Dear Friends,
Meaningful collaboration with our partners is a powerful way to create systems change in public health and strengthen our collective work of rooting out the drivers of health inequity. Collaborating with communities — the real drivers of change — is central to moving health equity forward.
As we dive into the summer months, I’m inspired by the breadth of our projects — from housing and food systems to equitable enforcement — and how we connect with partners through peer learning, webinars, and shared resources. Within each project, we address health disparities while partnering across sectors to build stronger systems that promote equitable opportunities and health for all community members.
Read on to learn more about our partnerships and projects. As always, feel free to reach out with questions.
With gratitude,
Sarah de Guia, JD
CEO, ChangeLab Solutions
Equity in the Planning Process
Present-day planners and policymakers have a responsibility to undo and replace harmful planning policies and practices that have contributed to inequitable health and wealth outcomes. To do that, planners need a new set of practices and tools to equitably engage and collaborate with communities in developing plans that disrupt patterns of structural disadvantage.
We’ve created a blog post, guide, and webinar to help planners elicit meaningful community participation that will infuse equity and justice considerations into their everyday practices and decisionmaking processes.
Guide for Food System Partners
In the wake of spiking food insecurity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve published a resource to help address disparities in food access and health. Legal & Policy Strategies for Health Care & Food System Partners is designed to support on-the-ground staff in community organizations, local governments, and health systems as they partner to advance health equity through changes in local food systems. Offering real-world examples and specific strategies, our guide illustrates how partners can collaboratively build more resilient and just food systems for the long term.
Housing Solutions Collaborative
After a nationwide search, we’ve chosen eight cross-sector teams to join our Housing Solutions Collaborative. Each team is from a small to mid-sized city facing unique conditions that impede housing equity — from segregation to aging housing stock. This year-long peer learning project will provide the teams with technical assistance and a shared foundation for collective problem solving. We’re excited to embark on a year of collaborative learning to advance policy goals through information sharing, networking, and building each jurisdiction's knowledge and capacity to address the housing crisis. Learn more about the teams.
Discussions on Uprooting Inequity
This year, ChangeLab Solutions has been hosting a six-part virtual discussion series to help changemakers address the drivers of health inequity and promote resilient communities. The webinars foster rich discussion and collaborative exploration with experts in each topic area. The topics — community health, employment, education, planning, food systems, and housing — relate directly to advancing health equity. Did you miss any of the episodes? You can watch them on our website. Also, stay tuned for episode 6 on housing; registration will open later this month.
Thank You to Stephen Sugarman
The ChangeLab community offers a heartfelt thank-you as we bid adieu to Stephen D. Sugarman, a founding member of our organization. Steve has been instrumental in ChangeLab Solutions’ success and development over the years. His legal expertise and innovative public health approaches have been vital to the foundation of our work and approach to health equity. He has consistently elevated our organization as a key player in the field of law and policy, and we are grateful for his many contributions. ChangeLab Solutions’ board, staff, and partners honor Steve’s tenure on our board and look forward to collaborating with him in new ways in the future.
7/21/2021