Initiative Overview
In April 2022, YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix was awarded a grant by the Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) via the US Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to address health disparities that were created or worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Building Healthy Resilient Communities will examine barriers to accessing mental health services and race/gender discrimination against seniors and LGBTQ young people ages 18-24.
We will be hosting an open listening session in May 2024. If you are interested in sharing your thoughts about access to Mental Health Services across Maricopa County, please sign up through the button, below.
READ OUR YEAR 1 REPORTS
Let’s Talk Justice in Mental Health – Thought Partner Report
In their first report, the Systems Change Initiative team lay the groundwork for their first year in exploring the mental health of and access to mental health services for older adults and LGBTQ+ individuals in the West Valley, especially post-pandemic. The team started their work with four thought partner sessions, inviting key partners with expertise in public health, mental health, and systems issues. This report details what they found in their partner sessions and what they learned about the population of the Northwest Valley before starting their listening sessions with community members.
They Talked, We Listened – Year 1 Final Report
At the end of Year 1 of the Building Healthy, Resilient Communities grant, the Systems Change Initiative team had hosted nearly 20 listening sessions with community members across the Northwest Valley of Maricopa County. The team talked with LGBTQ+ people ages 18-24 and older adults to understand the thoughts and feelings around post-COVID mental well-being and access (or lack thereof) to treatment, care, and resources. Through the final report you’ll learn what community members had to say about the systems barriers keeping people from receiving care they need, and opportunities to instigate change in policies and practices. As we move forward into Year 2, we want to share the exciting updates in store for this work with and for our communities.
what is systems change?
Systems change means making adjustments in laws policies, practices, power dynamics, social norms or mindsets that underlie any issue in society. It often involves collaboration with diverse partners and can take place on a local, national or global level.
For systems change to be effective, we must learn from “ground truth:”
- What is happening in the everyday lives of people?
- What can we learn from those experiences?
- What are the opportunities, barriers, weaknesses and strengths of the systems that are designed to serve people?
- How can those learnings help us improve laws, policies, etc?
This is why we are hosting community conversations to learn directly from the community members we are empowered serve.
APPROACH & OUTCOMES
KEY ACTIONS
Our approach is four-fold. We seek to:
• Develop and leverage partnerships with the people we intend to serve and key partnering organizations
• Create more safe spaces for courageous conversations
• Champion more changemakers in community
• Amplify voices of those who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19
KEY OUTCOMES
Out of this process, we will:
• Suggest policy and systems improvements from information gained from those impacted by racism and gender discrimination
• Present suggestions to MCDPH to inform their 2023 Community Health Needs Assessment
• Co-create increased community power to impact laws and programs by ensuring that public health equity and access are key priorities for Northwest Valley decisionmakers
This website portal was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $498,689.45 with 100% funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the authors and do not represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by CDC/HHS or the U.S. Government.
There are many ways to get involved with YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix
Your voice matters as we stand up for social justice, help families and strengthen communities. Whether you have time, talents, or treasures to contribute, learn how you can plug in to the YWCA community.