This project, led by the Parkinson Association of Northern California (PANC), seeks to address barriers to quality medical care and educational resources for underserved Parkinson’s communities in northern California. PANC will collaborate with local doctors, community resource centers, local leaders, and the California Parkinson’s Disease Registry to make connections and build relationships within these communities. Goals include making sure local doctors provide educational materials in both English and Spanish to people with Parkinson’s; building support groups (both in person and virtually) that will support people with Parkinson’s, their families, and their care partners in their understanding of Parkinson’s; and understanding exactly where the populations of people of Parkinson’s are located within the region.
“PANC’s primary goal is to expand awareness and outreach to agricultural areas outside of the Sacramento region where, as a result of exposure to pesticides and other toxic materials, Parkinson’s is most prevalent,” the grant proposal says. “Many of these agricultural areas are in rural areas throughout the state, and many of these areas do not have the technology that is needed for communication with most individuals. We hope that over time we will truly reach all of Northern California.”
- Kimberly Arredondo-Blanco, BS, Outreach Coordinator
To learn more about this initiative, read this interview or contact PANC’s Outreach Coordinator Kimberly Arredondo-Blanco, at [email protected].
We have put an indefinite hold on our Community Grants program as of January 2024.
When we started our HPC Community Grants Program in 2021, we did so because we saw a very real need to invest in grassroots solutions to challenges of access, awareness, and engagement, particularly in underserved communities. Since then, we have been able to invest $470,000 into programs that have moved the needle on creating a more complete path to care, health literacy, and living well in communities across the country.
This pause in community funding is not a pause in our commitment to advancing the agenda of equitable access and care for all people living with Parkinson’s. Nor is it a divestment in the power of grassroots organizing. While we aim to bring this granting program back in the future, we continue to invest in communities through our Healthy Parkinson’s Communities™ initiative and programs including our Ambassador Leadership program, HPC Network, Hispanic Community Engagement, and (most recently) Pedaling for Parkinson’s. Through this effort, we still intend to be a partner with leaders like you who have the vision and creativity necessary to change how people live with Parkinson’s in communities everywhere.