LAKE COUNTY—Hope Rising Lake County is continuing collective community collaboration with three new AmeriCorps VISTAS. Mary Gross, Leila Romero, and Rachel Miles arrived in August and are providing support to Hope Rising partners Adventist Health Clear Lake, Lake County Behavioral Health Services, Lake County Health Services and Sutter Lakeside Clinics. The VISTA service members focus on Hope Rising’s signature projects.
VISTA Rachel Miles has been volunteering her time at Sutter Lakeside Clinics and Lake County Behavioral Health Services. She is from Cleveland, Ohio, and a recent graduate of Vanderbilt University with a major in oboe performance and minors in chemistry and biological sciences. Scientific research was an integral part of her undergraduate experience, having worked in the Duvall Advanced Therapeutics Laboratory for three years and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
VISTA Mary Gross has been volunteering her time with Adventist Health Clear Lake to support substance use disorders. Focusing on research and community outreach, she hopes to learn about the healthcare system’s work in the opioid crisis.
Gross earned her degree from the University of Rhode Island, majoring in political science, gender and women’s studies. Her older brother’s death due to an opioid overdose gave direction and purpose to her education and career development. Inspired by her brother’s dedication to service to others, she is now pursuing an opportunity for hands-on experience serving those with addiction issues. “The opportunity to help people like my brother would not only satisfy my desire to be of service and do good,” she shares,” it would also help prepare me for a future career in social work and public policy. By engaging directly with those personally affected by these broader societal issues, I hope to develop experience and expertise that will allow me to influence public policy and systemic change.”
VISTA Leila Romano is volunteering her time with Lake County Health Services. Her volunteer year in Lake County is a first step in preparing her to transition into a public health career.
Born and raised in New York, Romano is a graduate of Medical University in Lublin, Poland. She served part of her clinical rotation in Chicago before coming to Lake County. Her long term goal is to earn an MPH in Health Policy and Management.
Miles served as a Peace Corps Ambassador for several years and was preparing to depart for a Community Health Education position in Guyana last May. Her job was postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic, and she is now excited getting to know the Lake County community and begin hands-on rural public health work. “My passion for social justice and advocacy led to regularly volunteering with Open Table Nashville, working with people experiencing homelessness and educating the Vanderbilt community on the affordable housing crisis,” she shares. “My future hope is to train as a physician-scientist working with underserved populations around the country and the world.”
“We are very excited about being able to work with a VISTA at Behavioral Health Services,” says Todd Metcalf, Director of Lake County Behavioral Services. “The timing couldn’t be better, as we prepare for the Drug Medi-Cal waiver and Organized Delivery System (ODS). We assigned a VISTA to become the subject expert in these areas and help guide us in moving forward to ensure maximum service delivery to our community. The VISTA is also be responsible for developing management and external reports to reflect our progress.”
AmeriCorps is a national volunteer program that engages more than 80,000 Americans in intensive service each year at sites, including nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based groups. They serve as catalysts for change while living and working alongside community members, meeting our most pressing challenges. This year marks the fourth year that AmeriCorps VISTA service members are working with Hope Rising to improve quality of life in Lake County.
Hope Rising Lake County SafeRx program is partnering with multiple county agencies, organizations, and non-profits to increase community awareness, reduce stigma, and implement activities for a local response to the opioid crisis. Partners include prescribers, pharmacists, Lake County Health Services, Adventist Health Clear Lake, Lake County Behavioral Health Services, law enforcement, first responders, Sutter Lakeside Hospital and clinics, Adventist Health Clearlake, Lakeview Health Center, Partnership HealthPlan of California, North Coast Opportunities, Redwood Community Services, Lake Family Resource Center, Lake County Tribal Health Consortium and harm reduction organizations.
Through a partnership with the California Opioid Safety Network, they are recruiting two AmeriCorps VISTA to work with the coalition for one year. These individuals would be part of a team of 40 VISTAs working with coalitions across the state to support coalition capacity to expand their activities to combat the opioid epidemic.
As an AmeriCorps VISTA, service members will be at the forefront of the epidemic by helping coalitions mount a local response. VISTA members commit one year working full-time to support coalition capacity through project management, data analysis, community outreach, materials development, social media and website development, and more. They will also be part of a statewide learning network with other VISTA members serving in coalitions throughout the state and have access to virtual and in-person professional development opportunities.
To learn more about the program go to: https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=77177&fromSearch=true to apply or email the CHLP Program Administrator, Lenny Barnett, at lbarnett@healthleadership.org for more information.
To learn more about the work Hope Rising and VISTAS are doing in Lake County visit hoperisinglc.org.
