…This interview is part of Build Healthy Places Network’s new Video Snapshot Series, a series of quick deep dives with experts from the community development, health, and finance sectors. In this 14 minute Video Snapshot, Build Healthy Places Network’s Ashley Hernandez speaks with Allen Smart, a national spokesperson and advocate for improving rural philanthropic practice under his group…
…Both communities face challenges attracting and retaining health providers, as well as accessing the latest technology. Both also have a greater reliance on public insurance. Although the specific health challenges may vary, many are the same, such as higher rates of chronic conditions. Similar to communities of color, rural communities experience higher poverty and unemployment rates (US Department of Agriculture…
…health care for all, outreach and education, and leading communication campaigns in the nonprofit sector, prior to joining CDPH. Blanca is married and has a 6 month old baby. In her free time, she loves going to the beach and spending time with family and friends. She is fluent in Spanish and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. …
…The Nonprofit Readiness for Health Partnership tool from the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) helps community-based organizations that are considering partnering with healthcare organizations identify capacity or investment needs so that they can be well positioned to explore partnership opportunities. This free, downloadable resource was developed as part of NFF’s Healthy Outcomes Initiative, supported by The Kresge Foundation. For more insights from the Healthy Outcomes Initiative, read about a Sonoma…
…Investment Fund and “What Counts: Harnessing Data for America’s Communities,” the follow-up in partnership with The Urban Institute. Both books are available for free and are an invaluable resource to those interested in community development and health. Our blog post, “Good Housing Means Good Health,” describes how a Stamford hospital and the local public housing authority, Charter Oak Communities, transformed…
…I’ve been fortunate to work with practitioners and leaders who have always known that we have a shared responsibility to eradicate inequality. We fight hard for what we know to be right—equitable communities that have good schools, are free of crime and disinvestment, and that are affordable, accessible, healthy, and happy. On most days, our fight already feels like an…
…and can be used to reflect these connections. Next, it is difficult to implement a historical, cumulative and lifecourse approach to both practice and policy. There are system-level inequities and historical factors that influence multiple drivers of health at the same time. Yet these are often addressed in ways that do not reflect the full implications of the factors and…
…redlining by banks. Before the CRA, bank deposits from black neighborhoods were essentially providing the capital for development in other, usually white, parts of town. The practice, along with other discriminatory lending practices, stripped wealth from African American communities, setting the stage for the many inequities we see today, including in individual health. Estimates are that between 1992 and 2007,…
…narrative stories of ordinary people coming together to bring about extraordinary place-based transformations in their communities. Volunteers at Groundworks Richmond areplanting greenery in their community. For example, the origin and subsequent development of Unity Park in Richmond, California illustrates how neighbors helped design and construct a vibrant green space for people to play and travel by foot or bike. In…
…core lessons: emerge directly from the practice of community partnerships and leaders with whom we have worked; are broadly applicable to healthy communities work regardless of strategy or community setting; and address strategic topics that could spark reflection and improve leaders’ decisions. ALBD has learned about the process of healthy community change over more than a decade of work….
…This infographic by Active Living Research (ALR) shows how the design of communities can help families be physically active. The presence of parks, trails, playgrounds, sidewalks, and bike lanes encourage walking, biking, and play among both kids and adults. And when communities are safe, well-maintained and have appealing scenery, children and families are more likely to be active. …
…services, childcare, food, jobs, safe spaces for returning citizens from prison or jail, and so much more. For example, in many places with families with different citizenship or immigration statuses, consideration is given to utilizing resources based on the needs of the recipients—many of whom live in crowded housing, have little access to health care, and have no choice but…
…This infographic by Active Living Research (ALR) highlights a few ways that schools can promote daily physical activity for kids. Comprehensive physical activity programs that offer PE, recess, and safe and active ways to get to schools not only offer children the skills to learn how to be physically active for a lifetime, but also provide physical and mental…
…Rob Grossinger is a vice president at Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., where he works on community stabilization and the intersection of health care and housing. He spoke with Build Healthy Places Network’s Barbara Ray in Chicago. Barbara Ray: Why is an affordable housing developer interested in public health? Rob Grossinger: Let’s start with the overarching holy grail: Affordable housing…
…This toolkit by the Rural Health Information Hub organizes evidence-based models and resources to support the implementation of programs that address the social determinants of health (SDOH) in rural communities across the United States. The toolkit includes 7 essential modules that provide promising examples and strategies for organizations implementing programs and identifying the specific barriers that rural communities…
…When it comes to health, your ZIP code may be more important than your genetic code. Learn more with this primer by the RWJF Commission to Build a Healthier America on the connections between community and health….
