Our Story

Founded in December 2020, Vital CxNs identified a paradox in Boston—a city rich in activism, organizations, and world-class healthcare, yet grappling with deep health inequities. These inequities, rooted in historical disinvestment and structural racism, are further compounded by a fragmented community health infrastructure. Vital CxNs sees this paradox as both a reflection of systemic injustice, and also an opportunity for transformative action.

Initially, we focused on fostering collaboration, improving efficiencies, and uncovering synergies among existing resources to advance food justice. This collective effort inspired the development of our Community-Led Systems Change Model—a nationally recognized approach for transforming systems. By convening cross-sector stakeholders, promoting community ownership, and building strong, community-driven clinical-community partnerships, we have created a powerful framework for systemic change.

vi·tal
con·nec·tions

’vī-təl kə-’nek-shəns

We envision a future where vital connections among neighbors, organizations, and sectors inspire and cultivate an equitable community health ecosystem.

Our Impact

15,000

Community health interactions facilitated via clinical-community partnerships

$100k

Invested in community partnerships

80

Organizations in our partner networks

40

Paid community members co-leading health equity initiatives

Our four-stage model for driving sustainable ecosystem improvements

1 Assessment of Community Assets & Needs

We begin our work by assessing community assets and needs to ensure our work is responsive to community-identified health equity challenges and builds on existing community resources.

2 Convene Across Sectors & Silos

We convene cross-sector stakeholders to ensure that the local community health ecosystem is working synergistically, collaboratively, and efficiently to maximize our collective impact across sectors.

3 Cultivate Community-Centered Solutions

Cultivating community ownership ensures that redesigned community health infrastructure is not only responsive to community need, but also led and sustained by community stewardship.

4 Integrate & Sustain for Long-Term Impact

Health equity advancements require systems to be fully integrated into health equity strategies stewarded by the community. Integration often begins with short-term funding support but must move to ongoing institutional investments for true long-term impact and sustainability.