Health Equity and Social Justice Speaker Series

The Health Equity and Social Justice Speaker Series examines racism as both a social and structural determinant of health and a root cause of disparities and inequities in health. Presented by the College of Public Health Alumni Association’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee, the series brings together educators, researchers, activists, providers, and politicians working to address systemic racism. Through conversations with alumni, faculty, and guests, these webinars offer insight into strategies being employed locally, regionally, and nationally to eliminate racial and socioeconomic inequity.

How Community Investment Translates to Safer Communities

April 29, noon–1 p.m.
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In 2018, Kendra Van de Water and James Aye founded Youth Empowerment for Advancement Hangout (YEAH), a nonprofit with a mission to disrupt the cycle of youth community violence in West and Southwest Philadelphia neighborhoods. With all voices at the table, this session brings together young people, advocates, and politicians to examine some of the most pressing issues facing Philadelphia youth and explore solutions for change. The founders of YEAH, youth members of the program, and Philadelphia politicians will engage in a dialogue to:

Discuss YEAH programs and strategies for teens and young adults addressing gun violence and mental health.
Examine social determinants of health, including the provision of basic needs such as access to affordable and nutritious food, clothing, vital documents, and safe and adequate housing.
Explore the structural determinants of health: policies, laws, and practice; funding and budgets; and access and services.
Demonstrate the power of youth leadership and advocacy.

Panelists

Malcolm Kenyatta

Malcolm Kenyatta, KLN '12

Representative Malcolm Kenyatta currently serves as vice chair of the Philadelphia Delegation and as a member of the Governor’s Taskforce on Suicide Prevention and a host of committee leadership positions. He received a B.A. from Temple University and an M.S. from Drexel University, and he has completed the Harvard Kennedy School’s Executives in State and Local Government program. As the first openly LGBTQ person of color and one of the youngest members elected to the PA General Assembly, he is deeply committed to creating an equitable and inclusive society.

As a legislator, he has championed proposals to address generational poverty, raise the minimum wage, protect workers' rights, increase access to mental healthcare, address gun violence, and protect our digital infrastructure. In 2016 and in 2020, he was elected as Delegate to the Democratic Convention (PA 2nd), both times garnering the second-highest vote total of any delegate in the Commonwealth. He has also appeared on local and national media outlets to discuss systemic poverty, affordable education and childcare, and making government more accountable to citizens. He was subject of an award-winning short documentary about his election run, ‘Going Forward’ produced by Seven Knot Productions, which premiered on ‘The Atlantic Magazine Selects’ in 2018. In 2020 he was chosen by Vice President Joe Biden to give the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention along with a group of other ‘Rising Stars.’ He was one of twenty Electoral College votes cast for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, in Harrisburg on December 14, 2020. He lives in North Philadelphia with his partner Dr. Matthew Miller.

Jamie Gauthier

Jamie R. Gauthier, FOX '00

Jamie R. Gauthier, a born-and-raised West Philadelphian, was elected to represent the Third Councilmanic District in November 2019. With two decades of experience fighting for fairness, equality, and justice in neighborhoods throughout the city, Councilmember Gauthier brings a depth of knowledge related to community and economic development, grassroots engagement, and nonprofit administration.

With an eye towards tackling gentrification and poverty in the Third District, Councilmember Gauthier’s agenda prioritizes creating and preserving affordable housing, improving educational outcomes, connecting residents to family-sustaining jobs, and advancing small businesses.

Councilmember Gauthier previously served as Executive Director of the Fairmount Park Conservancy, and held prior leadership roles at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia.

After graduating from Central High School, Councilmember Gauthier received her undergraduate degree from Temple University and her Master’s in Urban Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. She is the only elected official in the City of Philadelphia with a planning degree, offering her a unique perspective on issues ranging from zoning to transportation policy.

Kendra Van de Water

Kendra Van de Water, CPH '10

Kendra Van de Water lives with the belief that challenging oppressive systems creates sustainable change. Her life’s work is to improve the quality of life for people on all levels starting with communities and ensuring policies are representative of people impacted. As a licensed social worker, Kendra’s expertise includes local, state, and national work on improving conditions of confinement, collaborating with law enforcement to improve communities, policy and program implementation, reducing violence, and improving how Philly responds to homicides and provides services to city residents after violent tragedies.

In response to existing organizations and systems not willing to address community issues based on the needs of the individual, specifically for teenagers and young adults, Kendra co-founded Youth Empowerment for Advancement Hangout (YEAH) Inc, a teen-led nonprofit focused on empowering teens in Philly who are impacted by violence to achieve the lives they want and simultaneously reducing youth and community violence. YEAH is a sustainable movement utilizing teen power to reduce neighborhood youth violence and implement programming specifically addressing the complex needs of teens according to them and pushing back against harmful systems and societal narratives. YEAH focuses on a variety of services to improve the lives of teens in underserved and neighborhoods with high rates of violence who are often criminalized by the juvenile justice system. Through investing directly in our teens and communities, teen led mediation and conflict resolution, community and civic engagement, and case management, YEAH empowers teens to be themselves and thrive while providing safe zones and changing the way teens are invested in and work through conflict.

