Trenton Health Team Partnership Selected to Participate in Nationwide “BUILD Health Challenge”
by Two-year grant brings together community organizations to Create Safe & Healthy Corridor in Trenton’s North Ward
The Trenton Health Team has been selected by a coalition of 12 funding organizations to participate in the BUILD Health Challenge, a national program that puts multi-sector community partnerships at the foundation of improving health for everyone. The Trenton-specific project will focus on developing a “Safe & Healthy Corridor” along Brunswick Avenue, from the Trenton Battle Monument Park to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, and improving the physical environment within that section of Trenton’s North Ward. The goal is to put a plan in motion to transform littered and vacant areas, abandoned buildings, and neglected streets and sidewalks into safe, livable, and walkable spaces that offer healthy resources for residents, visitors and employees.
The Trenton Health Team is one of 19 communities selected to participate. BUILD awards funding, capacity building support, and access to a national peer learning network. The program emphasizes cross-sector collaboration among local nonprofit organizations, hospitals, and public health departments to address upstream conditions that create opportunities for better health. BUILD selected Trenton Health Team because of its Bold, Upstream, Integrated, Local, and Data-driven (BUILD) ideas to improve the health of its residents.
“We are excited to receive the BUILD Health award,” stated Greg Paulson, Executive Director of Trenton Health Team.  “This award will increase our ability to improve community environments that lead to positive health outcomes by encouraging healthy lifestyle choices that reduce obesity and the burden of chronic disease.”
The Trenton Health Team is comprised of members from Capital Health, St. Francis Medical Center, Henry J. Austin Health Center, the Trenton Health & Human Services Department, and a Community Advisory Board (CAB) of over 60 major health, education, human service, and faith-based organizations in the city.  These organizations will work together, with guidance from BUILD advisors, to identify and implement innovative solutions to community challenges. Matching funds from Capital Health and Trinity Health/St. Francis Medical Center, combined with BUILD’s $250,000 two-year grant, will further extend the partnership’s capacity in addressing physical dimensions of the Brunswick Avenue corridor.
Click the image for a larger version. Map created by Chris Shimchick, Isles Inc.
The project will include cleaning and greening of vacant lots, establishing community gardens and other green spaces, creating soccer fields and upgrading park facilities and improving streetscapes to align with the Complete Streets vision. Among the community partners involved in the project are: Â Isles, Inc., The Family and Community Health Sciences Department of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids-Trenton, Mercer Street Friends, and churches along the corridor.
“Supporting this important work is a priority for me and my administration,” said Eric E. Jackson, Mayor of the City of Trenton. “Together with our community partners, we take pride in accomplishing our goal of making Trenton a healthier, safer place where our citizens live, work, play, and pray.”
“Every community faces its own set of challenges and opportunities when it comes to improving the health of its residents,” said Emily Yu, executive director of the BUILD Health Challenge. “With this award, we hope to catalyze the work of the Trenton Health Team and bring together residents and organizations from across sectors to address the root causes of health issues in Trenton—and ultimately transform how we think about health in America.
For more information about the BUILD Health Challenge, read our Frequently Asked Questions page.
View our BUILD Health Challenge video, proposing the “Safe & Healthy Corridor,” on our YouTube channel.
ABOUT THE TRENTON HEALTH TEAM
The Trenton Health Team (THT) is a community health improvement collaborative serving the six zip codes of Trenton, NJ.  The collaborative is an innovative partnership among Capital Health, St. Francis Medical Center, Henry J. Austin Health Center, and the Department of Health and Human Services of the City of Trenton. The vision of the Trenton Health Team is to make Trenton the healthiest city in the state. Our mission is to transform healthcare for the city by forming a committed partnership with the community to expand access to high quality, coordinated, cost-effective healthcare. For more information, visit: www.trentonhealthteam.org or follow us @trentonhealth.
ABOUT BUILD Health Challenge
BUILD seeks to create a new norm in the U.S. by addressing upstream factors affecting health. It is supported by a unique collaborative of local and national funders, which includes the Advisory Board, The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, the Colorado Health Foundation, the de Beaumont Foundation, The Episcopal Health Foundation, Interact for Health, The Kresge Foundation, Mid-Iowa Health Foundation, New Jersey Health Initiatives, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Telligen Community Initiative, and The W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Â For more information, visit buildhealthchallenge.org or follow at @BUILD_Health.
