U.S. News, February 18, 2020: In Rhode Island, Health Equity Zones Offer Communities a Voice
The nation’s tiniest state is leading the way in community health investment by calling on residents to collaborate and help decide what they need to live healthier, happier lives.
The Rhode Island Department of Health’s Health Equity Zones initiative uses a place-based, community-driven model to build healthy and resilient communities statewide. Funds from the program aim to support neighborhoods and municipalities in establishing and maintaining programs that address social determinants of health, such as using a community garden to improve access to healthy food, rehabbing blighted housing or creating a program to help kids walk safely to school with qualified adults. It’s a model that even presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has vowed to deploy if elected.
