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.
If you are interested in participating in one of our listening sessions or offer your thoughts regarding Mental Health access, please sign up through the button, below.
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
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.
GET INVOLVED
WE ARE HIRING
The Systems Change Initiative team is hiring to help coordinate this critical work. See our jobs postings page for more information.
JOIN A LISTENING SESSION
At our listening sessions, you can hear more about the project and partner with us to co-create the process of making positive systems change. If you are interested in participating, please contact us.
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 at 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.