Category: Healthy Communities

Addressing hunger and health during a pandemic

By Jessica Kejr on September 17, 2020
Director of Programs and Client Collaboration Initiatives
Harvesters—The Community Food Network

Hunger is a solvable, social determinant of health. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted various factors that drive deep health disparities in our communities. There is a renewed urgency to face these factors directly and address hunger as a health issue in a meaningful way.  The 4th Annual Hunger-Free Healthcare Summit will engage in this important […]

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CATEGORIES
Healthy Communities, Pandemic Impact

Art for KC Voices collection shares the real story of food insecurity

By Health Forward Blog Team on September 15, 2020

In 2019, five local artists were commissioned to create works reflecting on racial and economic inequities associated with nutrition assistance programs and how food policy shapes access to healthy food. In this video featuring the entire Art for KC Voices collection, spoken word artist Glenn North shares one of his contributions: The House of Seven […]

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CATEGORIES
Healthy Communities

Emerging data show COVID-19 disproportionately impacts communities of color

By Qiana Thomason on April 23, 2020
President/CEO
Health Forward Foundation

An abundance of national historical data reminds us that in public health, when America catches a cold, people of color catch pneumonia. As coronavirus (COVID-19) rips through our communities, it exposes social injustice and divisions that determine whether people have necessary resources to be healthy.  As such, we are paying acute attention to nascent local […]

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CATEGORIES
Health Reform, Healthy Communities, Pandemic Impact, Policy, Social Factors

If you’re home already, why not complete the census now?

By Karen Dehais on April 1, 2020
Evaluation and Learning Officer
Health Forward Foundation

Today is a day that comes only once every 10 years: Census Day, when we count everyone living in the United States. It’s quite an extraordinary undertaking. Of course the coronavirus pandemic has most of us thinking about other things. Public health precautions and economic turbulence are necessarily top of mind at this time of […]

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CATEGORIES
Healthy Communities, Policy, Safety Net

Big Idea: It’s time to change the way we talk about poverty

By Jason Wesco on October 30, 2019
Executive Vice-President
Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas in Pittsburg

“Whatever happened to the idea…that we all do better when we all do better?”                                                              — Former Senator Paul Wellstone I live in the poorest town in the poorest county in […]

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CATEGORIES
Health Reform, Healthy Communities

Managing the anxiety of cancer

By Siobhan McLaughlin Lesley on October 24, 2019
Executive Director
Gilda’s Club Kansas City

There’s no getting around it: cancer touches everyone. The American Cancer Society® reports that, today, 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will receive a cancer diagnosis in his or her lifetime.   Hearing those three scary words, “You have cancer,” certainly increases stress and creates anxiety. Research has shown, though, that reducing anxiety […]

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CATEGORIES
Healthy Communities, Safety Net

Summit explores topics critical to building partnerships

By Emily Brown on October 17, 2019
Co-founder and CEO
Food Equality Initiative

One in eight individuals in our community are impacted by food insecurity or the lack of affordable fresh food.  Hunger Free Healthcare KC — a coalition of nonprofits, government organizations, and hospitals — hosted the third annual Hunger-Free Healthcare Summit, Tuesday, Sept. 24 at the Kaufman Foundation Center. The summit was sponsored by Children’s Mercy, […]

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CATEGORIES
Healthy Communities

Lawyers in your corner: Stressed KC communities fight back with ‘Adopt-A-Neighborhood’ legal teams

 team views restoration efforts

By Joe Robertson on September 12, 2019
Writer
Local Investment Commission

Health Forward is proud to be a supporting partner in this effort of building healthy communities. This article was originally published Aug. 26, 2019 on LINC’s website. Republished with permission. Private attorney Anna Berman doesn’t do first entries into abandoned houses anymore. “I don’t need to go in there,” she said as she swapped horror […]

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CATEGORIES
Healthy Communities

Transportation barriers impact health care access

By Karen Dehais on June 27, 2019
Evaluation and Learning Officer
Health Forward Foundation

Walking, biking, driving … it can be easy to take for granted how we get around. I was reminded of that a few weeks ago, when a broken right foot led to doctor’s orders for me to limit walking and to stop driving for six weeks. Fortunately I’ve received help getting where I need to […]

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CATEGORIES
Healthy Communities

If you build it, will they come? Lessons in creating a multi-sector collaboration

By Carla Norcott-Mahany on June 20, 2019
Grants Program Coordinator
The Whole Person

Casual observers of the health and human services landscape may be surprised whenever they learn about a new program, service, or a new organization that seems to spring whole-cloth and overnight from “nothing” into “something.” In reality, the origins of the most successful “somethings” begin with long awareness of a specific and compelling community need […]

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CATEGORIES
Healthy Communities


Health Forward Blog aims to discuss health and health policy issues that impact those most in need in our communities. If you would like your organization to be featured on our blog, please contact us.

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