South Bronx Healthy and Livable Neighborhoods

New York Community Trust

The New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth) and New York Community Trust (The Trust) collaborated to launch the Healthy Neighborhoods initiative in order to address underlying problems that have affected the health of New York State communities and to support them to become places that are healthier and more active. The Trust partnered with NYSHealth in a complementary initiative, South Bronx Healthy and Livable Neighborhoods, to invest in three neighborhoods in the South Bronx. Healthy Places by Design worked closely with both funders to co-develop, coordinate, and facilitate a flexible peer learning collaborative that meets the sites’ current and emergent learning needs and lays a foundation for their leadership and the sustainability of their work.

Our support included:

• Conducting strategic planning sessions with The Trust and NYSHealth staff;
• Leading bimonthly peer virtual exchange sessions and one-on-one technical assistance calls;
• Facilitating four in-person learning meetings; and
• Producing a biweekly e-newsletter with links to funding opportunities and resources that can inform the sites’ work.

Because The Trust emphasized collaboration and asked Healthy Places by Design to support that vision, the neighborhoods have achieved new levels of alignment in their work.

Three South Bronx neighborhoods not only participated in peer learning and implemented initiatives within their own neighborhoods, but also intentionally collaborated with other sites on joint projects. Healthy Places by Design supported this innovative collaboration by facilitating, coordinating, and hosting calls between the sites as well as helping them align their approaches. Because The Trust emphasized collaboration and asked Healthy Places by Design to support that vision, the neighborhoods have achieved new levels of alignment of their work.

 

“You are content experts in healthy communities and you bring your own knowledge of the field that helps inform our work as funders and the groups we support. Your team’s ability to plan and facilitate is a core strength and we appreciate your skills as a connector to timely resources.”

Barbara Taveras, Special Projects Officer, The Trust