…The Mariposa Healthy Living Initiative began in 2009, when the Denver Housing Authority and its master planning team established physical, mental, and community health as a proxy to understand how redevelopment actions would change the quality of life for residents. The Initiative recognizes that the built environment is a determinant of health outcomes, which ultimately influence the quality and…
…An increasing number of initiatives have been launched with a goal of inspiring multisector approaches to improving community health. Public health agencies at local, state, and federal levels, in partnership with other government leadership, can play a vital role in leading across silos and bringing the various sectors together. The broad, community efforts for public health exemplified by…
…Healthy Development without Displacement: Realizing the Vision of Healthy Communities for All In recent years we have seen a surge in initiatives designed to improve health and safety through changes to community environments, with new investments in bike lanes, parks, urban trails, public transit, grocery stores, and more. Over time such investments, combined with shifting job and housing markets,…
…This new report by Enterprise Community Partners and NeighborWorks America shows how an innovative pilot program – the Health Outcomes Demonstration Project – equipped 20 affordable housing and community development organizations to evaluate health outcomes across a range of programs. The evaluated programs include neighborhood improvement and community safety initiatives, youth education and services, housing improvement, service coordination…
…risk factors for chronic disease, as well as with mental health, injuries, violence and other important health indicators. This issue brief by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation examines the current evidence linking neighborhoods and health, the opportunities for Americans to live in healthy neighborhoods, and promising programs and interventions to make neighborhoods healthier places to live, learn and play….
…Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity Julia Caplan, MPP, MPH Building Sustainable, Long-Term Inter-Agency Partnerships Connie Mitchell, MD, MPH Tools to Get You Started with Health in All Policies Karen Ben-Moshe, MPP, MPH Embedding Health and Equity into the Fabric of Government Lianne Dillon, MPH Implementing Health in All Policies: Examples and Lessons Learned Linda Rudolph, MD, MPH…
…how blight affects the health of individuals and neighborhoods while offering a blend of policy and program recommendations to help guide communities in taking a more holistic and coordinated approach, such as expanding the use of health impact assessments, tracking health outcomes, and infusing public health into housing policies, codes and practices. By Erwin de Leon and Joseph Schilling…
…When you invest in the Enterprise Community Impact Note, you are supporting the creation of vibrant and equitable communities where families have access to healthy, affordable homes connected to good schools, jobs, transit and health care services. This report features the stories of people who are prospering thanks to your support. They are residents and patients at CAMBA Gardens in…
…This literature review summarizes what we currently know from research about the effects of stable and affordable housing. The research is condensed into defensible points – backed by solid supporting evidence – to serve as a resource for understanding and communicating the many impacts of affordable housing….
…Community development isn’t just about where low-income people live; it’s about how well they live. Zip code and health are intrinsically linked. In the first of a series of articles on this from the Institute for Comprehensive Community Development, LISC’s Amy Gillman looks at how and why community development has become so critical to the question of better health…
…sectors to take actions to strengthen policies and improve practices that are driven by the best available evidence and knowledge. Identify critical research, evaluation, and data collection needs. A key objective of Healthy People 2020 is highlighting the importance of addressing the social determinants of health by including “Create social and physical environments that promote good health for all”…
