Research

This toolkit presents frameworks and tools for leaders who seek to build sustainable, deep partnerships with health partners to address systemic inequities in disinvested communities. These tools were developed to accompany a mindset shift. 

The pandemic has driven home the importance of housing and community developers as partners in health. Resources from NeighborWorks America help everyone understand each other a little better.

Homelessness comes at a great cost to individual and community health, worsening health outcomes that lead to higher rates of chronic illness.

NeighborWorks America and the Center for the Study of Social Policy share lessons learned and recommendations gathered following a year-long exploration of ways to deepen local partnerships and improve child development outcomes through community development strategies. 

Social isolation can reduce access to support systems, sense of security and affordable community services, undermining mental and physical health and reducing quality of life. As a growing epidemic in the U.S., social isolation and loneliness increase a person’s risk of premature death, is associated with increased risk of dementia, and can lead to higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide.

When it comes to determining one’s health, ZIP Code is more important than genetic code; community development is in the ZIP Code improvement business. This series of fact sheets from NeighborWorks America and the Build Healthy Places Network highlights the common aims, evidence base, and what works for health and community development.

These three case studies are part of a series designed to share lessons learned and key findings from the Healthy Communities Demonstration Project, a collaboration between NeighborWorks America, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps Program.

Between 2018 and 2019, NeighborWorks America brought together six community development organizations to form a learning community on trauma-informed community development. The NeighborWorks Trauma and Healing Learning Community collaborated, shared and grew together over an eight-month period. Together, we built the capacity of our organizations to prevent and respond to trauma. And we also created a guidebook to support other community development organizations adopting trauma-informed practices.

We know that where we live affects our health. Life expectancies can differ by more than 20 years between neighborhoods. But how do you change that? In other words, how do residents, community-based organizations and cross-sector partners start to close the life expectancy gap between our healthiest neighborhoods and our least healthy neighborhoods?

The places where we live, work, learn and play critically impact our health and well-being. In many places across the United States, there is significant variation in life expectancy between neighboring geographic areas. Housing, in particular, affects health. Through this survey, we analyze health activities and highlight areas with potential to catalyze partnerships between community development and health organizations.