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Socially Connected Communities

We are growing a movement to integrate social connection as a vital component of healthy and equitable communities.

Trusting and meaningful relationships enhance our mental, physical, and emotional health and well-being. In fact, stronger social connections can boost a person’s likelihood of survival by 50 percent. Through the Socially Connected Communities Network and other services, we help people in communities, philanthropies, and nonprofit organizations weave strategies for social connection into their work.

Our Focus on Social Connection

Millions of people across our country experience poor health outcomes and quality of life due to social isolation and loneliness.

In addition to affecting individuals’ physical, mental, and social health, social disconnection also has broad community-level impacts on the economy, civic participation, and other sectors and systems. The populations and people most affected by social isolation often overlap with those experiencing health inequities. This is why we help community leaders and those who invest in them create and sustain socially connected communities.

Socially Connected Communities:
Solutions for Social Isolation Report

Healthy Places by Design issued the Socially Connected Communities: Solutions for Social Isolation report—a first of its kind—to highlight how social isolation requires community-level solutions. The report offers five recommendations for creating socially connected communities, starting with public spaces, transportation, and housing. Click below to read the full report and access companion resources.

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Transformative Narratives

Narratives convey deep values and beliefs about our worldviews and how our communities operate, and can often be more powerful than facts or data in influencing public opinion, community practices, and social change efforts. Transformative narratives harness that power to align values and influence action to achieve social connectedness and wellbeing. Explore Transformative Narratives for Socially Connected Communities, produced by Healthy Places by Design and the Narratives for Health Initiative, as well as supporting resources, the Narratives for Health Guide and Stronger Together Narratives. We extend sincere thanks and appreciation to the narrative builders across the country who contributed to these important resources!

Social Connection Services

Socially Connected Communities Network (SCCN)

SCCN provides a deep dive into ideas and strategies that reduce social isolation and strengthen social ties, especially for those who are most marginalized. Webinars, discussion groups, resource lists, and peer connection sessions address a variety of learning styles and the continuum of community-led change. Scroll down to learn more about SCCN.


Cohort Support

We partner with philanthropic, nonprofit, and government organizations to co-create services tailored to the needs of community organizations and cohorts that they support. These may include co-designing funded programs, coaching and technical assistance, virtual and in-person learning and networking sessions, and formalizing evaluation indicators of initiatives to improve their impact and demonstrate their value.


Strategic Planning

To help organizations better integrate social connection strategies into their work, we co-design and facilitate tailored strategic planning meetings; conduct internal and external assessments about communities’ social connection needs, opportunities, and roles; and develop recommendations for operationalizing this as a priority. This can help organizations, coalitions, and broader community planning efforts, such as Community Health Improvement Plans.

Essential Resources

As a standalone or integrated service, we curate resources and create original content to deepen knowledge and inspire action. For example, our Resource Guides, co-developed with webinar guests, supplement our webinars and discussion group sessions by providing key information about improving socially connected communities.


Workshops
Socially Connected Communities

We work with community coalitions, organizations, and funder-supported cohorts to design workshops that assess group and community context; increase knowledge about social connection; present solutions, strategies, and examples;  and help groups identify relevant, actionable next steps.

Transformative Narratives

Narratives convey deep values and beliefs about how the world and our communities operate. During full-day workshops, we teach participants about narrative concepts and how to apply them, and we provide actionable steps for developing and implementing transformative narratives in their work and community.


Contact us to explore which opportunity would be the best fit for your efforts!
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Socially Connected Communities Network

Healthy Places by Design’s Socially Connected Communities Network (SCCN) inspires action that results in more socially connected and equitable communities by exploring ideas and strategies that reduce social isolation and strengthen social ties, especially for those who are most marginalized. SCCN features four components which are designed to address a variety of learning styles and the continuum of community-led change. Learn more about each of the Network's components below.

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Network Webinars

In our webinars, we provide emerging content and community examples on key topics and explore intersections between social connection and community-societal wellbeing. Webinars are designed for: community-focused change agents from communities, governments, nonprofits, and philanthropies; members of existing and emerging local- and state-level coalitions/partnerships; and anyone else working to strengthen the social fabric in communities.


Discussion Groups

Discussion Groups are hosted immediately following each webinar. They provide a space for attendees to dive deeper with webinar speakers and other attendees and to explore how to apply ideas and strategies learned during the webinar within their communities. A link to join the post-webinar discussion group is provided during each live webinar.

Peer Connection Sessions

Peer Connection Sessions are affinity-style virtual meetings in which people who are working in similar ways or focused on similar topics can connect for learning, exchange, and problem solving. Healthy Places by Design hosts and facilitates Peer Connection Sessions based on emerging interests. Contact us to share ideas for future Peer Connection Sessions.


Resource Guides

Resource Guides compliment webinars and discussion group sessions by providing a summary of key points and useful links. Co-developed by Healthy Places by Design and webinar guests, the Resource Guides provide easy access to key information about social connection sub-topics for anyone interested in improving socially connected communities.


