For NeighborWorks America's recent symposium, "Co-creating an Equitable Future at the Intersetion of Health, Housing and Community Development," leaders created a series of case studies to help show how netowrk organizations are centering voice. Following is the study on Fifth Avenue Committee in Brooklyn, New York, showing how relationships with residents propel new partnerships for creative health and housing solutions.
Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC), a NeighborWorks network organization based in Brooklyn, New York, works to envision an equitable New York City where all people can live in stable and thriving communities that are inclusive, healthy and sustainable. Listening to residents share their housing and health concerns is a core component of FAC’s expansive approach to their work. To amplify their reach, FAC has launched new programs to increase access to healthcare for residents and has forged new partnerships as a trusted convener with a diverse network of community-based organizations to create more thriving places together.
FAC's Organizing and Advocacy Department offers an example of their efforts to center resident voices. Resident engagement has allowed FAC to address immediate concerns like repairs, harassment and increasing rents while delving deeper into broader challenges related to housing and community health. By connecting with residents individually, FAC uncovers building-level issues and landlord responsibilities, extending its impact to tackle neighborhood-level concerns including displacement risks and environmental justice. FAC’s support for the Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice exemplifies this approach, leading a mutli-racial, multi-sector, local resident initiative to ensure the rezoning process was responsive to the needs of low income residents of color. This groundbreaking initiative secured agreements advancing community health, climate resilience, workforce development, public housing, local accountability and permanently affordable housing, now translating into half a billion dollars of city investments. FAC's commitment to resident-led initiatives informs their neighborhood revitalization efforts, tenant organizing, and equity-centered organizational commitments, propelling them to co-create thriving neighborhoods with residents at the forefront.
FAC doesn't just identify problems but unveils the fundamental drivers, positioning itself as a catalyst for transformative solutions and community-driven change. FAC regularly engages peer organizations in the Brooklyn neighborhoods where they work, cultivating partnerships rooted in shared priorities. FAC has played a lead role in spurring collective action, convening organizations to leverage the unique assets of other partner organizations, mentor peers, and establish partnerships for collaboration. It is the trusted relationships with residents - and as a convener - that has propelled new partnerships beyond housing to address key health concerns. Residents are actively co-creating a new vision for a healthy future through FAC's emerging partnerships with health systems, which aim to bridge the gap between health and housing. Informed by resident engagement efforts, FAC is launching a community health worker program to assess and address resident social needs, linking it with a hospital referral program to promote holistic health. Recognizing the crucial role of community-based efforts to address the social determinants of health in partnership with health systems, FAC serves as a partner for eligibility screening and referrals, and educates health systems on equitable health, amd neighborhood planning and housing initiatives, thus empowering residents to shape a future where health and housing intersect seamlessly.
FAC's approach is dynamic – responsive at the community level, addressing specific needs, and ground-up at the tenant level, uncovering root causes. Both of these approaches aim for systemic change with residents leading the problem identification and assessment as well as residents leading the local stakeholder engagement and discussions to transform policy and institutional investments.
03/27/2024