James Aye

James Aye

Born and raised in Philadelphia, James Aye has lived and worked in the same communities throughout his life. With an extensive background in behavioral health, case management, and providing wrap-around services and advocacy for various populations, he has expertise in ensuring people who continue to be oppressed by systems have access to cultural and quality supports. From providing intensive support in community settings, homes, schools, hospitals, and liaising between the community and systems such as healthcare and police, James' background includes managing mental health symptoms, counseling, and connecting youth and adults to sustainable support systems. Prior to YEAH, James worked at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia within their Violence Intervention Program, providing intensive case management and community support to youth ages 10 to 18 in the aftermath of violence and victimization in the community. James is the co-founder of Youth Empowerment for Advancement Hangout (YEAH), which engages teens in Philadelphia who have been impacted by violence and uses teen action to reduce youth community violence. At YEAH, teens lead the way and services such as peer-led mediation, community engagement and case management play a vital role in changing the way violence is reduced in our communities.

Youth members of YEAH Philly will also participate in the panel.

Moderator

Juwan Bennett

Juwan Z. Bennett

Juwan Z. Bennett is a professor of instruction in the Criminal Justice Department at Temple University and a PhD candidate in criminal justice. He also serves as the director for the Temple University Urban Youth Leadership Academy, a program designed to equip the next generation of young leaders. Juwan is the co-founder of the New Life Christian Fellowship Baptist Church, which he co-pastors with his brother, Antonio R. Bennett II, a Philadelphia police officer.

Juwan began his undergraduate career at the age of 15 and has received numerous awards through his academic career. Currently, Juwan is working with Criminal Justice Professor Dr. Jeffrey T. Ward and has published two peer-reviewed journal articles ("Drug markets, violence and the need to incorporate the role of race" and "Differential Applicability of Criminological Theories to Individuals: The Case of Social Learning vis-à-vis Social Control"). Juwan has also been a guest editor for a special issue of the journal Boyhood Studies on the subject of "Masculinity in the School-to-Prison Pipeline." This issue brought together criminologists and education researchers to understand the manner in which the bodies of Black and Latino males are viewed, interacted with, and treated within education and criminal justice institutions that provides a rationalizing frame for how the actions within institutions occur.

In addition to his research and educational experiences, Bennett has served as the deputy coordinator for the Mayor’s Office of Black Male Engagement (Kenney Administration), where he oversaw the Mayor’s Commission on African American Males and implemented the My Brother’s Keeper criminal justice initiative. He currently serves as the reentry coordinator at the Youth Sentencing Reentry Project. In this role, he shapes the direction and delivery of YSRP’s client-partnership model, partners with YSRP’s team and criminal defense attorneys to support reentry planning for youth facing charges in the adult criminal justice system, and collaborates with organizations that provide reentry support services to men, women, and young people returning to the community from either adult or juvenile incarceration settings.

Previous sessions

From Cultural Competency to Structural Competency

Actions to address structural racism: Peer practices and lived experience perspectives
View recording

What more can be done to address the intersection of mental health, substance use disorders, social determinants of health, and racism?

The death of Walter Wallace shines a light on racial disparities for black and brown people in our communities. For people of color who live with behavioral health conditions, addressing racism to advance personal, family and community well-being is a daily practice. Application of social theories to address structural and institutional constructs can and should be lead by the very people impacted. Marrying theory with human-centered design—learning from the journey of those who are impacted by changes in policies, programs and practices—can yield innovative ways to move from cultural competency to structural competency and change.

This lunch and learn features a panel of distinguished alumni and guests, who will share their lived and professional experiences in the public behavioral health fields and discuss the work they have done to address the intersection of racism, trauma and social determinants of health.

Moderated by Mark Salzer, professor and director of the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities.

Panelists

Keris Jän Myrick, MBA, MS, PhDc, FOX '91

Keris Jän Myrick is a director at the Jed Foundation and co-director of S2i, the foundation’s Mental Health Strategic Impact Initiative. Previously, she was chief of peer and allied health professions for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, served as the director of the Office of Consumer Affairs for the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) of the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and was the board president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Myrick is a leading mental health advocate and executive, known for her innovative and inclusive approach to mental health reform and the public disclosure of her personal story, as featured in the New York Times series, “Lives Restored.”

With more than 15 years of experience in mental health services innovations, transformation, and peer workforce development, she is known for her collaborative style and innovative “whole person” approach to mental health. Myrick serves on the board of the National Association of Peer Supporters and is a co-editor of the Journal of Psychiatric Services “Lived Experience and Leadership” column. Myrick has a MS in organizational psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology of Alliant International University and an MBA from Case Western University’s Weatherhead School of Management.

Evan Figueroa-Vargas, MSW

Evan Figueroa-Vargas, a native of Puerto Rico, has lived in Philadelphia since 1987 and is an employment systems program analyst for the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual DisAbility Services. Previously, he worked with people experiencing chronic homelessness as a program manager at Mental Health Partnerships and is a certified recovery specialist and national certified peer specialist.

