Building Healthy Communities: Case studies of place-based efforts to improve health
The California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities initiative is working in 14 sites throughout the state to build the power of local communities to advance health equity. The sites’ systems- and policy-change efforts — often focused on prevention — span a wide range of issues, from improving access to healthy food to expanding economic opportunities for residents. The ultimate goal is to scale this local work to have broad, statewide impact.
To inspire more places to embark upon similar efforts, Berkeley Media Studies Group has developed case studies of several BHC sites. The case studies feature stories of hard-fought successes, how sites overcame challenges along the way, and lessons learned.
Case studies
From farm to every fork: Rewriting the narrative on urban agriculture in Sacramento
Advocates and residents in Sacramento are using a combination of policy change, community power-building, and strategic communication to make it easier for people to take part in urban farming. This case study explores their tactics for strengthening access to healthy food, highlights victories and challenges, and shares lessons learned.
Ending the school-to-prison pipeline: A case study of community-led disciplinary reform in Kern County
This case study tells the story of how advocates in Kern County, California, succeeded in creating a healthier school climate for students after learning that the local school district was suspending and expelling students of color at much higher rates than white students. Read on to learn how they used a combination of tactics, including community organizing, strategic communication, and legal pressure, to create major changes that will benefit young people for generations to come.
From ‘bad apples’ to broken systems: How Richmond residents rewrote the narrative on the formerly incarcerated
Residents and advocates in Richmond and Contra Costa County know that to create strong, healthy communities, they have to change misconceptions about formerly incarcerated residents and create a greater public understanding about the need for changes to the criminal justice system. This case study explores how a collaboration of city residents, local and county law enforcement, elected officials, community workers, and, most importantly, formerly incarcerated residents have done just that by creating a nationally recognized reentry network — one that owes much of its success to the power of storytelling.
Reading for health: A reimagined, community-driven approach to early literacy in Del Norte County and Tribal Lands
In Del Norte County and Tribal Lands, early literacy is more than a local educational effort. It is a major community-wide cause aimed at improving life outcomes and health. This case study explores how residents, educators, and business leaders are using strategic partnerships, data, and empathy to increase school readiness and to support children’s and families’ well-being.
Reimagining public space to benefit health and foster community: A case study of Salinas’ annual Ciclovía
Each year, public health advocates and youth organizers in Salinas, California, close traffic to a mile-and-a-half-stretch of one of the city’s busiest streets, transforming it into a community event filled with physical activity and fun. Known as Ciclovía, the event serves a bigger purpose: to reduce violence, forge community bonds, and promote health equity. To understand how organizers are advancing those goals, this case study explores the origins of Ciclovía, its successes and setbacks, next steps and lessons learned.