As a part of their mission to create geographically-based health improvements across Arizona communities, Vitalyst Health Foundation and the Arizona Partnership for Healthy Communities have selected five new projects to form the 2020-2021 Live Well Arizona Incubator cohort. The Incubator’s primary purpose is to catalyze place-based, cross-sector collaborations that tackle opportunities to improve community well-being and health.

By pairing projects with an experienced coach who guides them over eight to ten months as they address a locally based health concern, they will develop solutions that will bring together people from many industries and interests to address the underlying causes of ill-health in their community, rather than merely the symptoms.

“The Live Well Arizona Incubator gives those looking to make a change in their communities direct access to a coach who can aide them in their efforts,” said Vitalyst Director of Strategic Initiatives Jon Ford. “We want to enable people to create change themselves, rather than an outside force who may not know how that community works, putting the power in the residents who know and love that area best.”

The five selected projects in the third cohort of the Live Well Incubator use a cross-sector approach to address a core element of healthy communities in a specific location:

Cartwright School District
Cartwright School District and their partners aim to improve community safety and access to healthy food for the residents within their community. Working together with their community partners in Maryvale, they plan to address lack of quality food available, education about nutrition and long-term well-being to achieve a better quality of life for everyone in their community.

Cesar Chavez Foundation: Si Se Puede Neighborhood Association
The Cesar Chavez Foundation strives to improve the lives of vulnerable populations through initiatives that address social determinants of health. Led by the resident leaders in the Si Se Puede Neighborhood Association in Phoenix, the plan is to engage new partners and community residents to improve the quality of life for seniors and others living in and around the Casa Pedro Ruiz affordable housing community.

Grant Alvernon Area Plan
The Grant Alvernon Area Plan is comprised of a community of 6 neighborhood associations who are dedicated to maintaining the essence of their neighborhoods in order to protect the residential character, safety, appearance and livability. Their mindful approach to development in the area and how it could impact their community is what drives their team to develop a plan to protect the residential nature of their neighborhoods.

Sugar Hill Community Land Trust
The Sugar Hill neighborhood is a historically disenfranchised community that continues to suffer the repercussions of racist urban planning and design. Their goal is to create and operate a regenerative, robustly multi-functional community land trust that will allow for community stewardship of community land. Sugar Hill neighborhood has a community garden, a bike/pedestrian friendly infrastructure and green infrastructure which all contribute to Sugar Hill’s vision of mitigating racial and environmental injustice.

TigerMountain Foundation
TigerMountain Foundation is an intergenerational, multi-ethnic, Asset Based Community Development model nonprofit with at-risk youth and adults of all ages in South Phoenix. While their primary objective has been to provide the community with affordable, local produce, they are expanding their efforts to develop a community of support for beginning and disadvantaged farmers that will give them a more powerful voice in agricultural policies in Maricopa County.

About Vitalyst
Vitalyst Health Foundation is on a mission to inform, connect and support efforts to improve the health of individuals and communities in Arizona. Over its history, the foundation has invested more than $100 million and established itself as a key thought leader, convener and catalyst of key initiatives – ranging from statewide health policy and systems to the development of local community gardens. More information is available at http://vitalysthealth.org/.

About Arizona Partnership for Healthy Communities
The Arizona Partnership for Healthy Communities plans to create multi-sector collaborations by bringing together the public health, housing, transportation, community development, and economic development fields. Our unique approach brings the private and public sectors together to ensure that banks, health insurers, and health care providers are active partners alongside the government and nonprofit sectors.