Neighborhood Associations: Growing Healthier Communities Through Civic Engagement
The Foundation for a Healthy High Point, in collaboration with the City of High Point, is offering microgrants of up to $2,000 to neighborhood associations to support small, grassroots projects that promote civic engagement.
There are eleven neighborhood associations in High Point with varying levels of membership and engagement. Many associations are interested in taking steps to both improve their neighborhoods and increase membership and participation, but most lack the funds to do so. “The neighborhoods want to do certain projects to beautify their community or to make it better, or just to increase the membership of their associations,” said Michelle McNair, Community Resource Manager with the City of Hight Point’s Community & Neighborhood Development Division. “It often takes a little bit of money to entice people to come and to do these projects, and a lot of the associations don’t have that kind of money.” The city approached the Foundation with a proposal to fund small grants that would allow the associations to pursue these initiatives.
There has been a growing attention among health funders, including the Foundation, to the topic of civic engagement, with evidence that increased levels of engagement are associated with improved health outcomes for both individuals and the community. Fostering this engagement requires a bottom-up approach and relies on collaboration that is sustained by the community. The microgrant initiative supports this, engaging each individual association and its members to decide on the appropriate project for their neighborhood, plan and present it, and sustain it beyond the timeline of the grant.
To participate, associations fill out an application, develop a plan and a budget, and present their ideas to the Citizens Advisory Council. The council reviews the applications and asks relevant questions. The city’s Community & Neighborhood Development Division provides support, serving as a sounding board, helping associations identify and locate resources, and assisting in filling out applications. The city also attends monthly association meetings and neighborhood leader meetings, brings in relevant speakers, and is planning a workshop to help neighborhood leaders with the microgrant process.
The neighborhood associations are excited to receive the microgrants and are working on plans for beautification efforts, community events, back to school projects, community information centers, and community gardens. For example, the Burns Hill neighborhood association plans to use a portion of the funds to make improvements to their community garden, including new signage and replacement of deteriorating wood. They’re also planning to host a fall festival open to the community, with the goal of encouraging more involvement in the association. The Washington Street association is planning two community events, Lots of Fun in June, and Cruise on Washington Street in August. Attendees at the June event, a family-friendly field day, will be asked to register children for free school supplies. Then, at the August event, those children will receive their school supplies, along with free haircuts and hair braiding service from local providers. The event will include entertainment and refreshments. “These events are opportunities for the neighborhood to get to know their association team,” said Lara Lesley, the association’s bilingual community engagement specialist. “We’re really focused on the community and seeing what the needs are, and how to accomplish those needs.”
Other possibilities include senior services, safety and lighting improvements, Little Free Libraries, and other community green spaces. The associations are encouraged to consider ways to sustain the project in the longer term so that the grant doesn’t result in a one-time effort, and to seek out other sources of funding.
The potential positive impacts of the initiative are myriad. The city is hopeful that community involvement will develop stronger neighborhood leaders, foster more organization among the associations, and increase membership. Stronger neighborhood engagement often leads individuals to serve in other roles in the community, sitting on local boards, serving on committees, and participating in the decision-making process for issues affecting their neighborhoods. Such involvement leads to a better understanding of how local government works and the resources available to residents. “A role that we play on a day-to-day basis is to help support the nonprofits we work with so that they understand the local government,” said Thanena Wilson, High Point’s Community Housing & Development Director. “How we operate, how to communicate with City Hall. We want to give our neighborhoods a voice and teach them how to speak up for themselves.” In turn, these efforts benefit the city by providing feedback on the issues that are most important to specific communities.
The city is also hopeful that these efforts will lead to stronger, thriving neighborhoods that improve the health of both individuals and the community. People are likely to move more when they have access to safer, cleaner outdoor spaces. Children are healthier when they can play outside. And the connections that come from more engagement lead to neighbors looking out for each other, a safer environment, and better emotional health. “When people can walk out of their homes into a space that is clean and safe, it is good for their mental health,” said Wilson. “It gives them a sense of pride in where they live.”
The ultimate goal is to build the capacity of High Point’s neighborhood associations so that all communities have greater involvement in the day-to-day decisions that impact their lives. “These initiatives teach neighborhoods how to communicate and give them a voice,” said McNair. “They create what we think of as community.”