Selected Strategies and Guiding Principles

As required by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Determination of Need regulations that govern health care facilities, Massachusetts General Brigham (MGB) through a partnership with Cambridge Health Alliance’s Community Health Improvement department is investing a total of $490,524.73 in community-based health initiatives (CHI).

The Somerville DoN Community Advisory Committee (CAC) consists of 28 people with lived and professional experience in Somerville. In 2020, the CAC was established in order to review and give input on community health priorities and strategies, bearing in mind the guiding principles below. Drawing from their own experiences, those of Somerville residents (shared through 3 Community Engagement sessions), and the 2018 Wellbeing Report of Somerville and CHA Strategy for a Healthy Somerville documents, the CAC decided on the health priorities of 1) mental health, 2) housing stability, and 3) access to early education. The selected strategies to address these priorities are detailed below.

Selected Strategies

Strategy #1: Increasing BIPOC, LGBTQ+ representation in mental health workforce

Exposing populations historically underrepresented in the field to mental health professions, with the goal of fostering interest in and supporting career opportunities in behavioral health. This strategy includes, but is not limited to, training community health workers (CHWs), who are members of the communities which they serve (ie. low-income, immigrant, LGBTQ+, seniors, young people, and/or BIPOC) to support mental health/addictions care and access through coordinated, funded recruitment and training programs.

Strategy #2: Supporting Housing Stability

This strategy aims to invest in supportive housing strategies, such as co-location of services, to help vulnerable residents maintain and stabilize their housing. An intended outcome of this strategy is to prevent evictions, decrease displacement and maintain access to public and affordable housing.

Strategy #3: Support Access to Behavioral Health in Early Childhood Care & Education

Policy and program support are needed to help address the social-emotional needs of young children and the changing needs of low income parents as the workforce shifts due to COVID-19. This strategy aims to provide early childhood care and education systems with the behavioral health support necessary to best serve BIPOC, immigrant, low-income families. This strategy includes, but is not limited to, planning for the infrastructure and implementation of a collaborative early childhood mental health system, and may include planning, coordinating and convening stakeholders for a future policy or system change.

Guiding Principles

Social Determinants of Health: Health is a product of the social, economic, political, and environmental conditions in which people live and grow, in addition to individual choices, behaviors, and risk factors. Social determinants of health such as poverty, unequal access to health care, lack of education, stigma, and racism are underlying contributing factors of health inequities.

Upstream Action: We aim to think creatively and critically about how, with the resources we have, we can impact the laws, policies and regulations that shape our community’s health. We aspire toward strategies that improve community conditions -- that is, that address the social determinants of health.

Anti-racism: We acknowledge that no policy action, practice, or idea can be race neutral -- it either perpetuates or exacerbates racial inequity, or reduces or eliminates it. We will take intentional action to ensure our process and outcomes lead toward reducing racial inequities in health.

Equity: Everyone should have a fair and just opportunity to thrive, regardless of identity, place, or resources. Equity acknowledges the importance of intersectionality.

Page updated

Report abuse