Communities in Action

In rural South Dakota, patients need specialty services but specialists have traditionally been few and far between. When patients needed immediate or intensive services, local providers had few team members to back them up and little access to specialist assistance. Now with Avera Health’s eCARE services, primary and long-term care providers can access urgent care services and consult with...

Literacy skills are a key predictor of an individual’s health status. After attending the 2009 Health Literacy Summit in Madison, WI, Literacy Network of Dane County developed English for Health, an award-winning program that helps adults with low literacy learn about good...

Joplin, Missouri is a place of hope. Three years after an EF5 multiple-vortex tornado cut a one mile swath through the city, the area is being reborn through the collaborative efforts of hundreds of organizations and thousands of volunteers who have proven resilient and committed. However, in spite of many outreach efforts, many families in the Joplin area are experiencing food insecurity. In...

To address concerns about underage drinking and college parties in Santa Cruz, the Together for Youth coalition pursued a social host ordinance. The collaborative, formed to address high rates of alcohol use among the county’s high...

A plan for action is a roadmap for achieving your goals. It comes to life when it includes clear, measurable goals, timelines, and accountabilities for accomplishing the work. With many multi-sector workgroups and successful programs and policy wins across several health focus areas, the Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC) had a proven track record for developing strategic action plans that...

Through its “Ban the Box” campaign the Justice4All Program, run by TakeAction Minnesota, tackled our nation’s racial jobs disparity head on. For three years, Justice4All led an ultimately successful campaign for “Ban the Box” policies preventing employers from asking job applicants about criminal history on an initial employment application. Because African Americans and Latinos are arrested,...

There is a sense of loss in Rockingham County, NC. Historically, the community had a robust economy that was largely built on the textile and tobacco industries. In the mid-90s, Rockingham lost their tobacco industry and not long after that lost their textile industry. “We went from being a wealthy county to being a poor county very quickly...

In low income communities in Salt Lake, Davis, and Summit Counties, United Way and its partners are answering the multiple challenges of poverty with multiple coordinated services in convenient community hubs. Through Promise Partnerships, community stakeholders set goals, share data and results, and align...

In 2010, United Way of Greater Toledo (UWGT) wanted to know: “What are the health reasons keeping kids from thriving?” They asked parents, hospitals, schools, and other partners. Community members repeatedly told them hunger and food insecurity was hurting the health of Toledo’s children. Teachers...

In San Bernardino County, CA, the Community Vital Signs initiative is a community-driven effort that uses data to set priorities for action to improve the health and wellness of the county. To understand the county’s needs and resources, the Community Vital Signs initiative pulled together 34 indicators on a range of issues including health, education, the economy, and the environment. To set...