These items will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. Are you sure?
You are about to change the status of that record. Are you sure?
North & South America
All Other Countries
When people have a voice and role in shaping decisions that affect their community, the resulting policies, programs, and decisions are more likely to succeed and last. Problems that concern the community become a priority rather than growing bigger because they are ignored. On the other hand, when decisions are made behind closed doors or by people far away from the problem, the solutions offered may not match the actual problems – and sometimes, they can even make things worse.
In the Greater Cincinnati region, we have a long and proud history of community-led efforts to drive change for the better – and too many examples of how community power has been eroded, and community needs have been ignored. For example, the states in our region have more barriers to voting than other states in the nation.
That’s why Interact for Health is committed to shifting power dynamics so that people affected by health inequities can identify solutions, decide on the direction, and lead the work in their own communities.
We do this by:
To see this work in action, read more about our Rural Investment Strategy.
We also invest in narrative change efforts, because the stories we hear about ourselves, others, and our communities matter. Narratives influence what people and policy decision-makers believe about social problems, health issues, and the people affected by them. By elevating the voices of community organizers and other grassroots storytellers so that we all hear directly from communities, we can move toward narratives that define people and communities by their aspirations and contributions rather than their problems.
To learn more about how and why we focus on community power building, click through to information about our strategic planning process.
To find out about possible grants, visit our Open Funding Page.
Caitlin Bentley-Thayer, Senior Program Manager of Community Engagement (Rural)
cbentley@interactforhealth.org
Julian Collins, Senior Program Manager of Community Engagement (Urban/Suburban)
jcollins@interactforhealth.org
Listen to how Lincoln Heights residents organized to make their community safer and more peaceful.
Voting access policies include registration requirements, voting days and times, and procedures for how voters can submit their ballots. Expansive access policies lead to greater voting participation and places with greater civic participation overall. The Health & Democracy Index found that states in our region—Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana—have less voting access and worse health outcomes compared to other states across the nation.
