Building equity through community collaboration
HEALTH EQUITY COALITION WNC
No one’s health should suffer because of their color, their culture, where they live, where they were born, how much money they have, their sexuality or gender, or their able-ness. Healthy communities are vital to fostering healthy people.
We work to give every person a voice in their health care and to bring authentic community leaders and organizations together for collective impact. Because people of color and rural residents tend to suffer more illnesses and die earlier, we prioritize them and their concerns.
We envision a region where diverse communities connect and collaborate to realize optimal health.
We support the people denied things essential to health, helping them name their needs and harness their collective power to build a more equitable future.
How We Work
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Collaboration
“Those closest to the problem are closest to the solution.” Those are words we live by. HEC connects and supports grassroots, community-led organizations devoted to the wellbeing of marginalized populations. We aim to support rather than lead, to help our partners expand their reach and magnify their impact.
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Inclusion
Organizations that fund change efforts have laudable goals, but they can compromise their effectiveness by perpetuating power imbalances. HEC works as a friendly influencer to promote a more inclusive model: “trust-based philanthropy.” Our goal is to help local philanthropies re-imagine how they work.
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Resistance
HEC was born in 2018 when the nonprofit Mission Health System announced plans to sell to HCA, the nation’s largest-for profit hospital chain. The sale went through with disastrous results, but the fight is very much alive. Today our goal is to persuade HCA to sell to a hospital system not beholden to shareholders.
