DO THE BYI *CHATS HAVE THE CAPACITY TO BUILD HEALTH?

HIGHLIGHTS: Backyard Initiative Evaluation Report

NOTE: “Evaluation” is often considered to be something that is done AFTER a project or program has been completed. The BYI is evaluating as the work unfolds. This allows the teams doing the work of the BYI to tweak and improve in order to increase the impact of the health improvement efforts on residents of the BYI area. .

Program Evaluation and the Backyard Initiative

From the field of program evaluation, the Backyard Initiative (BYI) is seen as a community-building enterprise in which residents who live in proximity to each other have come together as a collective to act in their shared self-interest. The Initiative sees strengthening community as the means that will lead to better resident health. The Definition of Health created by residents defines health broadly, to include social, emotional, economic, spiritual, and physical conditions.

The lead agency for the Backyard Initiative is the Cultural Wellness Center (CWC), located in the heart of the seven Minneapolis neighborhoods defining the geographical region of the Backyard. From the beginning of the BYI, the Cultural Wellness Center created and supported an infrastructure, which consists of the Community Commission on Health (Commission), Citizen Health Action Teams (CHATs), and the Community Resource Body (CRB).… Read the rest “DO THE BYI *CHATS HAVE THE CAPACITY TO BUILD HEALTH?”