Community Driven Health Promotion and
Risk Reduction Initiative
The purpose of this initiative is to improve health status by impacting health disparities. The strategies employed by the grantees range from advocacy and community mobilization to providing wellness services in the community such as nutrition classes and yoga. In the first year six grants were awarded and in the second year three additional grants were awarded.
The premise of this initiative is that communities are their own best resources in creating the conditions that lead to health and well-being. Funded groups first had to identify their “community”, the target group for their effort. They proceeded to engage in a process of listening to the community through the use of surveys, interviews, and/or focus groups. Following this, most groups engaged in a priority setting process that involved as many of their members as possible. Once priorities were established, the groups developed a strategy to deal with their concern.