We are a Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and 2SLGBTQIA+ led coalition that builds on communities' existing strengths across Coos and Curry Counties.
We Represent and Serve: Asian People, Pacific Islanders, Black and African Americans, Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers, Indigenous Peoples and Native Americans, Hispanic, Latinx, Latine or Latino People, LGBTQIA2S+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and Two-Spirit) People, People with disabilities, People with low incomes and People who live in rural areas
Health Equity
People reaching their highest level of health and wellness regardless of social position or other socially determined factors such as race, ethnicity, language, disability, sexual orientation, gender, immigration status, or socioeconomic status.
2023 South Coast Equity Coalition - Community Needs Assessment Report
Because people who identify as BIPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+, and/or as having a disability lack a baseline feeling of safety, spaces to feel supported and experience identity-specific joy are of key importance. Education and systems level advocacy is needed to work toward a baseline of safety for our priority populations in schools, churches, service providers, and public spaces.
A holistic, humanizing approach is needed to reduce health inequities on the Southern Oregon Coast and collaboration is vital as we strive toward thriving communities. Effective approaches must address the entire person and each of their needs. Beyond the individual, effective approaches will support families in their entirety. Effective approaches will be community integrated and culturally responsive, building on existing strengths of our priority populations.
Three broad themes emerged across the needs assessment data. First, community and identity-specific joy saves lives. Second, schools are vital points of intervention across priority populations. Third, it’s time for a culture shift in health care, movement toward community integration and cultural responsiveness. Collectively, these themes are promising starting points as we work toward health equity on the Southern Oregon Coast.
This needs assessment belongs to the South Coast Equity Coalition and should not be reproduced in anyway.
Our Leadership Council
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Katrina Thompson-Upton
Leadership Council Chair
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Zander Acker
Leadership Council Vice-Chair
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Jason Mecum
Leadership Council Member
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Ann Rodriguez
Leadership Council Member
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Kelcy Mathews
Leadership Council Member
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Raymond Hino
Leadership Council Member
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Teamwork & Co-Creators
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Jayden Ruff (she/her)
Director of South Coast Health Equity Coalition
Lover of Context, Challenger of Systems along with the Status Quo. For the past 7 years Jayden has been advocating throughout Oregon with 2SLGBTQIA+ and Communities of Colors for equitable access to healthcare, food justice, and events that center joy and community strength. She is a Community Strategist whose advocacy is heavily influenced by social rights movements she often says, “I come as one but stand as 10,000,” a quote by Maya Angelou. For Jayden this quote symbolizes her accountability to community, co-creators, collaborators, advocates and the ancestors.
Jayden is currently the Chair of Coos-Curry Housing Authority, Vice Chair of HIV Alliance, Alumni and Advisor of DELTA (Developing Equity Leadership through Training and Action) at Oregon Health Authority, and Founder of the BEET Food System.
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Laura Erceg (she/her)
Director Southern Oregon Coast Pride
Laura moved to Coos County in 2013 with her partner and three cats (there are now 4 cats). In 2015, after a series of community conversations about 2SLGBTQIA+ needs, she co-founded Q & A of Coos County (Queers & Allies) with her friend Beka Young. Q&A has been meeting each Thursday afternoon ever since. In 2019, when there was an opportunity to create a community-led Pride celebration, Laura and fellow community members jumped on the chance. The first Pride-in-the-Park celebration brought in new energy and the decision was made to create a more robust Pride organization for both Coos and Curry counties. Laura loves her job. She gets to meet and work alongside amazing community leaders, blast the Indigo Girls in the office, and be a part of impactful community building. When she is not working, you can find her reading, adoring her cats, jamming out to Indigo Girls, dancing around her living room, or paddling around in the nearest body of water.
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Jess Howell (she/they)
Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion Accessibility Advocate
Supporting the voices of Marginalized folks is a passion of mine. I’m originally from a suburb north of Los Angeles. As a Rromani I was fired up by the opportunity to take part in my first student action in solidarity with my fellow Armenian students to get recognition for the Armenian Genocide and have been taking part in various advocacy actions ever since! In college my passion turned to Early Childhood Development. I loved the preschool education model pioneered by Brazilian educator Paulo Freire “Popular Education”, because it centers a people guided and whole person-centered approach to education. This perspective has informed my lens ever since. Teaching stayed a passion, but I shifted to Mindfulness and Meditation practices like radical acts of self-love and approaching ourselves and each other from a space of nonjudgement, acceptance and gratitude. I loved teaching this because I know, for me, it works. I am also a formerly unhoused individual. The ease with which one traumatic event can easily tip us into houselessness in an already overwhelmed system, further fueled my need to be a part of the solution and I lent my voice to the Homeless Workforce Coalition. My time there as well as working in Peer Support in our community has taught me how vital it is for those who are marginalized, those with lived experiences, to have their voices amplified, especially in matters of policy. “Nothing For Us Without Us!”
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Zaria Hamilton (she/her)
Reproductive Justice and Gender Affirming Care Advocate
Hi there! My name is Zaria and I am so grateful to be joining the South Coast Health Equity Coalition as a Reproductive Justice and Gender Affirming Care Advocate. I am originally from North Carolina and relocated to the southern Oregon coast in the fall of 2022. I am excited to be apart of a team that spreads awareness and inclusion through conscious connection and informed data content while also learning more about the common disparities shared amongst minority groups. In my free time I like to adventure amongst the trees, dabble in arts and crafts, read prehistoric fiction, and sing my little heart out.
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Daphne Sprinkle (she/her)
Reproductive Justice and Gender Affirming Care Advocate
Daphne is a multimedia producer & community organizer living on the Oregon coast. She has an extensive background in video editing and multimedia production.
She is also an electronic musician, a vegetarian home chef, a practicing witch, a table top role-playing and video gamer. For the last several years she has worked with Southern Oregon Coast Pride (SOCP), and is currently managing the Gender Affirmation Closet, and is an elder for the Q&A Youth Group. Daphne also works with other members of the South Coast Health Equity Coalition and SOCP to provide trainings related to 2SLGBTQIA+ allyship and gender affirming care.
Coalition Members
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Southern Oregon Coast Pride
Southern Oregon Coast Pride exists to conduct events that foster hope and provide support for LGBTQIA2S+ youth and adults, educate the community about LGBTQIA2S+ issues and to collaborate with allied individuals and organizations to advance equity and justice among marginalized groups in Coos and Curry counties.
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Coos Hispanic Allies / Coos Aliados Hispanos
The Coos Hispanic Leadership Committee is dedicated to empowering our Hispanic community and inspiring cultural diversity.
La comité de liderazgo hispano esta dedicada para empoderar nuestra communidad Hispana y inspriar la diversidad cultural.
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It's important for the South Coast Health Equity Coalition to clearly define community partners to ensure we mutually understand both parties' mission, vision, values, and goals.
Click HERE to learn more about coalition membership.
our community partners:
