Collaborations
VtPHI as a Partner
VtPHI aims to put power back into communities to create a more connected Vermont where everyone has a role to play in improving health equity. We are always looking for opportunities to partner with communities and organizations to accelerate, enhance, or amplify their work.
The UVM Justice Research Center leverages the power of data to bring communities, policy makers, and researchers together for meaningful social change. The Creation of a Community Advisory Board project is a new initiative for 2025 with VtPHI and UVM. VtPHI will engage prior members of the Vermont Prison Research and Innovation Network (PRIN) Executive Committee, community-based partners, academic leaders, as well as members of key agencies to understand strengths and lessons learned from the prior advisory group.
VtPHI will faciliate the process to define the role. purpose, and function of the Community Advisory Board; identify and invite potential members; develop onboarding materials; and host the first meeting of the Community Advisory Board in 2026.
Homelessness Health Equity Capacity Building
The local homeless Continuums of Care (CoC) are uniquely positioned to develop partnerships with public health and health care providers, supporting the development of new local resources and strategies to promote health amongst the impacted population, and providing ongoing coordination of efforts requires new resources for community agencies to be effective partners.
In 2023, the Vermont Public Health Institute (VtPHI) provided capacity-building consultation services to the Northeast Kingdom Local Homeless Continuums of Care (CoC) covering the Newport and St. Johnsbury regions to develop a consolidated strategic plan to better enable regional agencies to collaborate with public health and health care to address COVID-19 and other health needs.
The CoCs in St J and Newport plan to:
- Enhance partnerships and collaborations between health partners for community-based services including COVID testing and vaccination.
- Increase capacity to provide coordinated wrap-around care and services.
- Support homeless service providers to maintain and advance coordination of consistent access to prevention resources, health services, and programming.
- Organize a process to create an NEK wide health promotion campaign for homeless and precariously housed people.
The Partners:
Northeast Kingdom Community Action (NEKCA) is managing the grant. They, along with Rural Edge Housing, host and co-chair the CoC’s in the Northeast Kingdom.
Similar projects around Vermont are coordinated through the Vermont Coalitions to End Homelessness.