Click below for Resource Guides, recordings, and slides from Network Webinars:
Resources

What's New

Register for upcoming events and webinars or read the latest resources to help integrate social connection into your work!
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Project Examples

Activating Boston

John Hancock partnered with Healthy Places by Design to create Activating Boston, a project to improve wellbeing in Boston by investing in community members, organizations, and partners to increase social connectedness where they live and work. The project’s focus on outdoor spaces was bolstered by the City’s release of the Heat Resilience Solutions for Boston report, which highlighted climate impacts on residents.

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Black Health through Socially Connected Communities

The Council on Black Health and Healthy Places by Design worked with community leaders from three predominantly Black neighborhoods in Charlotte, North Carolina, to launch a community-led pilot project, Supporting Black Health through Socially Connected Communities, with the goal of creating safe places for people to connect while reclaiming power and self-efficacy.

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Social Connections in the Mat-Su borough, Alaska

The Mat-Su Health Foundation is striving to make Matanuska-Susitna the healthiest borough in Alaska by recognizing the importance of social connection and creating a more supportive and welcoming community. When the foundation's team approached Healthy Places by Design, they were interested in solutions that enable more people to build positive relationships across the region.

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“Social connection activates people coming together, building relationships, and working collectively to achieve a goal. So, we're thrilled to partner with the Healthy Places by Design team. It was a fantastic example of collective action, they had a framework that guided our thinking, and they were instrumental in guiding the process to a finished action plan for each neighborhood.”

“Social connection activates people coming together, building relationships, and working collectively to achieve a goal. So, we're thrilled to partner with the Healthy Places by Design team. It was a fantastic example of collective action, they had a framework that guided our thinking, and they were instrumental in guiding the process to a finished action plan for each neighborhood.”

“Social connection activates people coming together, building relationships, and working collectively to achieve a goal. So, we're thrilled to partner with the Healthy Places by Design team. It was a fantastic example of collective action, they had a framework that guided our thinking, and they were instrumental in guiding the process to a finished action plan for each neighborhood.”

Melicia Whitt-Glover, Council on Black Health

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“The Strengthening Our Connections Workshop was an inspiring and energizing experience! Healthy Places by Design was a collaborative and engaging partner throughout the planning and implementation phases of the workshop. Participants not only came up with ideas for how their organizations could help promote social connection in our community, but also had the opportunity to build new partnerships.”

“The Strengthening Our Connections Workshop was an inspiring and energizing experience! Healthy Places by Design was a collaborative and engaging partner throughout the planning and implementation phases of the workshop. Participants not only came up with ideas for how their organizations could help promote social connection in our community, but also had the opportunity to build new partnerships.”

“The Strengthening Our Connections Workshop was an inspiring and energizing experience! Healthy Places by Design was a collaborative and engaging partner throughout the planning and implementation phases of the workshop. Participants not only came up with ideas for how their organizations could help promote social connection in our community, but also had the opportunity to build new partnerships.”

Jessica Guidry, Kitsap Public Health District

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“It was the most productive and well-organized experience. I’m telling others in my organization that we should use the same process for our own webinars and events.”

“It was the most productive and well-organized experience. I’m telling others in my organization that we should use the same process for our own webinars and events.”

“It was the most productive and well-organized experience. I’m telling others in my organization that we should use the same process for our own webinars and events.”

Calista Small, More in Common

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“As we are thinking through things like deep health equity and solidarity, having HPbD build some of that out has been appreciated. And it’s easy to learn with you and the team. The way you approach health equity and solidarity—and bringing in the concept of socially connected communities—it’s been a great learning experience around that too.”

“As we are thinking through things like deep health equity and solidarity, having HPbD build some of that out has been appreciated. And it’s easy to learn with you and the team. The way you approach health equity and solidarity—and bringing in the concept of socially connected communities—it’s been a great learning experience around that too.”

“As we are thinking through things like deep health equity and solidarity, having HPbD build some of that out has been appreciated. And it’s easy to learn with you and the team. The way you approach health equity and solidarity—and bringing in the concept of socially connected communities—it’s been a great learning experience around that too.”

Angela Acker, University of Wisconsin, Population Health Institute

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“Healthy Places by Design has been a trusted resource for helping us recognize the importance of a socially connected community. They helped us focus and advance our conversation around strategy and opportunities for building a more socially connected community.”

“Healthy Places by Design has been a trusted resource for helping us recognize the importance of a socially connected community. They helped us focus and advance our conversation around strategy and opportunities for building a more socially connected community.”

“Healthy Places by Design has been a trusted resource for helping us recognize the importance of a socially connected community. They helped us focus and advance our conversation around strategy and opportunities for building a more socially connected community.”

Ashley Peltier, Mat-Su Health Foundation

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Join our network of partners!

Are you part of a community organization or coalition? The Socially Connected Communities Network is designed for you! Are you managing a philanthropy-funded community-based initiative? Contact us to explore how we can help integrate social connection strategies into your work.

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