Healthy Neighborhood Initiative

The Near Westside of Syracuse is one of six communities selected to participate in the New York State Health Foundation’s (NYSHealth) Healthy Neighborhood Funds initiative (http://nyshealthfoundation.org/our-grantees/healthy-neighborhoods-fund-recipients ).

The initiative will provide funding and support for an active collaboration between NYSHealth and the six communities around the state — also including the City of Niagara Falls, Clinton County, East Harlem and the Lower East Side in Manhattan, and Brownsville in Brooklyn — to help the communities become healthier, more active places for residents.

The Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School was selected in 2015 to receive a two-year grant to fund the Near Westside Healthy Neighborhood initiative, a partnership of community agencies led by the Lerner Center and the Near Westside Initiative at Syracuse University, St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center and Nojaim Brothers Supermarket. Other partners include Cornell Cooperative Extension, the City of Syracuse Parks Department, Peacemaking Center, Syracuse Housing Authority and Missio Church.

The partnership works with community residents to marshal resources around improving nutrition and increasing physical activity. Further work has led to a focus on community safety, resident engagement and empowerment, and provider coordination and collaboration–all under the umbrella of the Take Back the Streets campaign.

In March and April of 2017, the Peacemaking Center in collaboration with the Lerner Center held a 4-day resident leadership training, facilitated by the Community Health Worker Network of NYC. Ten neighborhood residents attended the training, and are paving the way for the creation of the Community Impact Team.

In 2017, the Lerner Center worked with its partners to transfer the facilitation to neighborhood organizations, in order to carry forward the work of the Healthy Neighborhood Initiative. The Peacemaking Center and Missio Church will now lead the next three years of this initiative through 2020, with continued funding from the New York State Health Foundation.