Here & Now

Welcome to "Noon Wednesday," I'm Marisa Wojcik, Multimedia Journalist with "Here and Now" on PBS Wisconsin. Today is October seven. While the coronavirus does not discriminate against who becomes infected, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed historical and systemic inequities that have only grown as the disease spreads across our communities. Last week, the Just Recovery Racial Equity Initiative was launched where $2.6 million will go toward addressing the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color in the state. This collaboration is between Governor Tony Evers, Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, and the UW Population Health Institute. So joining me today, to talk about the Just Recovery Racial Equity Initiative is Paula Tran Inzeo, she is from the UW Population Health Institute. And Paula, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having me. I wanna start, so UW Population Health Institute is calling for a fair and just recovery. Help us understand some examples and ways in which communities are perhaps unfairly impacted by COVID-19. Yeah, as you mentioned, the COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on lots of inequities that existed before COVID-19. So for example, communities of color are more likely to be working in jobs that they are in a crowded settings, or congregate settings, that increase the likelihood of transmission. They're more likely to work in jobs where they might not have access to leave pay, or sick leave, or options to stay at home, while other folks have enjoyed being able to work from home. They're also more likely to experience other social and economic inequities in communities that have made it harder for them to have all the resources that folks need to stay in quarantine and isolation safely and with all the resources, like food, cleaning products that they need. And also because of historical structural inequities and structural racism, communities of color are disproportionately more likely to have existing health conditions or chronic diseases, making folks more likely to get sick if they do get the disease. And we have also seen differential access to testing and delays in testing, and once folks get tested, differential access to high quality healthcare. So all of these things have existed before the pandemic and have been particular things that Black, indigenous, and communities of color have experienced that have made the impacts of COVID-19 worse for these communities. Considering that, what are the immediate priorities for addressing these disproportionate impacts, and what is the immediate priority for this $2.6 million? Yeah, I think the good news is, there are more solutions available to us than not. Across the spectrum of service delivery and program adjustments, as well as policies and systems changes, there are lots of available options for local leaders at the county level and municipal levels, as well as within state agencies, to mitigate the immediate harm that's being caused by COVID-19 as well as think about what are opportunities to adjust systems and structures to support a just recovery so that we can address some of these issues that were long standing before COVID-19. So a part of this initiative, the Just Recovery for Racial Equity initiative, is to engage communities around developing public health information that's responsive to what communities of color need as well as support shifts in narrative, in terms of how communities of color have been disproportionally impacted through preexisting systems and structures and how to seed conversations for future systems change for just recovery. In addition to investing in developing those materials and working with community based partners to disseminate those materials, most of the dollars are earmarked to go out to local communities to invest in those local innovations to address those immediate harms and also support communities to really think longer term for just recovery options in their communities. To you, is this a strategic way of investing in implementing these dollars, as opposed to just kind of some of the blanket ways that sometimes funding can be distributed, and it can be a one-size-fits-all instead of community specific? Yeah, so I will just mention that this initiative is one of many that have been released and supported. So we hope to knit together where resources are being allocated to small businesses, small businesses of color, cultural organizations, to communities that are, community groups, that are allocating social and economic support, so this is one piece of a broader initiative. I don't think that a one-size-fits-all approach is realistic for any very discrete pot of money, and we know that for us to make a dent in racial inequities and advance racial equity, we have to have a targeted approach. That we can start from universal goals of making sure we do our best to make sure everyone has the resources they need in the time of COVID-19. And also because communities are impacted differently, we need to have a targeted approach in order to make sure we don't widen gaps because of the different places where communities start. The landscape of this virus, despite being present for many months now, is still changing and spreading rapidly. What's the difference between how you're planning for the short term versus the long term recovery? Yeah, so again, that's where we hope to knit together the various initiatives that have been coming out of state agencies and community based organizations. The short term approach is really considering where there's the most burden and need and working with community based organizations, and local agencies in their efforts to already meet those needs. Many of those are basic needs, like having access to food and safe places to stay and shelter, and also engaging with the business community to make sure they have all the resources they need to support healthy and safe workers. And while we're thinking about those immediate needs, to really hold sight on what just recovery can look like. There's many opportunities, especially for leaders, to consider how we might adjust our systems to make us more resilient in any kind of public health emergency, such as making it accessible for folks to stay home when they're sick, making sure that when folks are needing to stay home, they have access to the range of social and economic supports that make them able to stay home and care for their families and their other responsibilities. So it's really holding sight of all the good work being done across the state to meet those immediate needs and gives folks space to also plan for what changes might need to be seeded now, so that we can be more resilient in the face of any future emergencies. Has the pandemic changed how we view and tangibly address racial disparities and systemic inequality? Often policies that are created with good intent can have a negative impact and sometimes do more harm than good. How do we account for that, as this is changing so quickly? Yeah, I think COVID-19 has certainly, again, shined a bright light on existing inequities, and community based organizations and leaders of color for years have been at the forefront of modeling what it looks like to really engage communities most impacted in decision making, and that includes how policies are developed and implemented and how resources can be allocated. So one of the exciting things about this particular initiative is that it was launched on the same day that the Governor's Health Equity Council also had its first