IPS Awarded $400,000 from California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to Improve Health Outcomes in Latine Communities
The Institute for Public Strategies (IPS) announced today that it has been awarded a $400,000, two-year grant from the DHCS, in partnership with The Center at Sierra Health Foundation. IPS is one of 46 organizations statewide receiving a total of $17.9 million to provide outreach and education addressing opioid, stimulant, and polysubstance use in communities of color.
The funding will support IPS’ work in San Diego County to improve health outcomes for Latine and immigrant communities. The project will engage promotoras and youth leaders to deliver bilingual, trauma-informed education, harm reduction resources, and connections to treatment services for opioid, stimulant, and polysubstance use disorder.
“This grant allows IPS to deepen our partnerships with community leaders and provide culturally responsive, stigma-reducing education on substance use,” said Paola Rochin Bochm, IPS Director of Prevention Programs. “By equipping promotoras and youth leaders with tools and resources, we will not only expand access to treatment, but also foster trust and healing in communities often overlooked in traditional outreach.”
Through the initiative, IPS will work alongside trusted messengers to ensure that prevention and harm reduction information reaches community members where they live, work, and gather, ensuring that every conversation, resource, and connection genuinely reflects the voices and experiences of the people we serve while addressing language, cultural, and systemic barriers to care.
“This is about empowering community voices and ensuring people know where to turn for help,” Rochin Bochm added. “We’re committed to building connections that can save lives.”
IPS works alongside communities to build power, challenge systems of inequity, protect health, and improve quality of life, with a vision for safe, secure, vibrant, and healthy communities where everyone can thrive.
Contact:
Brittany Hunsinger
Institute for Public Strategies
(619) 476-9100 ext. 122
bhunsinger@publicstrategies.org
