255489 Mobilizing Towards Equitable Community Change: The Role of Youth in Policy and Environmental Change

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Cara Chaney, BA , Healthier Communities Initiative, YMCA of the USA, Phoenix, AZ
Since 2004 the YMCA of the USA has coordinated multiple strategies to create healthier environments nationwide. Over 200 Y communities have participated in the Healthier Communities Movement demonstrating impactful organizational and community policy change. Informed by this past work, the PHC Health Equity pilot began in 2011 to advance policy change in communities of color and low-income communities where health inequities are greatest. This pilot consists of components (tools, trainings, and methods) that are designed to effectively engage communities in addressing health inequities. The pilot aims to build capacity within the Y and within the communities to implement equitable and sustainable policy and environmental strategies. The pilot framework is based on four key components: developing empathy by gaining new understanding of the community's historical nature of health inequity, using data to inform gaps, priorities and strategies,, finding community voice through community representative leadership, and equitable policy implementation. The process map, training, technical assistance requirements and leadership needed to position communities for success in making communities more equitable. In 2011, select communities were chosen to undergo a three year process to increase healthy eating and physical activity in underserved communities. The success of one of these sites, Broward County, Fla. in mobilizing its youth will be presented as a replicable model to strengthen communities. Tools such as the Community Healthy Living Index, developed in partnership with Stanford, Harvard and Saint Louis University, PhotoVoice and the use of art projects for civic engagement will be highlighted.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Diversity and culture
Public health or related public policy
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
1 – Understand the process map by which communities can promote health through policy and environmental change 2- Describe the need for leadership from organizational and community levels to ensure distributive approaches to implementing equitable policy and environmental change 3 – Identify replicable strategies for youth mobilization to achieve equitable policy and environmental change

Keywords: Advocacy, Adolescents

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Cara received her Bachelors of Arts from the University of Southern California and is currently perusing her Master’s degree at Springfield College. She has over 10 years experience working in the social work field. She has presented finding of research based programs at the National Council of La Raza Conference two years in a row. Cara has also acted in various leadership roles within local and state cultural competence initiatives.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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