RWJF

The places we live, learn, work, and play should offer everyone the chance to be as healthy as possible. To realize this vision, local leaders need to prioritize the health and wellbeing of all residents when they are thinking about where to build roads, highways, sidewalks, and public transit. Communities across the country have felt the harmful impacts of what happens when residents have not been listened to or pushed aside in the decision-making process. “The highway system is one of the first things that you learn about when you start studying urban planning. But you also learn about the harm that highways created,” says Daniel D’Oca, associate professor in Practice of Urban Planning at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and principal and co-founder of Interboro Partners. There is a growing movement to take steps to right these past harms caused by transportation policy. We partnered with StoryCorps to share these stories. Listen to teachers, students, neighbors, friends, and community leaders talk about their love for their communities and ways to reconnect communities.

What type of leadership is needed to eliminate inequities in the systems that affect our health and wellbeing? Join us on November 12 from 2-3 p.m. ET for a conversation about what it looks like for leaders to drive systemic, transformational change and how we plan to support them. We will hear from special guest Karla Walker Executive Director of Community Solutions for Health Equity, who will offer insights into the leadership needed to address structural racism in the healthcare system and beyond. Register today: https://lnkd.in/evNYW9gC

One of the most powerful decisions I made as a physician had nothing to do with providing direct medical care. It was about advocating for a mother who was fighting to navigate unjust systems - economic, healthcare, and more - that were keeping her from being part of her daughter's care.     Systems fail us. But systems are not machines. They are made up of people. They are made up of us. Together, we can create the systems we deserve. #systemschange #healthjustice

A decade ago, RWJF’s Commission to Build a Healthier America recommended aligning the work of the health and community development sectors. At the time, I was working at a national community development organization that invested in affordable housing, early childhood centers, healthy food stores, cultural institutions, and more – but hadn’t thought of itself as having a direct impact on health. I remember the aha! moment in the community development sector as we made the powerful connection between health and place. It was exciting for me to then come to RWJF - now almost 8 years ago - as the Commission’s recommendations were being operationalized. Today, I have the privilege of working with many of the organizations who have been leaders in this collaborative work. Together we’re deepening our efforts and exploring new approaches to community development that address the impacts of structural racism and center residents in creating thriving communities. Over the last 10 years, our work and that of the field have evolved together. Learn more about where we’ve been and where we’re going here: https://lnkd.in/eufmbRHk.  

Every community in every ZIP code should be a place where people can live their healthiest lives. We believe equitable community development—the work of creating the physical and economic conditions in communities that enable residents to reach their best possible health and wellbeing—is key to reaching this vision. In 2014, RWJF convened the Commission to Build a Healthier America to explore opportunities at the intersection of community development and health. Learn how our work and that of our partners evolved in the past decade to help communities meet residents' needs and address the effects of racism embedded in policies and practices.

Our research system as we know it today has been largely shaped by White men. Join us on October 25 to hear from two visionary academics who are breaking through biases to conduct research that produces better, more inclusive health knowledge. Tune in as they talk shop and trade stories about how they are challenging the research status quo and readying the next generation of scientists—including women, Indigenous people, and others who have historically faced barriers in academic research—to transform health.

For many of us, we have asked the fundamental question, why is it so hard for the U.S. to make investments in its children and families. For the majority of families, they are left on their own, when we all know that the future of this country is deeply tied to the wellbeing of children and their families. Join me and my esteemed colleagues for a discussion on new research and old practices that elevate that the more we focus on our interdependence and collective care, the more we'll get to solutions that work more fairly for families. Join us on October 28, 2024 at 3pm ET. Andrew Volmert, senior vice president of research at the FrameWorks Institute David Alexander, president at Leading for Kids Erica Phillips, executive director at the The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) Child Care Julia Sosa, parent leader representative from United Parent Leaders Action Network (UPLAN) RWJF #RWJFSocial

At RWJF, we believe in the power of sports to unite people no matter their race, ethnicity, religion, immigration status, political ideology, gender identity, or sexual orientation. That’s why we’re investing in research to explore where, when, and how sports fans are engaging in conversation about social issues like racism and health.     Learn who is considered a trusted messenger in sports and how sports messengers want to engage on social issues. >> https://rwjf.ws/cFLZQa  

We know that the expansion of knowledge through research is crucial to transform health. But all too often science locks knowledge away behind fees and firewalls.     On October 24, hear from two changemakers working to make research more open and collaborative, with shared ownership of data and findings. Their efforts are paving the way toward a future of greater transparency, integrity, and trust in research that answers questions most important to us.

RWJF is committed to ensuring the systems that touch our lives work better for all of us, paving the way to a future where health is no longer a privilege for some, but a right for all. This requires: 🟣 centering those who have been marginalized by these systems and cut off from opportunity in the past. 🟣 supporting a more diverse array of leaders who are committed to working together within and across systems. 🟣 addressing the racist policies and practices that undergird entire systems of care and support. But we cannot do this work alone. One policy, one investment, one decision at a time, we can create something new together. Learn more in our latest blog post by Lauren Smith about the Foundation’s new way of working.