New Haven’s Journey to Promote Health, Well-Being, and Equity
Five years into the Sentinel Communities Surveillance Project, New Haven’s capacity to promote health, well-being, and equity is led by the local health department, Yale University, and YNHH.
Others are also involved, including healthcare organizations, educational institutions, city departments, a robust nonprofit sector, workforce development organizations and coalitions, and local foundations. New Haven continues to take steps toward better health, well-being, and equity with significant grassroots activity and institutional initiatives on topics such as community safety and trauma, reimagining healthcare delivery, meeting basic needs in combination with upstream efforts, and engaging in equitable economic and workforce development. Many of these initiatives have been in place before 2017, though new investments and commitments have been made since then. New Haven’s history of confronting various social determinants of health and health inequities has shaped stakeholders’ broad definition of health, which incorporates education, poverty, violence and trauma, and housing, in addition to physical and mental health. Some community members are concerned that the dominant narratives in the community still emphasize downstream approaches and individual responsibility. New Haven’s approach to health equity has evolved over the past five years, from some discussion of equity by various stakeholders to rethinking funding, empowering grassroots leaders, and creating new structures with racial equity as a cornerstone.
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Community Capacity
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Major Initiatives
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Health Priorities and Narrative
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Health Equity
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Lessons Learned: Where is New Haven Five Years Later?
New Haven’s journey to promote health, well-being, and equity shows how a community can capitalize on both institutional and grassroots capacity, but it also sheds light on how acute community challenges may inhibit collaboration and action on long-term systems transformation.
Other communities can learn from New Haven’s approaches and challenges to inform their own journeys. And as COVID-19 recovery continues, with New Haven receiving historic funding through the American Rescue Plan Act, future research could consider the ways in which the community’s established track record for considering health and equity influences community health narratives and decisions moving forward.
New Haven has funding, capacity, and grassroots energy to address longstanding factors that influence health, equity, and well-being outcomes. Yet, instability in local leadership, a top-down approach to community health from many large institutions, and a lack of coordination present barriers to addressing significant unmet needs in the community.
Facilitators
Funding and capacity from large institutions
Culture of community engagement
Cultural diversity contributing to sense of community and vibrancy
Willingness to think collectively across sectors
Barriers
Leadership turnover
Top-down approach to funding allocation
Small tax base limits funding to city government
Many acute priorities results in disjointed effort