During this unprecedented time, the Boston CHNA-CHIP Collaborative is paying close attention to the pandemic’s impact on the health and well-being of our communities. Our thoughts and hearts are with the families affected and the essential workers selflessly serving our communities.

As history has shown and the data now demonstrate, underserved communities bear a greater burden in times of crisis. COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting marginalized communities and laying bare social inequalities and health disparities. At the root of the myriad COVID-19 risk factors is poverty—lack of economic opportunity and historical disenfranchisement. Across the nation, as in Massachusetts, the poorest residents are people of color. This must change. Efforts to remedy injustice must deepen now.

Our mission is to achieve sustainable positive change in the health of Boston by collaborating with communities, sharing knowledge, aligning resources, and addressing root causes of health inequities. The collaborative stands strong in our commitment to address these inequities.

Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, work groups were formed to begin to address the key priorities identified by our 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment and the community driven implementation and action planning processes. We developed strategies to address the 2020-2022 priorities of housing affordability, financial security and mobility, behavioral health, and accessing health and social services. Now, many of our work group co-leads and members are engaged in COVID-19 response efforts throughout the city, and some of the work has been temporarily paused. However, the financial security and mobility, housing, and behavioral health work groups continue to meet and plan during this time. We are humbled by the continued engagement of our steering committee members, residents, and organizations supporting these efforts.

We will continue to keep you posted with the latest updates on this website and in social media.

If you are interested in learning more about our current work or engaging in our workgroups please email info@bostonchna.org.