What are the impacts of COVID-19 on housing issues, and how can employers support housing initiatives that directly impact their employees or communities? Learn more from our latest Expert Insight.
Read MoreWith the ushering in of a new administration, it's a good time to reflect on key 2020 ballot measures and their impact on race and health equity.
Read MoreLike most of the United States, the city teams participating in the Invest Health initiative found their priorities upended by the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The national Invest Health initiative, a project of Reinvestment Fund and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has brought together cross-sector collaboratives in 50 small and mid-size cities since 2016 to develop health and equity-focused strategies for community investment; its second phase, Field Building, provided ten of those cities with ongoing targeted support for their work. The pandemic’s disproportionate impacts on the health of Black, brown, and low-income communities brought into stark focus the inequities the city teams were already fighting. However, despite the challenges of COVID-19, leaders in Akron, OH, Missoula, MT, and Greensboro, NC also found opportunities to leverage the cross-sector relationships and community engagement practices they had fostered since 2016 through Invest Health.
Read MoreThe current COVID-19 pandemic, like many crises before it, has disproportionally affected communities of color, hitting Black and Latinx communities the hardest. COVID-19 has re-exposed the ingrained racism restricting access to quality healthcare, education, secure employment, and stable housing.
Read MoreRWJF Culture of Health Prize winners work continuously to evolve the culture of their community to one that realizes health, opportunity, and equity for all. We have heard from many of the 40+ Prize-winning communities in recent months about how they are responding to COVID-19. It is apparent they have much in common in how they consistently look to strong and diverse connections in times of crises.
Read MoreRural health disparities are well documented, as are racial and ethnic health disparities (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 2020). Evidence suggests that we have made little progress in closing these gaps over time, and in some cases disparities have widened, in spite of numerous efforts and improved health and quality of care for everyone. During my time working on both issues, I have been surprised and a little disheartened at how little researchers, advocates, policymakers, and funders focused on each area discuss the other, given how much they have in common. Many working to eliminate disparities in communities of color tend to focus on urban issues, and many advocating on behalf of rural communities tend to ignore communities of color, including tribal communities.
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