Our 2016 Communities Moving to Action Grantee Coalitions Introduce Plans to Build a Culture of Health in NJ

As their first year of grant funding has come to an end and they really start moving to action in year two, our 10 NJHI Building a Culture of Health–Communities Moving to Action, Round 2 grantees have released their blueprints. These cross-sector coalitions have been surveying community members, conducting asset inventories, reviewing community health assessment data, outlining health priorities and proposing long-term solutions to build healthier communities across the Garden State. Those grantee coalitions who have already hosted community forums to share their blueprints report that their plans to improve health outcomes have been well-received.

The blueprints are available on the grantee coalitions’ project pages here on our website: Asbury Park, Bound Brook and South Bound Brook, Bridgeton, Cape May, Freehold, Hunterdon County, Perth Amboy, Paterson, Plainfield and Toms River.

While there are common themes among the grantees’ blueprints, each has its own format and uniquely incorporates the community-based organizations, resources, input and goals of its own stakeholders. The coalitions already include partners from community and faith-based organizations, public health and safety officials, housing, transportation and economic development agencies, universities, educators and a community coach – an individual who could communicate the broader community’s needs. Watch the video

From Cape May to Paterson, these coalitions spent this first year engaging more voices in their communities’ health conversations, including local residents – parents, youth and older adults – as partners and vital stakeholders.

From Cape May to Paterson, these coalitions spent this first year engaging more voices in their communities’ health conversations, including local residents – parents, youth and older adults – as partners and vital stakeholders. They researched opportunities to catalyze systems change and add value to existing assets – for example, leveraging the health equity work that is already underway in the state, rather than replicate it. The grantees built a learning network among themselves by participating in online and on-site exchanges, sharing lessons and successes, and receiving coaching from Toni Lewis, NJ’s dedicated County Health Rankings & Roadmaps community coach, and from the Center for Creative Leadership. The coalitions shared much of their process and successes on our weekly Grantee Blog.

You can explore the word cloud above to gain an overview of which health factors the grantees have emphasized in their blueprints: income equality, affordable housing, access to healthy food and transportation, among others. The word cloud also includes the 10 communities that received the initial round of four-year grants under the Communities Moving to Action initiative in 2015. Introducing this image as the 2016 grantees begin to take action in their community conveys the collaborative work and benefits of making health a shared value in New Jersey.

Partner in this Work
Connect with our 2015 and 2016 grantee community coalitions by using any of the following hashtags:

• #NJHICOLLECTIVEPOWER
• #NJHIADDRESSINGBARRIERS
• #NJHISHAREDBELIEFS
• #NJHISYSTEMSCHANGE
• #NJHILEVERAGERESOURCES
• #NJHISHARELEARNING

Share the NJHI Communities Moving to Action word cloud on your social networks

Follow the coalitions’ updates on our Grantee Blog, updated every Monday.