For more than two decades, nonprofit leader Rose Padilla Johnson has overseen health, early education, and life skills programming for low-income families and individuals as the CEO of San Leandro’s Davis Street Community Center. Over the course of Rose Padilla Johnson’s tenure, the center has expanded its programs to address numerous relevant community issues. Its primary care facility offers a 12-week anger management program that accepts San Leandro residents regardless of their immigration status or ability to pay. Anger is a normal, healthy response to disappointing situations or feelings of betrayal. However, people who frequently express anger over minor occurrences or react violently or aggressively toward others may need therapeutic support to better handle their emotions. Intensive anger management programs, especially those lasting eight weeks or longer, are effective for reducing violent outbursts and promoting healthier behavior patterns. While there are many different types of anger management programs, a commonly used therapeutic approach is grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy. Participants are encouraged to examine and recognize their thoughts, notice situations or people that trigger their anger, and to employ stress-reduction and communication techniques to work through problems in a more constructive manner.
Nonprofit executive Rose Padilla Johnson previously served as president of the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce in California. A San Leandro resident, Rose Padilla Johnson serves as CEO of Davis Street Community Center Incorporated. Davis Street, which seeks to address poverty and improve health for those who are disenfranchised, recently released its full-year report for the fiscal year 2017/2018. Here are some of the highlights:-Davis Street Primary Care Clinic is still growing. By the close of 2017/2018, the clinic had provided services to 12,390 patients. The bulk of patient visits were to the medical department (7,655 patients), followed by the dental department (3,297), behavioral (934), counseling (398), and optometry (132). -Over the same year, Davis Street’s five childcare centers cared for more than 300 children daily.-The Holiday Basket Program served thousands of people from low-income families. Through the program, Davis Street staff and volunteers provided food and toys to 1,005 families, including 1,803 children and 212 seniors. -Its Back to School program provided 300 children from low-income families with new shoes, backpacks, and school supplies for the new academic year.
A San Leandro, California, resident, Rose Padilla Johnson is a recipient of the United Nation’s Global Citizen Award for her efforts to alleviate inequality among low-income families. For more than 25 years, Rose Padilla Johnson has served as CEO of San Leandro-based nonprofit Davis Street Community Center Incorporated. Davis Street’s mission is to improve the health and quality of life of people in need. As part of this effort, its clinic offers nutritional cooking classes to help patients achieve wholesome, long-lasting recovery. Classes are conducted at Davis Street’s demonstration kitchen. Nutritionists are brought in to give patients lessons on preparing healthy, affordable, culturally appropriate meals. Patients also are shown how to make healthy grocery purchases on a limited budget. Lessons and recipes are available in Spanish and Cantonese as well as English. On top of grocery shopping and cooking lessons from nutritionists, wellness coaches work with patients individually on the lifestyle changes they need to make to live healthier. The coaches also talk to patients about the risks of obesity.
As a result of her tenacious efforts and well-developed network, Davis Street CEO Rose Padilla Johnson managed the growth of the San Leandro, California, community center from a small operation into a $10 million organization that serves tens of thousands of clients annually. A visible presence in several community-focused organizations, Rose Padilla Johnson advocates on behalf of the most disadvantaged residents of San Leandro, many of whom arrived in the city within the past decade after skyrocketing home prices pushed them out of the Bay Area. According to a study conducted by the Urban Displacement Project under the direction of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, rising housing prices in the Bay Area are disproportionately driving out low-income families of color. Between 2000 and 2015, despite rent prices growing by 30 percent, the number of low-income white households remained relatively stable. Conversely, during this same period, 20 percent of economically disadvantaged families of color relocated to lower-priced areas such as Antioch and San Leandro. This migration pattern has resulted in neighborhoods that are less racially and economically diverse. The impact is especially profound for low-income African American households, who are far more likely to live in a low-income neighborhood than their white economic peers. Economic segregation results in a litany of social problems, including a lack of accessible job opportunities and increased difficulties securing housing.
In recognition of her tireless work to improve the circumstances of families and children with low-income backgrounds, Rose Padilla Johnson, the former president of the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce, received the prestigious Global Citizen Award from the United Nations. For nearly three decades, Rose Padilla Johnson has overseen operations for Davis Street Community Center, serving residents from San Leandro and the surrounding county. Davis Street’s McCammon Health Center delivers high-quality primary and preventative medical care, including breast cancer screenings. A low-cost or free breast cancer screening is one of the most effective ways to address the disparity in breast cancer survival rates between women with high incomes and women with low incomes. Women who are wealthier are also more likely to have access to regular screenings and follow-up care. Conversely, women from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to be diagnosed at later stages and delay treatment, which results in higher breast cancer morbidity rates. To reverse this, clinics serving women from low-income backgrounds must increase access to routine breast cancer screenings and educate the women on their treatment options.
The CEO of the Davis Street Community Center, Rose Padilla Johnson has been a highly visible presence in the San Leandro community for many years. Under the direction of Rose Padilla Johnson, Davis Street tackles the issue of food insecurity by providing food and nutritional assistance to more than 6,000 San Leandro and Alameda County residents every year.In Alameda County, about 13 percent of residents were food insecure in 2016. The Alameda County food bank estimates that one-fifth of the county’s population has accessed food assistance services. Poverty and food insecurity are interrelated. In Alameda County, households must earn more than $92,000 dollars a year to afford housing, food, medical care, and other basic necessities. However, thousands of local families make less than half of this amount. Families facing financial issues may have difficulty purchasing enough food for their household and must turn to food pantries and other community services.
Since 1991 Rose Padilla Johnson has led Davis Street Community Center, Inc., in San Leandro, California, as chief executive officer. In this position, Rose Padilla Johnson oversees an array of community services, including nutritional cooking classes, directed at the most underserved populations of San Leandro and its surrounding areas. The cooking classes offered by Davis Street Community Center are broken into two key segments. Families begin by learning how to budget for, shop for, and prepare healthy meals, including foods with cultural significance. Cooking classes are led by professional nutritionists in the ultramodern Demonstration Kitchen and may be delivered in Spanish, Cantonese, or English.Following cooking lessons, participants are immediately paired with a wellness coach who emphasizes the importance of a balanced diet and identifies life strategies that can help families maintain healthy eating habits. These personalized consultations can address specific living situations, such as preparing meals for adults or children living with diabetes. Nutritional cooking classes are open to all Davis Street clients, particularly those coming from low-income communities of color and people who have recently immigrated.
