In 2021, 16 Black serving organizations and 3 mental health providers were funded through the City of Long Beach to provide culturally affirming COVID-19 mitigation to Long Beach Black residents. 

Needing to coordinate the collective efforts of Black serving organizations in Long Beach, The Black Health Equity Collaborative (BHEC) was established as an informal collaborative partnerships among Black-serving provider agencies, nonprofit and for-profit small businesses to promote health and wellness among Long Beach Black residents to reduce COVID 19 impact, risk factors, and mortality among Long Beach Black residents.

BHEC continues to grow by collaboratively holding visioning meetings to establish a shared mission and objectives with the long-term goal of developing a formal BHEC 501c3 organization.  BHEC continues to develop its leadership structure and overall organization goals to become more effective in reducing health inequities among Long Beach Black residents.

BHEC seeks to accomplish this mission by:

• Acknowledging and addressing the social determinants of health that contribute to health outcomes in black communities. These determinants include but are not limited to racism and discrimination, housing insecurity, and access to educational, economic, and health opportunities.
• Developing a model for support for physical and mental health across the lifespan in black communities.
• Developing systems of accountability for healthcare for black health equity.
• Enhancing access to resources to advance health.
• Promoting diverse forms of wellness.
• Providing information and advocacy for black health equity.
• Sustaining community engagement.