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Dear Invest Health changemakers,
It’s nearing the end of the first quarter of 2023, and I am feeling energized by the work ahead. Since 2016, Invest Health has been on a learning journey, bringing together diverse sectors from across the country. We continue to connect with old friends, as well as make new ones, and are impressed by the tenacity of teams in helping to advance the Invest Health aligned work.
In this edition of our newsletter, we are highlighting some of the inspiring work being done to address the housing crisis and create more cohesive communities. From Napa, CA, Jennifer Palmer, Director of Housing & Homeless Services for Napa County, shares about the city’s innovative affordable accessory dwelling unit program. From community engagement and resident involvement to innovative partnerships and policies, we are excited to share exciting developments in this important “model towards success” work.
The Invest Health learning network continues to grow and evolve, with city teams uniting across geographies and coming together to share their successes, challenges, and ideas. Our friends in Roseville, CA, will be participating in the Wellville gathering this April in Spartanburg, SC, which deepens a relationship stemming from a previous Invest Health collaboration grant opportunity. In another impressive twist, the network of aligned initiative leaders (e.g., BUILD Health, ReThink Health, Working Communities Challenge, and Build Healthy Places Network) we facilitate will not only have members connecting in-person, but the Well-Being in the Nation (WIN) Network will be combining their WIN Week convening with Wellville! We are in awe of the interconnectedness of our collective work, and we are eager to see what the rest of the year has in store.
Be well,
Jennifer
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CITY TEAM NEWS
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Building a multi-solver through affordable Accessory Dwelling Unit housing
 Napa County, CA, is leading the way in promoting Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) as a solution for affordable housing and community cohesion. Over the past seven years, the Napa Invest Health team has developed an innovative "ADU Accelerator System" that consists of three components that are helping to make ADUs more accessible to families in Napa. Learn about the ADU Accelerator and explore ADU resources. |
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Using community-based participatory research to address food inequities and improve health in Hartford, CT
 Dr. Kristen Cooksey Stowers, an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut’s Department of Allied Health Sciences, is using community-based participatory research to uncover the causes of health inequalities in relation to food. She is using the method to study the impact of public policy on health outcomes with a focus on making food environments more equitable for marginalized populations. Dr. Cooksey Stowers works alongside partners and residents to gather data and forge a sense of community through tools like a photovoice project in City Hall, and then advocates for the objectives that the community wants. Read more here. |
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OPPORTUNITIES
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Exploring community-led racial healing models to deepen partnerships between community development and healthcare
[Webinar]
 This webinar on April 13th from the Build Healthy Places Network will explore models for racial healing and reconciliation that are community-led and grounded in ancestral and traditional knowledge. Racism is the biggest obstacle to solving the health inequities we face in historically marginalized communities. Hear from BIPOC-led Community Development Corporations that are leading this transformative work to interrogate the role healthcare institutions can play in reconciling past harms and discuss their approaches to repair the harm of racism by building relationships, trust, and collective community power. Register here.
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Nominate your city for RWJF’s Culture of Health Prize
[Opportunity]
 The RWJF Culture of Health Prize celebrates communities across the country where people and organizations are collaborating to build positive solutions to barriers that have created unequal opportunities for health and wellbeing. The Prize serves to inspire others to take action and create a healthier future for everyone’s children and grandchildren. Applications are being accepted now through March 29, 2023. The Prize is awarded to either whole cities, towns, tribes, reservations, or counties. Learn more here.
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Just Economy Conference on March 29-30
[Conference]
 The National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s Just Economy Conference is the national event for community, policy, government, business and foundation leaders working toward a just economy that not only promises, but delivers to all Americans, opportunities to build wealth and live well. Participants typically include a mix of cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, top-tier policy makers, racial and social justice leaders, and field experts. Learn more and register.
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$133M from USDA for food systems development
[Federal Grants]
 USDA is now accepting applications for 2023 Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) grants, including the Local Food Promotion Program, the Farmers Market Promotion Program, and Regional Food Systems Partnership grants. Applications are due May 2, 2023, but these applications are notoriously complicated! The Food Systems Leadership Network has a number of webinars and resources that have been developed over the years to help navigate these applications. Learn more here.
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Join the Housing Solution Lab's New Peer Cities Network
[Call for Applications]
 The Housing Solutions Lab at NYU Furman Center invites applications for the Housing Solutions Lab Peer Cities Network, an opportunity for city teams of housing officials from small and midsize cities to engage with their peers, policy experts, and housing researchers to address pressing local housing policy challenges. The 8-month Peer Cities Network is open to teams in cities with 50,000-500,000 residents. Applications are due March 29. Learn more about how to apply here.
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RESOURCES
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A political bridge for YIMBYs & tenant activists?
ShelterForce's Shelby King recently moderated a tense and informative webinar, “How to Build a YIMBY/Tenant Activist Bridge,” about the search for common ground. Read the transcript or watch the recording here.
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US cities are finding creative ways to fund climate progress
 Brookings Institution looks across the country for examples of city innovations, including a look at common financial strategies is the use of property assessed clean energy programs to incentivize building efficiency upgrades. Could your city use a tool like this to prepare for the health of your community as the climate changes? Read the report here. Speaking of, the 2023 Community Power Scorecard was recently released that scores states by clean energy policy.
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Homelessness and "Housing First"
 The National League of Cities (NLC) released a brief, “An Overview of the Housing First Approach for City Leaders.” The brief provides an overview of Housing First, examines the evidence supporting the approach, and spotlights the ways communities have used Housing First to address homelessness effectively, equitably, and compassionately. In addition to the Housing First brief, NLC released a tool to help local leaders identify federal funding sources that are available to local governments for addressing homelessness. Read more of this article here.
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Want to know the best way to support health equity through housing?
 According to a three-year study of 31 organizations working at the intersection of housing and health equity in cities across the United States, fund community-driven solutions and community power. This great article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review reports on Kresge Foundation’s “Advancing Health Equity Through Housing” initiative. It also shares insights from grantees and recommendations for funders on how to support community-driven approaches to housing and health equity. Read it here.
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Reforming zoning for equity
 The housing crisis is due in part to redlining and exclusionary regulations that disproportionately harm disadvantaged and vulnerable communities. The American Planning Association’s new Equity Zoning Policy Guide explores the nuances and opportunities in changing the way zoning happens to allow more diverse housing to be built for people who need it most. Read it here.
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Seattle votes for social housing
 In a special election last month, voters in Seattle endorsed bringing a housing model of publicly owned, permanently affordable, mixed-income homes that is common in Europe and Canada to the city through a new city authority. The “social housing” initiative built a collaborative 18-month campaign that brough together a broad coalition. Though Seattle is a larger city than most in our network, smaller cities could also experiment with this emerging housing model. Learn about the campaign for success here.
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Mapping anchor institutions
 Higher education institutions and hospitals have been widely recognized as anchors of regional economies and have therefore been referred to as anchor institutions. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s relatively new the Anchor Economy Dashboard documents the understanding of anchor institutions’ role in the economy through four main contributions in the 524 regions that compose the United States. Read about the Dashboard here.
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Keep Sharing Updates
Keep sharing updates on your work, including special events and news media pieces to us by emailing info@investhealth.org. We look forward to hearing from you and the notable news your Invest Health city team is creating! |
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