RWJF

In collaboration with People's Television and in partnership with Upworthy, we invite you to join the exclusive virtual premiere of ‘From Hope to Home,’ a groundbreaking documentary series that illuminates the human impact of America's housing crisis.     As RWJF continues its mission to dismantle structural barriers to health, this series exemplifies how community-driven solutions are key to shaping a future where every person has access to safe, affordable housing. Join us for the screening and Q&A panel moderated by Upworthy’s Vice President Lucia Knell and featuring housing experts from Grounded Solutions Network, Fair Share Housing Center, and Four Bands Community Fund. When: Tuesday, April 1, 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. ET Where: Virtual  Register here: https://rwjf.ws/5WRL4s     The premiere coincides with National Fair Housing Month, a time to elevate the importance of protecting all people from housing discrimination and promote equal opportunity. While the U.S. still has unfair systems that perpetuate racial wealth and homeownership gaps, the ‘From Hope to Home’ short film series underscores the message that everyone deserves housing that is affordable, safe, and accessible, so they can live their healthiest lives.

Owning a home can help families achieve greater economic stability, improve wellbeing, and contribute to better health. But sometimes, when a home or property is passed down to family members without the proper paperwork or estate plans, it can be hard to prove who owns it. Right now, more than $32 billion worth of property across the nation is tied up in heirs’ property, leaving too many families missing the wealth-building potential and security that inheriting property can offer. Addressing heirs’ property, otherwise known as “tangled titles,” is one crucial way to preserve homeownership for millions of people across the U.S., especially Black and Brown families. The Howard University Heirs’ Property and Estate Planning Clinic helps clients untangle their titles and trains the next generation of lawyers to have the skills needed to address heirs’ property challenges, prevent Black property loss, and protect the accumulation of generational wealth. RWJF is proud to support this work as part of our Impact Investments strategy to advance health and racial equity through homeownership preservation. Stay connected to our work by following Impact Investments at RWJF.

Every person deserves safe, respectful, and dignified care across the full spectrum of reproductive health. Black midwives have long been the heart of maternal care, ensuring that birthing people, their babies, and families are nurtured with skill, wisdom, and care. On Black Midwives Day, we honor the legacy of the Grand Midwives—the caretakers and community pillars who brought generations into the world during slavery and into emancipation. Even in the harshest conditions, they caught babies, cared for mothers, and maintained ancestry records. Their wisdom and holistic approach to birth sustained families when hospitals were out of reach, and their traditions continue to shape midwifery today. Now, Black midwives and birthworkers are carrying forward this legacy by ensuring safe births and reimagining what community-centered care can be. I’m proud to commemorate this incredible community of caregivers by sharing some of their stories: https://lnkd.in/gbaWkEJZ 

Research isn’t done just for the sake of it. Every life-saving vaccine, every treatment for cancer or heart disease, and every health-promoting policy that we take for granted today exists because researchers dedicated their careers to studying and finding solutions to these problems. But right now, the research that makes this kind of progress possible is under attack. Here are just a few examples we’ve seen this year: - Drastic cuts to medical research. - Erasing data and clinical guidelines from the CDC’s website. - Banning entire words like “women,” “disability,” “Black,” and “socioeconomic” from federal grant proposals. Fewer grants mean fewer breakthroughs. Slashing indirect costs—which pay for lab space, internet, and electricity—means that some research teams will struggle to keep the lights on. Literally. For now, these cuts have been blocked by a judge, but the fight isn’t over. And if researchers can’t access the data they need or are forbidden from naming the inequities they study, how can they identify solutions to address them? Suppressing information and censoring language doesn’t make problems go away—it only ensures they remain unaddressed. These attacks undermine decades of progress toward health equity and threaten not just researchers, but every person who benefits from medical breakthroughs, public health advancements, and evidence-based policymaking. We cannot afford to turn our backs on science and progress. If we want a future where health is no longer a privilege for some, but a right for all, we must act now to protect and defend the research that makes that future possible.

Please join RWJF for a live conversation on Monday, March 17, at 3:30 P.M. EST to explore the complexities of intergenerational caregiving in immigrant families. Register now for this important conversation between Adriana Cadena, MPA of the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition, henny ohr of Refugee & Immigrant Voices in Action (RIVA), and me! Sign up here: https://bit.ly/4i9rwa4

In September, California passed a fair housing law that incorporated recommendations from research by Paavo Monkkonen, Aaron Barrall, and Aurora Echavarria Canales—including recommendations to develop more standardized and detailed reporting requirements that will give the state more information and oversight to advance fair housing. This is just one example of how Policies for Action (P4A) created real policy impact in 2024. As 2025 gets underway, take a look back at how P4A turned research into action last year: https://lnkd.in/eDbe9Jtu

Every community in every ZIP code should be a place where people can live their healthiest lives. And that starts by ensuring no one in this country goes hungry and that everyone has healthy food they need to thrive, especially our kids and grandkids. SNAP is one of our nation’s most effective food programs, but right now, the program is facing real uncertainty, from proposed funding cuts to changes to its benefits. To raise awareness of this important program’s impact and better understand the changes it’s facing, I’m sitting down with Salaam Bhatti, Esq., SNAP Director at the Food Research & Action Center, to discuss “The State of SNAP: What’s New and What’s Next.” I hope you’ll join us for this timely conversation at 3 pm ET on Wednesday, March 26! Register below ⬇️

The organizations who continue to work relentlessly to build a healthier, more equitable future for everyone—we see you and thank you. You have modeled building relationships and community that affirm joy amid challenges to that future.  In these days of backlash and backsliding, RWJF will match your commitment and resolve to transform health in our lifetime through supporting and growing communities that share our values.  What gives you hope during challenging times? 

America. Needs. More. Affordable. Housing. More of the same policies and programs are only part of the solution to the affordable housing crisis. The rest of the work involves innovative ideas that better meet the needs of communities. While not a new idea, community land trusts (CLTs) are one great way to build housing stability. From coast to coast, and nearly every state in between, interest in CLTs is growing—and for good reason. The National Housing Trust, one of our investees, is working with Grounded Solutions Network to grow the CLT movement and preserve long-term affordability. In TIME, Rebecca Schneid explains what CLTs are, how they work, and why they are a great way for families to build economic security. https://lnkd.in/gQ54gXaU 

Alongside our partners, RWJF works with community-based organizations across geographies in the U.S.. Tell us where YOU call home. Every community in every ZIP code should be a place where the people there can live their healthiest lives. There is no single vision for what a healthy community looks like, and the work of creating a healthy community should be driven by the people who call it home. Regardless of race or income, everyone should have a safe, affordable home, easy access to healthy food, clean water, and good job opportunities.