Together with Brookdale Hospital, the NYC Department of Health and the One Brooklyn Health System, 1199 hosted a summit on April 27 to educate and mobilize East Brooklyn’s communities around health care and economic justice.

Joining the East Brooklyn Call to Action for Health and Economic Justice, which was held at P.S. 165 in Brownsville, were Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, NYS Assembly member Latrice Walker and NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. The event included panel discussions on four major issues: premature mortality, health and housing, workforce development, and food and fitness.

Heard from were 1199SEIU EVP Joyce Neil, 1199SEIU Training and Employment Funds (TEF) Executive Director Sandi Vito, One Brooklyn Health CEO LaRay Brown, and NYC Department of Health Assistant Commissioner Dr. Torian Easterling. Conversations centered on the pressures of gentrification, health disparities and the proliferation of conditions leading to asthma and hypertension, and job creation. Panelists emphasized the need to make available healthy fresh food and health information and the holistic approach to community building that includes economic, emotional and physical health.

“Safe, affordable housing is the best prescription you can get for health care,” said One Brooklyn leader LaRay Brown.

1199TEF’s Sandi Vito emphasized the importance of quality, community-based jobs. “We can’t just think about job creation; we also have to think about how we can improve existing jobs and make them high-paying and connect our communities with them,” she said.

- 1199 Magazine: May / June 2019