This report by Enterprise Community Partners and NeighborWorks America shows how the national Health Outcomes Demonstration Project equipped 20 affordable housing and community development organizations to evaluate the health outcomes across a range of programs, including neighborhood/housing improvement and community safety initiatives, youth education and services, service coordination for residents in crisis, as well as housing-based services for nutrition, physical activity, financial literacy, social activities, mental health and employment.
The demonstration project, jointly developed and implemented by Enterprise and Success Measures at NeighborWorks America, piloted the innovative Success Measures Health Outcome Measurement Tools, alongside technical assistance, peer learning opportunities and grant resources to foster organizational learning and expand the evaluation capacity of participating organizations. By the end of the project, the organizations had acquired the language, evaluation tools and evidence needed to connect their work with health outcomes and were equipped to engage in deeper partnerships with the health sector to strategically address the root causes of persistent health disparities. As the report title highlights, this project provided an important step forward on the path to health equity.