Board approves African American wellness hub plan, agrees to name it for late Supervisor Federal Glover

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 12 approved an implementation plan to establish an African American Holistic Wellness and Resource Hub — a countywide network of culturally responsive services and community‑based partners aimed at addressing long‑standing health, housing and mental‑health disparities.

Kendra Carr and Peter Kim, co‑directors of the county’s Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice, presented the plan and timeline. The implementation proposal treats the hub as a coordinated service network rather than a single lodge: an initial phase to set up a transitional community advisory body and solicit a lead entity; a second phase in which a lead organization establishes a 501(c)(3) that hires an executive director and builds a community council and countywide partnerships; and a third phase to open a physical anchor site in East County after the core network has matured.

“Black communities across the county need sustained, black‑centered healing‑focused spaces for comprehensive community care,” Kendra Carr said, summarizing the plan’s purpose. The feasibility study underpinning the plan drew on more than 4,000 resident responses and steering‑committee input, the presenters said.

Financial and operational highlights from the plan approved by the board include:

• Seed funding already authorized: Supervisors previously allocated roughly $7,900,000 (originally described as $7.5 million) for initial implementation. County staff said that amount is intended to be spent over roughly three and a half years to launch services, competitively select a lead implementation entity, and seed an anchor site.

• Proposed spending breakdown: The plan calls for about $3.75 million to community‑based service providers, $2.15 million to fund an implementation lead agency (to stand up operations and the 501(c)(3)), and $2.0 million reserved as seed money for renovations or an anchor facility build‑out.

• Longer‑term funding recommendation: The plan recommends the board consider an ongoing annual county allocation of $1.5 million starting in fiscal 2029–30 to sustain core operations.

• Governance: The plan proposes a transitional community advisory body (TCAB) to help select a lead entity and then to transition to a community council once a nonprofit and board of directors are established. The board approved a motion that also adds an additional supervisorial seat to the hub’s board of directors (the motion as approved called for an extra supervisor seat), and supervisors asked the Equity Committee to interview and nominate community council members for board approval.

• Immediate response and pilots: County staff said the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice has already distributed $1,000,000 in earlier Measure X grants to 13 Black‑led organizations to deliver rapid services while the hub is being stood up. Those grantees include community mental‑health and wellness projects, food and housing assistance, youth development and infant/maternal support programs.

The board also approved a motion to formally name the initiative for the late Supervisor Federal Glover; Supervisor Chanel Scales‑Preston moved the motion and it was seconded and carried unanimously. The board voted 5‑0 to approve the implementation plan and the naming decision.

Public commentary at the meeting was extensive and overwhelmingly supportive; speakers included faith leaders, community organizers, clinicians, steering committee members and residents who described traumatic personal experiences and urged immediate action. Several speakers pressed the board to move quickly to fund and stand up services in East and West County neighborhoods with high need.

Next steps described by staff include launching the TCAB recruitment process, issuing a request for qualifications (RFQ) for a lead implementation entity and a request for proposals (RFP) for rapid community providers, and returning to the board with contract and solicitation materials. Staff also said they would work with the county’s public‑works and facilities teams on site analyses and that a capital‑campaign approach will likely be required to fully fund facility renovations beyond the $2 million seed amount in the plan.

(Ending) With the board’s unanimous approval — and the motion to name the hub after Federal Glover — county leaders said they will move to solicit a lead nonprofit, stand up governance, and begin phasing in services over the coming year while pursuing longer‑term sustainability funding.