Washington CAN Education & Research Fund

PUBLIC OUTREACH & EDUCATION.WaCANERF, partially through grants to related organization WCAN, exceeded our yearly goals by having 26,029 conversations through the door-to-door canvass about our housing, mass liberation & health care work. WaCANERF conducted community outreach and education focused on the office of the insurance commissioner, and engaged 549 new community members with a call to action writing a letter or email to the insurance commissioner demanding the large premium increases for Kaiser and Premera be denied and that he put patients before insurance profits. To bring more visibility to this important state office, WaCAN ERF Community Organizers spoke with people at the doors about the impact upwards of 15% premium increases would have on small businesses and working families. From this outreach effort, 74 community members shared their healthcare stories with other community members and policymakers. 58 community members educated their elected officials and urged them to create a Medicaid equivalent for immigrants in Washington State. Lastly, WaCANERF engaged 2 community leaders to share their stories in video format to spread awareness about the detrimental nature of our current healthcare system. Across all of our issues, 2,446 community members took action and/or participated in WaCANERF events in 2023 thanks to our organizing efforts.

At Pacific County Voices Uniting (PCVU), we believe everyone should have the resources they need to thrive no matter who they are or where they come from. That includes people who are often excluded, such as undocumented immigrants, disabled folks, members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community and Black, Indigenous, Mexican/Hispanic/Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander and other People of Color. Far too many people in Pacific County struggle to access food, housing, healthcare and other vital resources. There are services available to help, but it can be hard for people to utilize them when busy work schedules, lack of transportation, language barriers and other obstacles get in the way. That's why PCVU had two bilingual Community Outreach Navigators to help anyone in Pacific County find and access available resources. In 2023, the Community Outreach Navigators served 1,553 families through 9 food distributions across Pacific County.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT.WaCANERF, partially through grants to related organization WCAN, had 1-1 meetings to build relationships with 175 new community members, and developed more than 130 leaders to take deeper action with their leadership. 94 of these new leaders took multiple actions (3+) throughout the year, including attending events, facilitating community member trainings, leading conversations on issues directly impacting them, and bringing community members to outreach events. WaCANERF, building on work done in 2022, had 6 leaders mobilized to attend Universal Healthcare Cost Transparency Board meetings and the Universal Health Care Commission meetings to bring patients' perspectives and experiences to those boards. In addition to last year's 5, Community Organizers developed 4 new leaders to become spokespersons to educate about our healthcare work.