Third Sector New England, Inc.

To tackle some of the underlying problems that have affected the health of communities, NYHealth launched the Healthy Neighborhoods Fund initiative to help New York State communities become healthier and more active places.

Through the Healthy Neighborhoods Fund, NYHealth is investing $2 million over two years to support six communities across the State in their efforts to increase access to healthy, affordable food; improve access to safe places where residents can exercise and be active; and connect children and adults to programs that support healthy behaviors. To support the six communities, NYHealth awarded Third Sector New England, as fiscal sponsor to Active Living By Design, a grant to provide technical assistance and create a learning collaborative for the grantees of this initiative to share lessons with one another.

Under this grant, Active Living By Design created opportunities for Healthy Neighborhoods Fund grantees to address common challenges, share best practices, and develop professional relationships across communities through a learning collaborative. In addition, Active Living By Design showcased and facilitated effective ways to engage community residents and other stakeholders. Specifically, Active Living By Design convened a series of workgroups to provide opportunities for solutions-oriented discussions and bring together public health leaders, State and local officials, and national experts who have worked on similar efforts. Structured technical assistance sessions allowed grantees to collectively address critical implementation issues and share opportunities to inform relevant policy. Active Living By Design also identified and helped secure additional funding to sustain capital projects, activities, and programs emerging from the work in each community.