Roughly 70 miles northeast of Los Angeles, Antelope Valley encompasses approximately Nestled at the base of Los Angeles County’s San Gabriel Mountains lies the city of Azusa, aptly known as “The Canyon City.” The word Azusa is derived from its indigenous placename, Asuksavit, meaning the “Place of his Grandmother.” Azusa has over 10,000 years of rich cultural history and a sizeable Hispanic and Indigenous population. It’s a medium-sized, close-knit, working-class town and is in one of the most diverse regions of Los Angeles County.

"Azusa has been an agricultural center and trade hub for centuries," says Nathan Nunez, a facilitator with All in for Azusa, an Accountable Community for Health (ACH). "Now, our city has entered a new era as we begin to transform our support systems to address today’s greatest issues: housing, workforce development, mental health, open space and the environment. We also serve as the gateway to the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, a fitting focal point for our efforts to rekindle our relationship to the natural environment, foster more recreational opportunities, and protect local ecosystems.”

In 2019, community partners from the Healthy San Gabriel Valley initiative—local community benefit organizations, educational institutions and health systems—adopted the ACH model, and launched All in for Azusa to pilot the approach. At first, the community decided to focus on addressing multiple forms of violence. Quickly though, they realized that the community’s issues are far broader and intersecting.

As a result, they launched Upstream Azusa, expanding the efforts of All in for Azusa to reconnect communities to their environment, build a sense of belonging, and cultivate equitable access to open, green spaces. Programs focus on emotional wellbeing, physical fitness, social connectedness, workforce development and environmental stewardship.

“Meetings that bring local, state and federal agencies—and really every sector within the community—together around the same table occurred rarely, if ever, in our community,” says Jim Rhyne, project manager for All in for Azusa. “Now, we have the U.S. Forest Service, the Watershed Conservation Authority, YWCA-SGV, Azusa Beautiful, Azusa Education Foundation, Azusa Rotary, the City of Azusa, and many more partners all in one room. We’re working closely on a regular basis to create a better environment for all our issue areas.”

Since the beginning, the initiative has centered efforts around protective factors for health, like access to community services, youth mentorship, coordinated wraparound supports, and programs to address the social determinants of health. This has put the ACH into a facilitator role that ensures that sectors work together to accomplish their shared, upstream vision.

“Looking forward, we’re excited to develop and expand Upstream Azusa to improve our community’s emotional wellbeing, health, workforce and environment efforts,” says Miki Carpenter, director of community resources for the City of Azusa, the ACH’s backbone organization. “We’re also working closely with diverse partners to expand access to open space, by developing Azusa Wilderness Park and redesigning the San Gabriel Canyon Gateway Center at the entry point to our canyon. Residents will soon have many more recreational opportunities—all of which will help support Upstream Azusa’s goals.”

Learn more at hsgv.org/aifa