Healthy hartford families initiative II - the hartford healthy families initiative II (HHFI2) aims to improve health, prevent chronic disease, and reduce health disparities among the black/african…

Healthy hartford families initiative II - the hartford healthy families initiative II (HHFI2) aims to improve health, prevent chronic disease, and reduce health disparities among the black/african american and latino populations in hartford, connecticut. HHFI2 will do this by implementing evidence-based, culturally-relevant and tailored programs in two specific areas of hartford: frog hollow and north hartford. HFFI2 will build capacity for evidence-based best practices that incorporate locally tailored bilingual multi-cultural approaches that impact coalition-building focused on nutrition, physical activity, early childhood care, and vaccinations. Working alongside city and community partners and through community coalitions, HHFI2 will focus on three strategies: making physical activity safe and accessible for all, making healthy food choices easier, and strengthening work towards meeting nutrition and physical activity standards in early care and education settings. The project will establish the website, resources, community networks and capability to implement policy and environmental changes that reflect current evidence-based best practices. Additionally, HHFI2 will work to increase the demand for vaccinations by hartford adults. Evidence-based programs and broad-based communications campaigns in each of these strategy areas will build on and fill in a wide range of existing work already underway in hartford. One important goal of HHFI2 will be to create a more unified approach to these issues that, together, will support hartford residents in achieving and maintaining health. The proposed activities will help achieve the following outcomes: 1. Increased access to healthier foods 2. Increased policies, plans, or community design changes that improve access to physical activity 3. Increased local level ECE policies and activities that improve nutrition, physical activity, and breastfeeding standards and farm to ECE and increase the number of ECE providers that adopt these standards and activities 4. Increases demand and access to vaccination opportunities the project will build on the solid foundation of a current reach grant. IT will be managed and directed by the city of hartford department of health and human services (DHHS), which has extensive experience working with diverse communities at the neighborhood level across the city of hartford.