Mission
To build a healthy and resilient Rhode Island by investing in communities and their capacity to affect change, honoring the expertise of those who live and work in those communities, and challenging the systems and structures that perpetuate health inequities.
A Community-Led Housing Solution
West Warwick HEZ’s award-winning plan to expand permanent supportive housing is underway. This community-driven, cross-sector solution will ensure long-term stability for residents, helping them thrive in their communities for years to come.
Central Providence Unidos HEZ: Resident Leads Neighborhood Bicycle Program for Kids
Central Providence resident Chester DeWitt has won the Dorothy Richardson Award for his work on the Nine Neighborhood Fund Participatory Budgeting process and for leading its winning bicycle program. Chester and members of the Chad Brown Alumni Association distributed over 75 bikes and bike repair training to young people in 02908 and 02909. Check out the full story!
Warren HEZ Teens Are Tending Their Communities
EastBayRI recently featured Warren HEZ and its inaugural summer youth internship program, where 2 high school student interns, both Warren residents, learned how to care for and tend to trees and green spaces in their neighborhoods. The program is supported by an Urban Forestry and Community grant, which supports statewide projects like tree planting and other green space-enhancing initiatives that help reduce heat, store water, and clean air. Read the EastBayRI article to learn more about the program.
Statewide Evaluation: The HEZ model is working!
Emerging evidence from a statewide evaluation demonstrates that HEZs reduce social vulnerability, chronic disease, and healthcare costs. By investing in proactive solutions, HEZs ensure long-term healthcare savings and improve the health and economic well-being of Rhode Islanders.
Participatory Budgeting: Communities Decide How to Spend Over $1 Million
Rhode Island residents are enjoying the results of the 2022-23 Together We Can Participatory Budgeting (PB) process, where they voted on how to spend over $1 million to improve their communities. Read the 2024 Participatory Budgeting Report (English) (Spanish) to learn more.
Zoning for Equity: Newport's North End
On May 11, 2022, a resident-led effort earned the unanimous support of the Newport City Council for amendments to the zoning ordinance advancing equity in the development of the city’s Innovation District, a mixed-use 50+ acre technology hub in the city’s North End neighborhood. With the support of the Newport Health Equity Zone (HEZ), the Local Advisory Group (LAG) proposed... more
HEZ Highlights
Learn More About the Impact of Rhode Island’s HEZ Initiative
- A Community-Led Housing Solution from West Warwick’s HEZ
- HEZs Statewide Evaluation Shows Impact and Success
- Health Equity Zones Impact Summary
- Rhode Island’s Health Equity Zones A Model for Building Healthy, Resilient
What is Rhode Island’s Health Equity Zones Initiative?
Rhode Island’s Health Equity Zone (HEZ) initiative is an innovative approach to improving well-being. It brings people together to build strong, resilient communities so all Rhode Islanders have the opportunity to be as healthy as possible, no matter who they are or where they live.
What Does Rhode Island’s HEZ Initiative Do?
Through Rhode Island’s HEZ initiative, the State of Rhode Island supports opportunities for community members and partners to collaborate on shared goals. Their efforts are creating thriving communities by:
- Strengthening community leadership in planning and budgeting processes,
- Improving access to healthy food, safe, affordable housing, green spaces, transportation, economic opportunity, and quality education,
- Fostering new partnerships and opportunities for collaboration,
- Preventing the spread of COVID-19 and ensuring communities are prepared for other future challenges and emergencies,
- Connecting people to substance use treatment and recovery, healthcare, behavioral health, and preventative services, and supporting the wellbeing of frontline staff,
- and so much more.
Why Does it Matter?
Did you know that most of what affects health happens outside the doctor's office? Things like where we live, go to school and work, the quality of our education, and the foods we have access to impact us much more than our genes, personal choices, and healthcare. These things are also called the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). The HEZ initiative focuses on improving SDOH to prevent people from getting sick and make life better for everyone.
Learn More About How Health Equity Zones are Making a Difference.
- Health Equity Zones: Building Healthy and Resilient Communities Across Rhode Island
- Learn more about health equity from the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH).
- Learn more about health equity from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
How Do Rhode Island's Health Equity Zones Work?
Health Equity Zones (HEZs) are specific areas throughout the state where collaboratives of community stakeholders, organizations, and residents have formed to address issues that are most important to them. Through a collective, community-led process, each HEZ:
- Conducts a needs assessment,
- Identifies priorities, and
- Implements a data-driven action plan to address barriers to health.
Since 2015, Rhode Island’s HEZ initiative has supported community leaders and residents to form Health Equity Zone collaboratives in communities across Rhode Island. RIDOH provides funding and support to ensure communities follow best practices for improving public health. This innovative model has been highlighted nationally to foster community leadership and advance equity.
Rhode Island's Learning Communities
For the last decade, the Learning Community has been more than just a conference. It’s a space where Rhode Islanders come together to learn from each other, build relationships across sectors, and create change that is rooted in the voices of the communities they serve. The conversations, relationships, and learning have always had relevance beyond the HEZ network, and we’re making room at the table for the many more stakeholders, organizations, and community members who are doing this work across the state or who want to start.
The Rhode Island Learning Community is a living network of people from across sectors working together to transform how institutions show up for communities. Learning Community events are spaces where government, nonprofits, and residents gather to learn from one another and take action on social and environmental issues impacting Rhode Islanders' health and well-being. Rhode Island's Learning Community events serve as:
- A collaborative learning lab where participants explore how to move beyond traditional community outreach.
- A path toward true partnership where communities and institutions become co-learners and co-creators of solutions rather than passive audiences receiving instruction or authoritative sources delivering it.
- Action-oriented networks in continuous practice tackling local issues, led by community voices.
Have an idea for a workshop, series, or Community of Practice?
Complete the Learning Community Brainstorm Worksheet.
Interested in tabling at the next Learning Community?
Complete the Exhibitor (Tabling) Application.
Become a sponsor: TTAP Sponsorship Guide
To learn more, please contact Deb Golding at deb.golding@health.ri.gov
Get Involved
Find a HEZ near you and learn more about the work it’s doing in your community.