Chipra Newsletter 2011

CHIPRA Holiday Dinner brings

Community together

By Lorena Rivera

With visions of candy canes and raffles galore, the CHIPRA team had plenty of surprises

in store. On December 21, 2010 in an effort to identify American Indian children in need

of health insurance the CHIPRA team hosted a Holiday community dinner. The evening

began with an opening song by community

member Gene Ray Ahboah; a powerful start to

our event. There were 150 people who signed to

enjoy good food, learn about our CHIPRA pro-

gram and to take pictures with Santa. Commu-

nity Members young and old gathered to hear

valuable information about CHIPRA. Over 50

American Indian community members com-

pleted a survey which has been instrumental in

the shaping of current outreach efforts.

Martin Waukazoo, CEO of NAHC spoke of the

importance of children having health insurance,

encouraging those present to tell their friends, fami-

lies and neighbors about this important service being offered right here at the clinic. His

message resonated with community members and staff.

Throughout the evening CHIPRA staff raffled off; Target, Wal-Mart and gas gift cards.

The evening ended with the much anticipated Grand Prize raffle, to the attendees surprise

it was a NINTENDO WII.

By Shirley Begay

First things first; CHIPRA stands for the Chil-

dren’s Health Insurance Reinstatements Act

that was signed by President Obama just over a

year and a half ago.

In the Fall of 2009, it was recognized that

American Indian/ Alaskan Native (AI/AN)

children continue to have high rates of unin-

sured children and in April of 2010 the Depart-

ment of Health and Human Services awarded

Native American Health Center a three year

grant to develop an outreach program to find

and enroll into Medi-Cal

What is CHIPRA?

Community Members enjoying good food and company

Volume 1, Issue 1

February 2011

Meet our CHIPRA team

2

Shirley Begay 2

Lorena Rivera 2

Save the Date 3

Word Search 4

Neighborhood Safety 4

List of Events 5

Got Health Insurance 6

Inside this issue:

CHIPRA TIMES Nat ive Amer ican Heal th Center

and Healthy Families.

The CHIPRA Enrollment & Retention

Program is an provides services to help

families through the process of enrolling

in and maintaining Medi-Cal and Healthy

Families.

Here at our clinic we offer:

• Eligibility screening

• On-site enrollment for Medi-Cal &

Healthy Families

• Renewal application assistance

• Eligibility screening

Come and see our CHIPRA Outreach

Team to see if you and your children

qualify for these low-cost and no-cost

health insurance

options!

Shirley Begay

Greetings,

My name is Shirley Begay and I am a member of the Bay Area Native Com-munity; born and raised in San Pablo/Richmond, CA. I am Navajo, Hualapai and San Carlos Apache, enrolled in the Hualapai Tribe. I am the CHIPRA Outreach Worker II for Native American Health Center’s CHIPRA Enroll-ment & Retention Program. As an outreach, I go into the community to seek out American Indian/Alaskan Native families who do not have health insurance for their children and assist them in applying for Medi-Cal and Healthy Families. I understand how hard it is to navigate our government and county systems at times in order to receive services that are more than a privilege for us; they are our right. When it comes to the health of our chil-dren, I believe that anything I can do to help our Native families feel at ease when applying for these programs, or any questions I can answer helps to remove barriers to health care, how ever small they are.

Meet our CHIPRA Team!

CHIPRA TIMES

I am Lorena Rivera (Umpqua/Mohawk), CHIPRA Outreach Worker at the Native American Health Center. It is a great honor to introduce myself to you. I was born and raised in Oakland, and after spending some time on my grand-mother’s reservation in Oregon. I am glad to be home. In addition to working at the Clinic full-time, I attend Holy Names University, where I am focusing on Liberal Studies with an emphasis on International Relations. As a mother myself, I understand the importance of Health insurance for our children; and know first hand how having access to healthcare can improve our children’s quality of life. As we embark on this journey of enrolling American Indian/Alaskan Native families into one of the Children’s Health Insurance Pro-grams, I look forward to getting out into the community and getting to know you all! The whole application process may seem overwhelming, that’s why our CHIPRA team is here to assist you. Please feel free to call, drop by or email me.

Lorena Rivera

Volume 1, Issue 1

Come join NAHC’s CHIPRA Outreach team in, once again, sharing food, laughs and a good time while learning how you can enroll your children in Medi-

Cal and Healthy Families.

Everyone is invited!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

1p-5p

American Indian/Alaskan Native families who schedule an appoint-ment at the BBQ and complete an application with CHIPRA Out-reach Staff in our clinic will receive a $20 gift card once the

application is complete.

