On October 7, Caucus: New Jersey with Steve Adubato began broadcasting its roundtable discussion of NJHI grantees working across the state to build healthier communities. NJHI: Communities Moving to Action project directors Rachel Bland of the Healthy Orange coalition, Dr. Monique Griffith of the Irvington Health coalition and Alane McCahey of the Shaping Elizabeth Health Initiative, joined NJHI Director Bob Atkins for this conversation about addressing barriers to health where we live, learn, work and play.

Caucus: New Jersey – Building a Culture of Health: Communities Move into Action will be re-broadcast Tuesday, October 10 at 5:30 a.m. on NJTV, and Tuesday, October 10 at 5:30 p.m. on WHYY.

In July 2015, Irvington, Elizabeth and Orange were among the 10 New Jersey communities to receive four-year NJHI grants funding multi-sector, community-focused coalitions striving to make sustainable system changes and policy-oriented long-term solutions for healthier living.

Teams from each coalition participated in a Boundary Spanning Leadership Institute, to acquire tools and build skills to work on multi-faceted community issues, culminating in the development of an action plan to collectively address the most pressing needs of their community, which is a guide for the final two years of their projects. Ten additional communities received grants in July 2016 as the second cohort of grantees under this initiative. The 20 communities funded under this initiative represent a diversity of NJ communities – in size, geography, and demographics.

Learn more about the Irvington, Elizabeth and Orange coalitions

Learn more about the Communities Moving to Action initiative

Above, pictured from left to right: Alane McCahey, NJHI project director in Elizabeth, Bob Atkins, director of NJHI, Rachel Bland, NJHI project director in Orange, and Dr. Monique Griffith, NJHI project director in Irvington discuss the work that NJHI Communities Moving to Action coalitions are doing to build a Culture of Health in New Jersey. Caucus: New Jersey host Steve Adubato led the conversation. (Photo credit: Caucus: NJ)