Figueroa-Vargas shares his own experiences as a person in long-term recovery from a substance use disorder and mental health condition to support others seeking recovery. A passionate advocate dedicated to community service, he volunteers as a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Recovery Month planning partner, for IBX Foundation’s Someone You Know campaign, as a Peer Culture Transformation Advisory Board member for the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual DisAbilities, as a board member at Pathways to Housing PA, and as a past subcommittee member of the Mayor’s Opioid Task Force. Figueroa-Vargas is a graduate of Community College of Philadelphia, Eastern University, and Widener University, where he received his Master of Social Work.

Substance Use Disease and Inequalities in Treatment

Substance Use Disease and Inequalities in Treatment
View recording

Before March 2020, Philadelphia was experiencing the worst opioid epidemic our country has ever seen. Since COVID-19 entered our world, all of these challenges have multiplied and intensified for most people with substance use disorders due to social isolation, job loss, and other stresses brought on by the pandemic. All of these problems are further complicated by reduced access to in-person care, a result of necessary social distancing and other safety measures.

People suffering from substance use disorders have always faced challenges related to social stigma and access to treatment. According to a recently released study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, with COVID-19, there has been an increase in opioid overdose among non-Hispanic Black people and a decrease among non-Hispanic White people. The pandemic has exacerbated stressors already present in Black communities, such as increased social isolation and poverty. We have also seen an increase in substance use in these communities and an increased need for treatment that is not always there.

In this session, we will examine the social and structural determinants of substance use and overdose prevention. Join our panel of experts to:

Describe how Philadelphia is responding to the opioid epidemic
Explore how COVID-19 has affected substance use disorder and opioid use disorder
Discuss the current approaches for getting into treatment
Examine what treatment looks like in Philadelphia
Explore new and emerging research that describes the changing demographics of Substance Use Disorder

Moderated by Sarah Bauerle Bass, associate professor of social and behavioral sciences and director of the Risk Communication Laboratory.

Panelists

Jose Benitez, SSW '89

Jose Benitez has a long history of working in Philadelphia with underserved populations including people who actively use drugs and those in recovery. In addition to his almost 30 years’ experience in the HIV community as a provider and advocate, he is a tireless advocate for communities affected by drug use and has dedicated his career to the field of harm reduction. Benitez currently serves as executive director for Prevention Point Philadelphia, which is a public health organization serving communities affected by drug use utilizing a harm reduction model and providing an array of services including medical care, respite care, shelter services, syringe exchange, medically-assisted drug treatment, HIV and Hepatitis C testing and case management, overdose prevention education, etc. Benitez's volunteer work spans 30 years; he was a founding board member for the Gay and Lesbian Latino AIDS Education Initiative in Philadelphia, a board member for the Philadelphia Board of Health, and was appointed to the Mayor’s Task Force to Combat the Opioid Epidemic.

Brittanie Applewhite, CPH '10

Brittanie Applewhite is a program officer in the Warm Hand Off (WHO) Program at Vital Strategies. She is part of the Overdose Prevention Program, seconded to the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services' (DBHIDS) Office of Addiction Services (OAS).

Applewhite is an experienced health professional with particular background in health disparity reduction and minority health. She possesses over 11 years of public health work experience and more recently, as a program analyst, served the Greater Philadelphia area providing programmatic management and oversight of public health programs at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Brittanie received her bachelor of science in public health from the College of Public Health and a master of healthcare administration from St. Joseph’s University.

David Malloy, SSW '13

David Malloy is mobile services director for Merakey Parkside Recovery. Always a client advocate, he chose to challenge himself by completing the management and planning track during his graduate work. As an individual in long-term recovery, Malloy has worked his way up from receptionist to a director at Merakey. David thrives working at the nexus of addiction and the criminal justice system. His interests also include medication assisted treatment and finding innovative solutions to the service delivery system challenges that exist in Philadelphia. Malloy earned his MSW from the School of Social Work in 2013.

CPHAA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee

About the committee

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee advises, provides strategy, and serves as leadership in the promotion of DEI efforts among the CPHAA and across all committees and alumni-centric initiatives.

The purpose of the committee is to sustain an infrastructure that will:

Nurture a culture of inclusivity and belonging that is grounded in Temple University’s commitment to respect, open-mindedness, and appreciation of others

Demonstrate the curiosity and collective energy to accept embrace, and explore differences so that everyone can thrive and do their best work within the association

Provide all individuals with access and fair opportunities to achieve their full potential within the association

Engage in dialogue and discussions that build meaningful and collaborative relationships

Embrace a commitment to antiracism and fostering an antiracist environment

Commit promoting social justice and eliminating systemic racism

The DEI Committee collaborates with the college regarding initiatives and activities, as well as to provide DEI training for CPHAA Board Members. The committee also supports the dissemination of DEI scholarship, research, practice and leadership among CPH alumni and CPHAA members, evaluates the success of DEI initiatives, and cultivates engagement in CPHAA activities among historically underrepresented groups.

Committee members