Coachella Valley

Background

Building Healthy Communities (BHC) Eastern Coachella Valley (ECV) is a comprehensive community initiative that is creating a revolution in the way Californians think about and support health in their communities. Residents and partners in the City of Coachella and the unincorporated communities of Mecca, Thermal, and North Shore are proving that they can make health happen in their neighborhoods, schools, and with prevention. By doing so, they are creating a brighter future for their children.

Residents, youth, businesses, and organizations are leading the Building Healthy Communities Eastern Coachella Valley’s effort to positively change the health of our communities through the creation, implementation, and strategic action guided by the BHC Community Action Plan. Our work is carried out by our Schools, Neighborhoods, and Prevention Action Teams.

Although creating real change can be difficult, children in the Eastern Coachella Valley deserve clean water, healthy food, safe places to learn and play, and access to health care so they can live long, healthy lives.

Coachella Valley Community

Quick Facts

• The Eastern Coachella Valley is a major hub for agricultural production in Riverside County and California as a whole, representing $526 million in gross agricultural value.
• Agricultural workers represent the main local labor force. They contribute approximately $430 million a year to the region.
• Through BHC coordinated GOTV campaigns, partner agencies and residents were able to increase voter turnout by 18 percent to an all-time high of 30 percent—greater than the county and state average.

Focus Areas

Residents and partners in Eastern Coachella Valley BHC are driving change across many systems and issues. The map below gives a snapshot of the breadth of their actions (click the boxes under each category to learn more), followed by more information on our top four priorities for the coming year.

• Healthcare for all ECV: The Prevention Action Team’s objective is to increase community awareness and involvement so that every Eastern Coachella Valley resident has quality and accessible health care, regardless of resident status or zip code. The team’s current priorities are Health Care Access, particularly for the remaining uninsured, Health Education, and Sexual Health.
• Neighborhood Transformation:  The Neighborhood Action Team is working to establish healthy communities by focusing on aspects of the environment that seriously impact health: housing, infrastructure, transportation, recreation, and food access. The current priorities include Food Access, Housing and Infrastructure, Recreation and Community Services, and Transportation. The current campaign aims to create an infrastructure master plan and a mobility master plan.
• Positive School Climate: The Schools team is establishing positive school climate initiatives as their long-term target. The priorities are youth development, Boys and Men of Color/Girls and Women of Color, and Parental Engagement.  The Local Control Funding Formula is the major campaign focus, as it is an important opportunity for parents and students to flex their civic engagement muscle by working on budgetary processes and health equity in the Coachella Valley Unified School District.

Learn More

• Revealing the Invisible Coachella Valley:
  • English 
  • Spanish 
• The Health Statutes of Residents of the Eastern Coachella Valley  
• Transportation Policy Brief  
• Case study: Improving Housing Conditions in ECV 
• Park Recreation Policy Brief 
• Air Monitoring 
• Health Care Access 

Get Connected

Margarita Luna, M.P.H., M.S.W.
Program Manager

Margarita Luna, program manager for Coachella, first joined The Endowment in 2007. Before joining The Endowment, Luna was a senior social worker for Public Counsel where she managed the Special Needs Advocacy Project, a client advocacy program. In addition, Luna had earlier served as a UCLA Keck-Vivian Weinstein Child Advocacy Fellow at Public Counsel. Luna also served as a Pedro Zamora Fellow in government affairs for AIDS Action in Washington, DC.

Luna, a resident of San Dimas, is a member of the American Public health Association and the National Association of Social Workers. She earned her B.A. in Sociology and Chicano/a Studies, M.P.H. in Community Health Sciences, and M.S.W. in Health Services from UCLA.