Well Connected Communities is a national health and well-being initiative of the Cooperative Extension System—in partnership with National 4-H Council and support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)—that is working to ensure that life-long health and well-being are within everyone’s reach.
The Well Connected Communities initiative includes building coalitions to forge connections, build capacity and take action and training Master Health Volunteers to be community leaders, implementers and advocates for health so that life-long health and well-being are within everyone’s reach.
Health Equity Archetypes
Archetypes are often used in marketing to determine key messages based on the profile and needs of a person or group of people. Health Equity archetypes were developed by youth members of the Health Equity Coalition for agencies to understand key needs of potential clients and assess their readiness to serve those clients.
Use the Health Equity Archetypes to internally audit services, systems, and structures to ensure equitable access to services for all community members from marketing services to first client contact to closure or referrals.
Examples of services, systems and structures to audit include paperwork, referrals, fees, building environment, transportation, language access, customer experience and feedback, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, and policies.
Health Equity Referrals
Increasing social capital and resource networks is an integral part of increasing access to health and wellbeing services. Community members expressed a need for increased resources, education and referrals along with increased collaboration between agencies to reduce access barriers and participant burden.
Provide these topic-based resources to individuals and families to increase their resource networks.
Photovoice
Photovoice: Refugee Mental Health
Health Equity Coalition
The Health Equity Coalition increases intentional, focused and collaborative action to reduce and eliminate health disparities in Lincoln, Nebraska. The community of Lincoln experiences up to 20 years difference in life expectancy between neighborhoods in addition to several compounding health disparities between city regions (see Community Health Endowment - Place Matters for more details). By collaborating and leveraging individual and organizational strengths to increase health equitably, these health disparities can be eliminated and improved length and quality of life can be within every Lincoln residents' reach.
Learn More about the Health Equity Coalition Health Equity Dialogues
Health Equity Coalition Meetings
Health Equity Coalition meetings are the last Wednesday of the month from 2-3pm CT. Email Emily Gratopp at emily.gratopp@unl.edu for more information and connection details.
Master Health Volunteers
The Well Connected Communities initiative includes training volunteers in the areas of health and wellness. This program is called “Master Health Volunteers” and “Youth Master Health Volunteers”. The training includes 40 hours of training and 40 hours of volunteering in Lincoln on health-related projects. The training consists of education in social determinants of health, health behavior change, trauma-informed care, health behavior change, and diversity, equity & inclusion.
The 40 hours of volunteering is personalized based on volunteer preference, community opportunities and alignment with Nebraska Extension’s values. Master Health Volunteers can align their efforts with current volunteer or career-related duties. Volunteers help create small shifts toward health by infusing wellness into their collective action and, therefore, into our communities.