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20 / April 15th 2023 / Aptos Times www.tpgonlinedaily.com
Empowering Pajaro Valley Teens to Reimagine Systems
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By Jondi Gumz
n March 29, Pajaro Valley Unified School District, Applied Survey Research, Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency and Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance gathered at the PVUSD Wellness Center to release and discuss the 2023 County Health Rankings National Findings Report. The ranking system, which came out more than 10 years ago, gives a way to compare Santa Cruz County to other counties in the state and in the nation. This year, there is a new focus on civic participation and how it relates to wellbeing. There’s still a lot of imbalance in power and access, said Monica Morales, director of the Santa Cruz County Health Agency, who grew up locally. Latino children have the highest poverty rates, she pointed out, so many families do not have access to the delicious fruits and vegetables produced in the Pajaro Valley – in their own communities. “We continue to challenge institutions that they’re meeting the needs of our community,” Morales said. “We need to be at the table listening and actually being part of the solution.” The data show improvements but more work must be done, she said. Susan Brutschy of Applied Survey Research said the county’s teen birth rates are much lower than statewide, for example, and only 6% of babies had low birth weight compared to 7% in the state and 8% nationwide.
Severe housing problems affect 26% in Santa Cruz County compared to 17% for the nation. What the rankings do not provide is a way to dig into the disparities between North County and South County but that is something the Health Services Agency staff is trying to do using data on income, employment and insurance levels. Jasmine Najera, CEO of PVPSA, recalled when Morales was in a Summer Youth Employment program, which she said shows the power of mentorship. The issue around behavorial health is skyrocketing, Najera said, citing trauma brought on by the pandemic, wildfires, gun violence, and most recently flooding. “The good news is people are asking for services,” she said. Her agency provides school-based counseling services to Pajaro Valley Unified schools. But there aren’t enough clinicians to provide those services, and the people in those professions are burnt out. Over the years, PVPSA has supervised and mentored about 300 master’s level clinicians, many of whom have gone to work at Pajaro Valley schools and county Behaviorial Health and other sites. “We’re actually doing really well in the county (which ranked 9th in the state) compared to the rest of the counties,” said Dr. Rodriguez, who came to Pajaro Valley seven years ago and still sees disparities. “Reimagine” page 22