We hire and train community members as Long Covid Ambassadors to conduct outreach and education on Long Covid symptoms, disease management and supportive resources. The ambassadors leverage the power of their own social networks to ensure critical health information and services reach communities disproportionately impacted by the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Community members are employed across our initiatives as Community Leaders. In this role, Community Leaders leverage their trusted relationships in our partnering communities to ensure that solutions are developed and implemented in a way that builds upon a community’s assets and is directly responsive to their needs, fostering sustainable and impactful outcomes.

The Neighborhood Food Action Collaborative (NFAC) was formed during the height of COVID at a time in which a state of emergency, coupled with an influx of food resources demanded a coordinated, community-led response. At this time, we convened 20+ cross-sector partners and 30+ community residents to develop timely solutions to a food security crisis, ensuring that food resources were getting to those most in need.

Through cross-sector collaboration and community leadership, we’re building a more inclusive, culturally responsive mental health ecosystem. We host a monthly Mental Health Access Network that brings together community members, mental health practitioners, providers, and organizations to share resources, exchange ideas, and strengthen community-defined approaches to mental wellness and behavioral health support.

We partnered with Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Leadership in Health Equity Pathway to bring together a group of cross-sector stakeholders through a series of community wellness convenings. Together we created a shared definition of community wellness, and brainstormed community health ecosystem improvements that connected existing resources, identified gaps, and created a roadmap toward equitable health for all.

Recognizing the power of information-sharing through trusted messengers, we employ a peer-to-peer model to spread education and advocacy on local resources. In our food access work, we hire and train Peer Advocates to provide multilingual education, advocacy and enrollment support for government-funded benefit programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). By activating community voice, we build community ownership.

Our Maternal Health Community Conversations, co-created and facilitated by a diverse network of community-based organizations, groups, and businesses, help to increase awareness of diverse birth options, including midwifery care, doula support, and birth centers. By centering community perspectives on healthy pregnancies and births, we seek to bridge gaps in Boston’s maternal health ecosystem, inform systems improvement efforts, and promote safe and liberated birth for all.