Intertribal Friendship House

523 International Blvd

Oakland, CA 94606

For more information, contact Shirley Begay (510) 535-4474

or Carol Wahpepah (510) 836-1955

CHIPRA TIMES

CHIPRA Word Search

y l m y d l e h y h t l a e h

c e e n r v e n n e 7 m v i c

n d v i n a e l a d a i i e m

e c n a r u s n i h t l a e h

d h u c d h c r d a c e d n c

i i i s p n e o n c h i p r a

s l f s t c c n i - - u c o e

e d h a t u a i n c o m e l r

r r p i m k a k a f e n n l t

u e o e s i o l c e c i e m u

y n n a i m l s i m h c a e o

s t l i o n e i r m l h i n d

s a a c a r n s e n e h s t o

m l a l e l n a m s m e m l p

e l i c n i d y a r e s s e t

By Dawn Lulua-Claxton

How much do you really know about your neighborhood when you move in? Sure, the landlord/realtor gives you the wonderful statistics about how great the school system is, the easy commute and the nearby activities. But do they share with you information regarding assaults, robbery or sexual predators who live in the vicinity? I’ve learned that if you want to know about something, and it’s important, you had better do the research yourself and not rely on a third party. Before moving anywhere, view the Free Crime Maps & Sex Offender listing on the internet. You should be able to view your neighborhood using several sites. I have to say, I felt much better about my community after having searched my neighborhood. But then I took it a step further and started viewing the neighborhoods of my elderly in-laws & friends with small children. I was horri-fied to find out in my in-law’s community there were several registered sex offenders within a 10-mile radius! They live very close to middle schools. Now I am glad that I opted for a school where I drop and pick up my children. This has, however, allowed me the opportunity to have a conversation with them about their personal security. Un-fortunately, they were the type of people that assume they’ll live forever and nothing will happen. So far, they’re right. But, by viewing a few crime maps with them I was able to review safety measures that should be in place for them. I would encourage everyone to check out their neighborhood and those of family and friends.

Some Sites to check:

www.crimespotting.com www.crimereports.com www.crimemapping.com www.meganslaw.ca.gov

Med-Cal Children

Healthy Families

American Indian Alaskan Native

NAHC 7 Directions

CHIPRA Health Insurance

Outreach Enrollment

Documents Income

Residency

Schedule of Events

February 2011

• All month on-site Medi-Cal/Healthy Families enrollment

• 2/23/11-CHIPRA Focus Group

March 2011

• All month on-site Medi-Cal/Healthy Families enrollment

• 3/12/11– CHIPRA Springtime BBQ

• 3/12/11– Running is my High

Got Health Insurance? Frequently Asked Questions

What if I have income? That’s ok, you may still qualify for Medi-Cal or Healthy families depending on your household size and in-come.

Do I have to make an appoint-ment? While appointments are recommended , drop-ins are avail-able. Monday-Friday 9 AM-12PM, 1-5PM.

What if I do not live in Alameda County?

We can still help, in fact we are in the midst of setting up times when our CHIPRA team can travel to Contra Costa, San Fran-cisco and San Mateo Counties. Keep your eye open for our

announcements'.

What type of documentation do I need to bring in?

– Proof of Identity

– California Drivers License or Identification Card

– U.S Citizenship or alien status documents (passport)

– Birth Certificate

– Documentation of Income

– Paycheck stub

– A copy of last year’s federal income tax return

– Proof of Residency

– Rent Receipt or Utility bill, or

– A pay stub that shows your address in California

If I am Native American do I need to provide proof? If so, what kind is acceptable

No, but these documents are helpful in reducing co=pays and premiums.

– Enrollment document from

your federally recognized, or

– Certificate Degree of Indian

Blood (CDIB)

Volume 1, Issue 1

Currently seeking submissions for our next CHIPRA TIMES. Poetry, Artwork, and informa-tional pieces are being ac-cepted. Keeping with the Health Insurance topic all work should be relevant for American Indian Children & Families.

Native American Health Center

assists American Indians and Alaska Natives to im-

prove and maintain their physical, mental, emo-

tional, social and spiritual well-being with respect

for cultural traditions and to advocate for the

needs of all Indian people, especially the most vul-

nerable members of our community.

Native American Health

Center

7 Directions

2950 International Blvd.

Oakland, CA. 94601

Native American Health

Center

Phone: 510-535-4408, 510-535-4474

Fax: 510-535-4409 E-mail: [email protected]

[email protected]

Striving to make sure no Bay Area American Indian/Alaskan Native child

goes without Health Insurance.

Were on the Web!

www.nativehealth.org

Chipra Newsletter 2011

Documents

Transcript of Chipra Newsletter 2011