meeting, and this council represents folks all across the state that are really committed to advancing health equity. And that is inclusive of racial equity, although not exclusive to that, but we know that that's a huge part of the work that needs to be done. And that group is committed to thinking about what is the bigger picture and what is the bigger landscape for progress to be made in Wisconsin. And it's great that this particular initiative was launched alongside of a broader engagement strategy to really ensure that we are listening with ears wide open to communities that have been impacted and know the solutions that they need to advance this work in their local communities. Is it hard for this issue to not be wrapped up in politics? Absolutely, you know, I think these are questions of how we shape policies and how we allocate resources and who's at the table when we make decisions, so it's certainly a part of it. And I think our values in Wisconsin demonstrate that we're willing to come together and work for the greater good, and so I think that brings me a lot of hope that we can build bridges across communities in order to, you know, work together shoulder-to-shoulder, to really address these issues that predate COVID again, and among the other public health emergencies that are happening in tandem, right, racism, and structural racism as a public health emergency, the impact of extreme weather in our communities. These are all impacting many of our communities in sort of layering ways, and that sort of intersect of issues is the very reason why we need to come together because these issues don't just affect one part of our communities, they affect us all. And when one part of our community are experiencing these challenges, we all do worse. So there's really great opportunities in coming together and thinking about how we can create environments for all of our families to thrive in Wisconsin. So Paula, you're the Director of the Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health Program as well as the Community Resilience and Response Task Force. So these have a long list of communities outside of racial equity that you're serving in the pandemic, from rural communities, migrant workers, domestic violence, the prison system, longterm care, healthcare workers, first responder schools, like the list goes on. How do you triage the needs of so many people in a time like this? Yeah, obviously, we don't do work alone. We were brought into the response by leaders at the State Health Department, and there are hundreds of people working on this response right now across the state that are engaging in all of those sectors. So part of the work that we have been doing is to really provide support, to fill in gaps, and to create connective tissue across various parts of the response to think about how we can enhance our thinking around equity and mental health and community resilience. And there are a whole lot of leaders out there that are digging very deeply into each of these sectors. So what we have been able to do is, you know, hold up equity perspectives while those folks are doing their work, and for us, it's not been about prioritizing any particular sector, but building relationships across many sectors, so that everyone can contribute their part, and that we're holding just channels of communication open, trying to hear for emergent needs. And also, wherever there are opportunities, to lift up how we are considering equity in those spaces, but it's certainly not that we are leading that work, that we are coming together, alongside of many other government leaders, public health leaders across the state, and many, many community based organizations. Last year, Milwaukee declared racism a public health crisis, and so racism is a component of a lot of different aspects of how health is observed. Is that something that should be considered for a statewide model as we're moving toward greater equity? Absolutely, I think, especially as it relates to structural racism, right, how not just racism is experienced between individuals, that's critically important, it's also the way our systems are structured, and how we allocate resources and allocate value, right, and then allow those resources to flow. And thinking about ways that we can undo those structures is absolutely a part of this initiative, and we were so inspired by leaders in Milwaukee, the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County, as well as community based organizations across the state that have been really coming together to declare racism a public health crisis, and then also attach really concrete actions to that work. And that's absolutely the work that we want to support through this initiative, and I think one thing I really wanna make clear is that this is an issue that affects all parts of our state, from urban to rural to suburban communities. That we know structural racism creates systems that make it harder for each and every one of us in every corner of our state to live well and thrive. You've talked a lot about different sectors and networks and connecting community partners. For people who want to help their communities, and particularly, in areas of inequity, racial inequity, what advice would you give people? What have you learned that you think can be applied to other aspects, other organizations, other networks, other systems? Yeah, there's lots of options for folks. There's ways that folks can get involved on the individual level, right, at the very first step for lots of folks, it's about learning about our history in this nation related to structural racism and how our nation was founded and the lands that we're on. So there's a whole lot of education at the individual level that can be done, and actions at the individual level, to go out and engage other people around their values. There's many community based organizations that are always engaging individuals. There's lots of ways to be involved in decision making, whether it's joining your neighborhood association, your local boards of health, your county boards, serving on committees to bring these perspectives into decision making spaces, and then really supporting others to enter those decision making spaces at the local level within organizations. We're seeing organizations across the state step up and say, "We want to do this work. "We want to become a more racially just organization." So getting involved in organizational changes and practices is available to folks, and certainly there's a lot of state level opportunities for folks to be involved in decision making, state level committees, state level programs. So really thinking about what individual learning you need to do, where you have talents and assets that bring you excitement to be a part of this work, and then to start, from wherever you are, whether it's at the very local level, on your own work in your families, or where you work, or how decisions are being made in your local communities. There's a whole host of ways to get involved. People can go to our website at the UW Population Health Institute to sign on as individuals, and there are a set of actions that individuals can take just to get ideas flowing. And we regularly push out resources, and there's many resources available from Wisconsin and state agencies, as well as national resources, that are pretty easy to find these days. Paula Tran Inzeo, thank you very much for joining us. Thank you. For more from "Here and Now" and PBS Wisconsin, you can visit pbswisconsin.org, and thank you so much for joining us on "Noon Wednesday."