The East Contra Costa Healthy Homes Collaborative brings together organizations already working in Pittsburg and Antioch, with families, young children, seniors, job seekers, and residents pushing for cleaner air.
In 2021, California launched the Jobs First initiative to help each of the state’s economic regions create quality jobs while building resilience to climate and economic change. All Home was selected as the Bay Area’s regional convener, and the Contra Costa Jobs First Table was established in early 2023.
It was through that table that 350 Contra Costa and Lift Up Contra Costa developed the initial concept for what became the Healthy Homes Hub, a place-based strategy combining direct-install electrification, workforce development, trusted community engagement, and environmental justice.
As the idea took shape, other organizations joined. Seven community-based organizations formalized into a functioning collaborative with shared governance, a designated lead agency, and agreed decision-making practices:
RCF Connects · 350 Contra Costa · Lift Up Contra Costa · GRID Alternatives · CocoKids · Healthy & Active Before 5 · Open Opportunities, Inc.
In 2025 the Collaborative was awarded a California Jobs First Catalyst grant to design the Hub in full.
The Implementation Blueprint was shaped by contributors beyond the Collaborative ’s membership.
Tierra Resource Consultants provided technical support across all workstreams and led development of the Implementation Blueprint.
Emerald Cities Collaborative conducted contractor research and developed the High Road workforce and contracting framework, engaging eighteen small, local, frontline and Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise contractors across East Contra Costa.
More than twenty-five subject matter experts from utilities, program administrators, labor organizations, local government, and workforce agencies were interviewed or consulted during design.
RCF Connects has worked across Contra Costa County since 2000, focused on the root causes of poverty, housing instability, and economic injustice. Originally the Richmond Community Foundation, it broadened countywide as families moved east into Antioch, Pittsburg and Bay Point, where its SparkPoint financial centers and Restoring Neighborhoods housing work continue today. RCF Connects serves as lead agency and fiscal sponsor for the Collaborative.
350 Contra Costa is a grassroots climate organization working across Contra Costa County for cleaner air, renewable energy, and environmental justice — with a particular focus on frontline communities affected by industrial and building pollution. With Lift Up Contra Costa, they developed the original concept for the Healthy Homes Hub through the Contra Costa Jobs First Table, and led much of the community engagement that shaped its design. 350 Contra Costa shares a website with its affiliated advocacy organization, 350 Contra Costa Action.
GRID Alternatives is a nonprofit solar installer working exclusively with income-qualified households. Since completing its first installation in 2004, its Bay Area team has brought solar to more than 1,900 local families. Its model helped shape California’s low-income solar programs, including SASH and SOMAH. GRID Alternatives also runs a workforce development program, Installation Basics Training 200, to teach individuals from underserved communities the skills and knowledge needed to pursue careers in solar and green construction careers.
CocoKids is a non-profit offering a wide range of free and low-cost programs and services so parents can work, and children are ready for success in school and life. CocoKids cares about the health and development of children, including the impact of climate change and poor air quality on children in child care homes. Partnering with the East Contra Costa Healthy Homes Collaborative provides child care providers with resources, education and opportunities to improve the environments in their homes.
Healthy & Active Before 5 is a countywide collaborative advancing health equity for children under five and their families through local policy and environmental change. Founded in 2007 with a focus on early childhood health, it has since broadened into the wider conditions that shape how young children grow — including assessments of play spaces in Pittsburg and Antioch. Its Leadership Council connects more than fifty organizations across health, early education, and community services in Contra Costa County.
Open Opportunities, Inc. provides case management and day-to-day program supervision for Future Build, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Future Build serves at least 40 young adults annually in East County, offering a comprehensive pre-apprenticeship program that spans 16 or more weeks. The program includes hands-on training in the building trades, solar theory and installation, general construction, hazardous waste handling, and electrification, preparing participants for careers in high-demand industries.
As part of its electrification training, Future Build provides each cohort with specialized instruction in heat pump water heater installation, equipping participants with practical skills aligned with emerging workforce needs in energy-efficient technologies.
Lift Up Contra Costa is a coalition of seven local community and labor organizations dedicated to building a safer, more equitable county for all residents.
We bring together working-class families, immigrants, and BIPOC communities to fight for economic dignity, housing stability, and equitable investments in our local resources.
Through organizing, civic engagement, and volunteer training, we empower community members to take action, shape local policy, and hold decision-makers accountable.
A Steering Committee made up of member organizations governs the Collaborative , setting priorities and making major decisions by consensus wherever possible. RCF Connects serves as lead agency.
The model is deliberate. Rather than creating a new organization to deliver services, the Collaborative builds the capacity of organizations residents already know and trust. Every member brings an existing relationship with the community, and keeps it.
The Collaborative expects to grow. As we move toward implementation we are interested in hearing from organizations working in healthy housing, environmental justice, community health, workforce development, and childcare across East Contra Costa.
This is an expression of interest, not an application. We’d start with a conversation.