APHA Annual Meeting Reflection by B. Robert

My Reflection on the APHAAnnual Meeting by Bernard Robert, MPH ‘17

Having the opportunity to attend the 2016 American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting was an eye opening experience.  Public health professionals gathered from all across the country to share their research, knowledge, and products in their respective fields.  I attended numerous insightful presentations.  However, there was one in particular that I was able to connect with.  Avni Desai, a native of San Francisco, CA and employee at Community Housing Partnership, gave a presentation on tenant empowerment and advocacy as a model to address homelessness in San Francisco.  This particular session connected with me due to my interest in health policy coupled with my visit to San Francisco where I was able to visit and experience their large prevalence of homelessness.  Their goal is to help homeless individuals to secure housing and become self-sufficient.  They served over 1200 residents last fiscal year at 14 sites and lead initiatives and campaigns to break down systemic barriers.  The destruction of these systematic barriers would combat cycles of poverty and result to resident empowerment.  She noted that 70% of the 6,000 plus individuals who are currently homeless used to be housed in the San Francisco area.  Therefore, homelessness in that area may not always be a reflection of the individual, but also on the dramatic increase of housing. 

The Community Housing Partnership intervenes by conducting research and drafting recommendations in conjunction with community residents and individuals who live in supportive housing to decision makers and politicians.  The idea is for these decision makers and politicians to implement policies and programs that allow for equal opportunities to housing.  One of the policies that were successfully adopted was the Fair Chance Ordinance.  This policy, with respect to the housing applications themselves, did not allow providers to inquire about arrest that did not result in conviction, participation in a diversion or deferral judgment program, juvenile records, convictions dating beyond seven years, and infractions.  In my opinion, policy is an area of public health that can bring about the most change and that is shown here with the increase of economic security for tenants associated with the Community Health Partnership as a result of the Fair Chance Ordinance.