by visiting www.arizona.vote

E103: Creating a Trauma-Informed Arizona

Today we’re joined by two Arizonans working to create healthier communities that recognize, address and prevent traumatic experiences. We’re not referring to the type of trauma you see in the traffic section of the news each day. Rather, we’re discussing the impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs, as they’re commonly known) and toxic stress that can stem from harmful relationships with the people, places and policies that surround each of us. These experiences are often connected with things like abuse and neglect, domestic violence, substance abuse in the home, or the loss of a loved one. Sadly, recent evidence indicates that Arizona has the highest rate in the nation of people experiencing multiple ACEs. Today’s guests are working to change that. Angie Burleson is the Executive Director of the Arizona ACEs Consortium, a statewide collaborative that engages professionals and agencies to increase awareness about the causes, effects, and opportunities to decrease ACEs in our community. They do so, in part, by training school leaders, teachers and staff to create trauma-sensitive environments for Arizona’s children. Shomari Jackson is a member of the ACEs Consortium and is incoming Executive Director of the South Mountain Works Coalition, a non-profit working with youth and leaders in the South Mountain communities of Phoenix to prevent substance abuse.  If you or anyone you know are navigating through a traumatic experience, or if it would be helpful to speak with a peer who’s gone through a similar experience, support is always available by calling Arizona’s Crisis Line at 1-800-631-1314 or by calling the Peer Support Warm Line at 602-347-1100.

E102: What Makes Vitalyst, Vitalyst? A Conversation with President & CEO, Suzanne Pfister

For more than 100 episodes, we’ve hosted this podcast to highlight the inspiring work of Arizonans working to create healthier communities. We’ve spoken with experts focused on a wide range of issues, ranging from food systems to housing to transportation, as well as local leaders among Arizona’s Latino, Black, Tribal and Rural communities. Today, we’re doing something a little different. Today, we’re taking a moment to look inward, to pull back the curtain, and to better understand the motivations, milestones and mechanics of Vitalyst Health Foundation. This is a conversation with President and CEO, Suzanne Pfister. If you’ve ever been curious about what makes Vitalyst Vitalyst, or what the future of community health may hold, this is the episode for you. We hope you enjoy.

 

Referenced Materials:

• Vitalyst’s Strategic Roadmap Refresh
• Elements of a Healthy Community Wheel (English and Spanish)
• Elements of a Healthy Tribal Community Wheel
• Publication – Cost Containment through Collaboration
• Publication – How School Districts Can Create Housing Opportunities

E101: Refugee Health in Arizona

Today we’re taking a long-overdue look at the health and well-being of refugee communities in our state. You may not know this, but Arizona is widely known as a welcoming state for refugees from around the world. These are individuals and families who have fled their home countries due to persecution or fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. In the last six months (October ’21 through March ’22), Arizona has helped over 2,600 people resettle, the majority of whom are fleeing Afghanistan. This brings us to today’s panel discussion with a local leader from Lutheran Social Services – a refugee resettlement agency in Arizona – and two local representatives of We Are All America (one of whom is a former refugee from Afghanistan, and the other a former refugee from Bosnia-Herzegovina). We hope you enjoy.

E100: Womens History Month in Arizona

On today’s episode (the 100th episode of the Vitalyst Spark Podcast!), we’re capping off Women’s History Month by bringing you a conversation with Dr. Amalia Luxardo, CEO of the Women’s Foundation for the State of Arizona. Dr. Luxardo graciously shares her personal journey to her leadership role at the Women’s Foundation and gives us a glimpse into how Arizona’s women and girls are forging new paths to social, political and economic change.

E99: COVID-19 Roundtable Update

Well, this it. Barring any unforeseen developments (knock on wood), this is the last COVID-19 Roundtable episode of the Vitalyst Spark Podcast. We’re not out of the woods, but case numbers and deaths are rapidly declining, hospital admissions have waned, and the latest CDC guidance shows Arizona moving toward a low level of community risk.  So, for what we hope will be our final COVID-19 Roundtable discussion, we brought our panelists back to reflect on the past two years – the successes, the challenges and the lessons learned