
By DaRon McGee, MBA, MPA on March 10, 2022
Community Relations Manager
Swope Health
By DaRon McGee, MBA, MPA on March 10, 2022
Community Relations Manager
Swope Health
In February, Swope Health hosted a series of community conversations with leaders in Kansas City who reflected on Black history through their personal experiences. Swope Health developed the program to recognize that Black history happens daily and deserves recognition more than once a year in Black History Month. The four conversations in the program were […]
By Andrew R. Gustafson on February 10, 2022
Curator of Interpretation
Johnson County Museum
Redlining: A word that is loaded with meaning – and a long, complex history. Redlining is connected to a web of topics, and its legacies continue to define our lived experiences and our built environment. The federal policy of redlining that was implemented 88 years ago and found unconstitutional 54 years ago continues to shape […]
By Noah Ybarra on December 2, 2021
AmeriCorps VISTA
KC Common Good
Adam McClun
Community Engagement Manager, KC Common Good
Black and brown communities in cities across the United States face challenges limiting upward mobility — Kansas City is no different. Excluded from prosperity, faced with higher rates of poverty, and lower life expectancies, these communities have fallen victim to cycles of violence. However, the power of hope shared by our community members led them […]
By Ryan Hudnall on November 5, 2021
Executive Director
Della Lamb Community Services
It has been said that nothing is permanent except change. Consider the past 18 months. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2, more commonly known as COVID-19, prompted global change, resulting in an exceptional era of transition and disruption. We collectively stepped into an environment characterized by uncertainty, and we are still adjusting to the nature and extent […]
By Cori Stites on October 14, 2021
Program Associate
Health Forward Foundation
Join us for our newest blog series Pages with Partners, where Health Forward staff select a book to discuss with a community partner. If you have a book recommendation, fill out the form at the end of this post. Maid: Hard work, low pay, and a mother’s will to surviveBy Stephanie Land In Stephanie Land’s […]
By Karen Dehais on October 7, 2021
Evaluation and Learning Officer
Health Forward Foundation
In 2011 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and embarked on a treatment journey that brought me to a significant milestone – I’m thankful today to be celebrating 10 years cancer free. This year an estimated 281,550 women in the United States (about 2,100 in Kansas and 4,600 in Missouri) will be diagnosed with breast […]
By Cori Stites on April 15, 2021
Program Associate
Health Forward Foundation
Join us for our newest blog series Pages with Partners, where Health Forward staff select a book to discuss with a community partner. If you have a book recommendation, fill out the form at the end of this post. Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights ActivistBy Judith Heumann and Kristen Joiner Judith […]
By Jennifer Tidwell on October 27, 2020
Division Manager, Housing and Community Development
City of Kansas City Missouri
Tania Hewett-Mader
Policy Associate, Health Forward Foundation
Few events in history highlight as clearly as the pandemic that housing and health are inherently connected. Families struggle to make ends meet after job loss or reduction in pay due to the coronavirus. At the onset of the pandemic, governments requested that residents stay at home, schools moved to a virtual environment, and many […]
By Karen Dehais on June 12, 2020
Evaluation and Learning Officer
Health Forward Foundation
Even as businesses and workplaces cautiously re-open, Health Forward is acutely aware that among low-income individuals and people of color, employment opportunities, working conditions, and benefits vary dramatically. Addressing these disparities is essential, as is advocating for policies that advance economic inclusion and health equity. Unemployment disparities We all know that too many people are […]
By Health Forward Foundation on June 2, 2020
The past three months have undeniably and climatically exposed the fact that racism is alive and the very culprit that’s caused millions of people of color to be unwell. After three months of isolation from the COVID-19 pandemic — which gripped our nation and claimed the lives of a disproportionate number of African Americans — […]