Hi Reader,

I opened the new year inviting you to join PoP Health at the intersection of hope and action to transform health in our communities.

Earlier this month, we dove into the idea of hope.

Today, we’re focused on ACTION.

I’m all about capturing data to understand community needs - but does it sometimes feel like all we’re doing is defining (and redefining) the problem, listing challenges and barriers, and adding proof points that the problem exists?

I think sometimes we get paralyzed thinking we need more - more information, more resources, more time - instead of figuring out how to ACT in the here and now, with what we have.

I heard a great example of this at a workshop this past Fall, from an organization called Beyond Housing in St. Louis. Their CEO shared the simple framework they use to guide their work: Ask, Align, Act. “We ask for the community’s input to identify priorities, align resources, and act toward fulfilling a common vision.”

It sounds SO simple. Yet, many organizations and agencies aren’t doing this.

Part of that, of course, is because it isn’t actually simple to identify priorities or align resources, much less act. There are so many complexities and challenges, and I don’t want to diminish those.

Yet, that’s only part of the story. Many organizations and agencies aren’t even trying to act, at least not in a meaningful way.

I think the first step towards taking meaningful action is doing what Beyond Housing has done - make ACTION a central component of your organization’s ethos, framework, plan.

The results can be impressive. Just check out what Beyond Housing has done - https://beyondhousing.org/about/our-work/.

Here’s the thing, Reader - nothing changes until we act.

We also can’t learn what works - and perhaps more importantly, what doesn’t work - until we act.

It’s in this spirit of taking action that we here at PoP Health will be offering a FREE live class for community coalitions this Spring, all about why every community health coalition needs an action plan - and the process they need to get there. Stay tuned for more details!

Until next time,

Vinu

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PPS Want to learn more about PoP Health and how we partner with community coalitions and collaboratives to transform health in communities through policy and systems change? Check out our website!