Letter finds positivity Praise for outreach program

What a great letter (Dec. 23) from Ron Allen and what a great way to end our year! So many of us have written so many negative political letters during this very difficult and polarized year, but this one is uplifting!!

I also second his praise for John (Devine) and Lisa (Crawford Watson) who focus on positive stories about local people! Hopefully we will all come closer together with this kind of journalism in 2021!

— Murray Macdonald, Seaside

I write to commend the leadership exhibited by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors this week voting to fund $4.9 million for a pilot program targeting the neighborhoods hardest hit by COVID-19 and to applaud the Monterey Community Foundation for overseeing the governance team of this new program. The program was designed by COPA, Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action, a broad-based community organizing body, which after hearing thousands of stories from families impacted by COVID-19 worked to create this pilot program modeled on programs in Fresno, Sonoma and San Diego counties.

It pulls into the planning process a wide swath of community voices to connect the most vulnerable population, who suffer the highest rates of COVID-19 infection with trained community health workers who will do outreach, prevention education, promote testing, and navigation to supportive services using a culturally and linguistically appropriate joint problem-solving approach. These workers will help connect people who test positive with needed services, such as temporary housing for quarantine, cash assistance, food, medical care and information about employment rights.

County leadership has made a bold investment in a program that has the potential to draw back the “Lettuce Curtain” now and for the future.

— Laura Nagel, Monterey