Healthy Communities Delaware

Something transformative is about to impact the way that projects affecting community and public health are funded in Delaware. Healthy Communities Delaware is a new consortium of public, nonprofit and private organizations in Delaware that are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of low-wealth communities in our state.  Research in Delaware and across the nation over the last several years tells us that the health and wellbeing of people are greatly affected by their living environments.  Housing conditions, poverty rates, unemployment, domestic and street violence, quality preK-12 educational services and access to healthy foods have a significant effect on the frequency and seriousness of physical and mental illness and even on how long a person lives.

Working closely with the Delaware Division of Public Health and a variety of government agencies, health care institutions, social service organizations, foundations and businesses across the state, the Center for Community Research and Service (CCRS) is proud to be playing a leadership role in the development and implementation of Healthy Communities Delaware.  Dr. Steven Peuquet, former Director of CCRS and co-ambassador of the initiative, describes it as a continuation of the work that CCRS has been doing for 45 years, which is fighting poverty and creating better social and economic opportunities for lower income people and families.

After several months of planning, Healthy Communities Delaware (HCD) was officially launched on January 14, 2019. The Leadership Council is now in place, and the Community Investment Council and Management team will be formalized in early 2019. HCD expects to be operating with sustainable funding and dedicated staff by July.

HCD is committed to working with and supporting local community planning efforts.  Neighborhood residents know their communities best, and so involving residents is very important. Also, evaluation research will be an important component.  Data collection and analysis will be carried out on a continuing basis to determine what projects, programs and policies are making a difference, which efforts should be expanded to impact more communities, and which may need to be adapted in order to be more effective.

Roger Hesketh, Director of Community Revitalization for CCRS, is very excited about HCD. The problem isnt the lack of ideas or planning to make our communities better, its the lack of resources and the alignment of these resources to implement strategies in a plan.  According to Dr. Peuquet, the central goal is to encourage and align investments in low income communities so that they become healthier places to live, learn, work and play.  This requires sustained effort, he says, and the initiative is designed to support this effort on a continuing basis for many years to come.

To learn more about Healthy Communities Delaware please visit: https://www.healthycommunitiesdelaware.org