Areas of Impact

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

People-Centered Health Care

Health systems that are people-centered attend to our physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. They also consider the “upstream” factors that constrain health-related choices. We have supported primary care and mental health integration efforts in multiple states and conducted federally-compliant community health needs assessments for hospitals and clinics throughout California.

Recent Projects

Featured
California Behavioral Health Infrastructure Gaps
Landscape and Policy Analysis, Data Visualization and Storytelling, Human-Centered Design
California Behavioral Health Infrastructure Gaps
Landscape and Policy Analysis, Data Visualization and Storytelling, Human-Centered Design

Investment in health infrastructure is a top priority in California, where a recent state proposition has funded initiatives to expand mental health and substance use disorder services. PHS is serving as a partner to Advocates for Human Potential to support a gap analysis for identifying opportunities to bolster the behavioral health continuum of care. This includes gathering and visualizing more than 30 geographic and population health indicators. Our analytic tools are helping changemakers to achieve the goal of greater health equity.

Landscape and Policy Analysis, Data Visualization and Storytelling, Human-Centered Design
South Los Angeles Community Needs Assessment
Community Needs Assessment, Community Engagement
South Los Angeles Community Needs Assessment
Community Needs Assessment, Community Engagement

SHIELDS for Families has worked to empower and advocate for families in South Los Angeles for more than 30 years. The organization engaged PHS to conduct a community needs assessment to further uplift voices of clients, community members, and collaborators. Our needs assessment successfully supported the design and roll-out of South LA’s first certified community behavioral health clinic.

Community Needs Assessment, Community Engagement

Housing AND ECONOMIC sTABILITY

Housing instability and homelessness are consequences of deeper issues ranging from economic insecurity to domestic violence to racism. We partner with diverse stakeholders to identify solutions to prevent and disrupt these cycles. Through our Research and Training Institute, we are building curricula to enable more organizations to offer peer support to clients at critical turning points.

Recent Projects

Featured
United Way Bay Area Sparkpoint Toolkit Pilot Evaluation
Curriculum Development, Community Engagement, Program Evaluation, Program Planning
United Way Bay Area Sparkpoint Toolkit Pilot Evaluation
Curriculum Development, Community Engagement, Program Evaluation, Program Planning

SparkPoint Centers are community centers designed to support students and families in achieving academic success and housing and economic stability. PHS and partner Cindy J. Wong Consulting were engaged by United Way Bay Area to complete a participatory evaluation of the SparkPoint Toolkit. The final Toolkit is being used by colleges and universities statewide to support equitable pathways to prosperity for their students.

Curriculum Development, Community Engagement, Program Evaluation, Program Planning
Los Angeles City and County Health Service Coordination for People Experiencing Homelessness
Landscape and Policy Analysis
Los Angeles City and County Health Service Coordination for People Experiencing Homelessness
Landscape and Policy Analysis

The magnitude of the housing crisis underscores the need for more efficient and equitable coordination of health services. In response to a Los Angeles City Council motion on this issue, PHS was commissioned by Home For Good of United Way of Greater Los Angeles and Los Angeles City Administrative Office to conduct a rapid-response landscape analysis.

Landscape and Policy Analysis

Community Safety and Violence Prevention

Interpersonal violence is a key public health issue that demands immediate attention. We believe that public safety systems should be survivor-centered and community-driven. We partner with organizations to explore drivers of intimate partner violence and human trafficking and to support collective action. We practice compassionate facilitation and collective leadership to uplift voices of survivors. 

Recent Projects

Featured
Oregon Human Trafficking Vignettes Project
Human-Centered Design, Curriculum Development
Oregon Human Trafficking Vignettes Project
Human-Centered Design, Curriculum Development

PHS collaborated with Oregon Department of Justice Trafficking Response and Intervention Program (TRIP) on a community intervention to respond to human trafficking. The TRIP team worked with survivors, advocates, and service providers to compile their stories. PHS in turn designed story cards and a facilitator’s guide to make the stories accessible. The materials are being used to train service providers who engage with survivors of sex trafficking.

Human-Centered Design, Curriculum Development
Responding to Intimate Partner Violence and Homelessness During COVID-19
Health Care and Policy Research, Participatory Research
Responding to Intimate Partner Violence and Homelessness During COVID-19
Health Care and Policy Research, Participatory Research

At the start of the pandemic, PHS formed partnerships with numerous community organizations to uplift voices of survivors to prevent violence and homelessness. In October 2020, we published a study with Hub for Urban Initiatives entitled “Responding to Intimate Partner Violence and Homelessness in Los Angeles County during a Time of COVID-19.” It was the product of an intensive four months of rapid-response research with the help of community partners TransLatin@ Coalition, Positive Results Center, and Downtown Women’s Center.

Health Care and Policy Research, Participatory Research

Race and Gender EQUITY

People have a human right to live in dignity and freedom, regardless of their race, gender, or sexual orientation. Collective action or silence will make the difference between a climate of discrimination and violence and one of inclusion and safety. We work with partners to generate knowledge and understanding of racial and gender inequities in our communities and to support cross-sector collaboration to achieve change.

Recent Projects

Featured
Understanding Working Conditions of Domestic Workers in California
Landscape and Policy Analysis, Data Visualization and Storytelling
Understanding Working Conditions of Domestic Workers in California
Landscape and Policy Analysis, Data Visualization and Storytelling

California Domestic Workers Coalition (CDWC) is a statewide alliance of community-based organizations, domestic employers, worker centers, labor unions, faith groups, students, and policy advocates. CDWC sought to build a strategy for advocacy and outreach by understanding working conditions of domestic workers in geographic context. PHS came alongside CDWC to untangle complex relationships among various datasets to paint a clear picture of working conditions for domestic workers in California.

Landscape and Policy Analysis, Data Visualization and Storytelling
Social Determinants of Health Platform for Justice-Involved Persons
Human-Centered Design, Community Engagement
Social Determinants of Health Platform for Justice-Involved Persons
Human-Centered Design, Community Engagement

Project Healing partners, Valley Care Community Consortium, Tarzana Treatment Center, and Center for Living and Learning sought to improve care coordination for their clients by using a social determinants of health (SDoH) platform to support referral and communication. While the initiative was community-led, the providers partnered with PHS, who served as a process facilitator. PHS in turn designed and facilitated a six-phase process for choosing and piloting a SDoH platform.

Human-Centered Design, Community Engagement