April 2024 MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Jessica Romo (she/her), MPH, CHES, Associate Director with StrengthUnited
Typically known for its Hollywood lifestyle, StrengthUnited brings attention to a different part of Los Angeles.
In Los Angeles County, each year, there are:
Approximately 40,000 cases of Domestic Violence
More than 22,000 cases of Child Abuse and neglect, of which 5% are cases of sexual abuse.
More than 1,000 reported cases of Sexual Assault, and estimates indicate that less than one-third of assaults are reported, so actual incidents maybe three times higher.
Getting to Know Jessica Romo, Associate Director
Jessica (she/her) was born and raised in Los Angeles and obtained her undergraduate degree at UC Merced in Business Management. Since graduating, she has worked as an AmeriCorps VIP, where she worked with two non-profits: Boys & Girls Club and Healthy House, and a non-profit organization working with the unhoused community in San Francisco. Finding her way back home, she now serves as an Associate Director for StrengthUnited.
Tell Us About StrengthUnited:
“We are an organization that helps everyone, starting from prevention to intervention services. At first, we were focused on being first responders, crisis intervention ... if someone were assaulted within the San Fernando or Santa Clarita Valley, they’d come to our Family Justice Center instead of going to the hospital, and they’d get very purposeful, trauma-informed care and go through a process that feels more comfortable. The idea was bringing all of the services to the survivor, being survivor-centered.”
“As we continued to do this work, we realized that we really needed to make a true commitment and investment into prevention. ... the work that we do around prevention is training youth and adult leaders within their communities to see change and make change and mobilize their communities, knowing that that's how we prevent violence.”
What Made You Want to Go into Violence Prevention?
“I really fell into it by chance.” Being part of the inaugural class at UC Merced, Jessica had access to a lot of professors and was given the opportunity to do research under an epidemiologist who focused on nutrition and studying health disparities of youth in Merced County. This was her first exposure to public health and helping underserved communities through a different lens. After working with the unhoused in San Francisco, Jessica was ready to return to Los Angeles, where she was offered a position with StrengthUnited. Knowing she wanted to go back to school to obtain her Master of Public Health, Jessica felt it was a good fit for her at the time. She has now been with StenghtUnited for 11 years.
“I fell in love with the work. I fell in love with the fact that we got to build a prevention program using a public health lens.”
What is a StrengthUnited Accomplishment You’re Most Proud of?
Using a model called Close to Home, Jessica is most proud of how StrengthUnited continues to focus its prevention work around community mobilization. The Close to Home model has four phases: assess, talk, build, and act, allowing the organization to immerse itself in the community.
“... the idea is that we're not coming in and telling a community what to do. We're coming in and working with the community...”
This model has allowed StrengthUnited to do more than just interpersonal violence prevention. They now do work focused on gun violence prevention and run regional violence public health coalitions. This model has also allowed the organization to gain not only community member’s trust but also the trust of the County Department of Public Health, as StrengthUnited was recently awarded a $3.5 grant to build community public health teams.
“... when we wrote to get this funding, we're like, we don't really do a lot of physical health work. We don't do any door-to-door stuff, but we get the community, and they trust us. For us to get a $3.5 million grant, the biggest our agency has ever received, I'm particularly proud of it because it's focused on prevention and public health.”
What are your hopes for the future?
“I hope that it becomes more resourced. I think one of our biggest barriers is funding, unrestricted funding, or flexible funding. Sometimes, we work with communities who literally just need money or who just need money without having to jump through hoops. And so my wish is for an abundance of resources and flexible funding.”
What advice would you have for someone interested in a career in public health?
“... my advice would be to be inquisitive and ask questions and seek to understand. I think, just within our conversation, you and I both had no idea what public health was and took very similar but also different paths. And so I feel like people don't understand that public health is all-encompassing, and having this macro or micro level approach very much aligns with our public health beliefs and. Yeah, ask questions. That's my biggest advice. Be curious.”
Thank you, Jessica & StrengthUnited for the work you contintue to do for your community! We are honored to work beside you!
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Van Nuys, CA 91411
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