The vision of the Community Resiliency Team (CRT) is to expand local capacity and infrastructure in partnership with public, private, and philanthropic agencies through community-led strategies that build coordination across Marin County. This includes taking an equity-based approach focused on residents who are most vulnerable to emergencies and who would benefit the greatest from the provision and coordination of services and resources. These teams (formerly Community Response Teams) were developed in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, but have since evolved to support broader public health priorities. The goal of the CRT initiative is to support county-wide efforts to improve community awareness and knowledge of public health threats, prevention, and mitigation strategies, and to increase access to support and resources.
The current CRT initiative focuses on three public health priorities as listed below:
1) Emergency Preparedness, including the Effects of Climate Change
a) Goal: Prepare for public health emergencies, natural and human-made disasters; improve community response capabilities; and build community resilience.
b) Objective: Strengthen emergency preparedness within each Zone through active engagement and collaboration.
2) Overdose Prevention
a) Goal: Reduce the risk of drug overdose by increasing access to Narcan and providing training on Narcan administration and education.
b) Objective: Help mitigate the risks of opioid overdose in our communities by implementing evidence-based strategies, in coordination with OD Free Marin’s initiatives and priorities.
3) Access to Services
a) Goal: Identify all access points to healthcare, and implement known or new strategies to increase successful navigation of those access points to services for which community members are eligible.
b) Objective: Increase understanding of current services available in each zone; increase successful enrollment into Medi-Cal and CalFresh for (newly) eligible individuals.
Marin County Public Health (MCPH) funds the CRT initiative and provides infrastructure, guidance, support, and resources for the CRTs to conduct their work. Each CRT is led by a “Lead Agency” within each health equity zone. The Lead Agencies were chosen through a competitive Request for Proposal process and are contracted for 3 fiscal years. These organizations work closely with the MCPH CRT Backbone Team and Zone Partners to coordinate and implement activities. The MCPH CRT Backbone Team acts as a conduit to the Health Officers, public health programs, and others within Marin County, including the Office of Emergency Management and OD Free Marin. Each Lead Agency will engage local community partners (Zone Partners), who may include non-profit organizations, schools, community health clinics, the business community, faith-based organizations, and city and county representatives.
The most critical aspect of the CRT Initiative is the culture of transparency and shared problem-solving that has emerged through the work of the participating organizations and individuals. This culture informs the three guiding principles that govern the Initiative:
- Equal Partnership: Needs, requests, questions, and concerns move to the collaboration platform from both directions and then to the appropriate organizations for resolution or implementation.
- Delivering Measurable Health Impact: The shared goal is to measurably improve the health of residents of Marin County. When possible, data-driven action is tied to specific objectives and key results to track progress and ensure accountability.
- Drive to Action: The information and resources created and shared through the CRT Initiative are meant to drive actions to protect the community’s health.
MCPH is grateful to our partners. The CRT Lead Agencies are listed below, along with links to their websites.
Novato Zone Lead Agency:
North Marin Community Services
Address: 680 Wilson Avenue, Novato, CA 94947
San Rafael Zone Lead Agency:
Canal Alliance
Address: 91 Larkspur Street, San Rafael, CA 94901
Southern Marin Zone Lead Agency:
Marin County Cooperation Team
Address: 2330 Marinship Way, Suite 150, Sausalito, CA, 94965
West Marin Zone Lead Agencies:
West Marin Community Services
Address: 11431 CA-1, PO Box 1093, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
San Geronimo Valley Community Center
Address: 6350 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, San Geronimo, CA 94963