Dear GenUnity Partners,

Each week, we are inspired by the learnings and reflections of our members. The practice of democratic learning and community building is wondrous - at once elevating our consciousness, building solidarity for collective action, and uplifting our spirits. This week, we want to highlight one of our elder members whose hopeful reflection left us overwhelmed with gratitude to be part of this journey with you all.

• **“**I'm extremely impressed by all of the young people that have gotten to this place in life so quickly. You have no idea of the impact your group has on those of my generation. Thank God I've lived long enough to see so many people, from so many different backgrounds, so many different cultures, come together and nothing but peace and harmony presides. It wasn't always like that. I thank you for allowing me to finally see it.”

This month (April), our members completed the second step in our Health Equity community leadership program, the System Module!

What is the System Module?

Building on their understanding of the health equity challenges people are experiencing in our communities during the People Module, our members began exploring how our existing systems function today. Members collectively invested over 150 hours in dialogue and discussion with our 12 community partners ranging from hospital and community health center leaders to nonprofits addressing mental health and social determinants of health. Working together, members started to map out the service provision landscape and identify gaps and opportunity areas.

What did our members learn?

We are excited to be able to share a few of the reflections members shared with us from their System Module learning experiences.

• Transformational change is rooted in solidarity
  • “I think issues will continue to persist until as a whole, we realize that we depend on each other- "my fight is your fight". I think working together is essential- sharing resources and finding out what we have in common.”
  • “I think the efforts that are done today are amazing but are not being done in mass - not everyone is invested and systemic change requires that everyone, all socioeconomic backgrounds are involved, not just those who are directly impacted.”
• Proximity provides perspective 2.0: Partner with communities to define solutions
  • “Community involvement is a great step to solving community issues. It’s much easier to care for a community that you know…We should address community issues on a community by community basis”
  • “Making space to listen to the community and following through with community offered ideas is a small way to create a larger space for what a community decides it wants.”
  • “[Some organizations] have a hard time embracing change, or even creating the safe space to have the conversations around cultural shifts. They must find a way to truly connect with the community.”
• Informing, empowering, and advocating for patients is key
  • “With more informed healthcare consumers, the community can be more targeted with their asks and the hospital can be more targeted in their responses.”
  • “The overwhelming message I got from both presentations is that there is not enough support for patients in the healthcare field. MLPB works to advocate for patients and this is something that is missing in our healthcare system. I enjoyed the idea of having all communities join together to care for a patient (medical, behavioral health and legal teams working with one person). I think this is something that could become the norm.”
• Look at holistic root causes, not just symptoms
  • “When each organization is charged with tackling an aspect of life, but life is so layered and complex, it can be difficult to gain traction on any of the issues. Addressing one piece reveals holes in another area, etc. We are so desperately in need of more people who are looking at the big picture.”
  • “With Fenway Health one of the things that I heard come up again is how everything is connected. The impact of housing affects health as well as transportation issues. There is a huge gap from the racial equity lens. It is overlapping all barriers. To ignore this and focus on health only is a huge mistake that continues to be made over and over.”
  • “We discussed the difference between making a systemic change and a band-aid fix. Sometimes it's difficult to know if you're truly addressing the root cause of the problem you're trying to solve but it's important to always be committed to tackling the driving forces that create inequities in healthcare.”
• When Wealth is Health
  • “I asked Dr. James to speak more about this life expectancy inequity and [she encouraged us to consider the impact of money and how] people are trying to survive so they are choosing between paying their bills and taking care of themselves. What we also see in the vast Boston life expectancy differences is how these maps lineup with redlined communities. Roxbury residents have faced countless issues with redlining and how thousands of people are denied critical services based on their location and socioeconomic status. These issues persist because residents who are seeking assistance from subsidies are at a standstill because these subsidies are not designed for people to not need them, they are poverty traps.”
  • “Many health issues exist due to unequal access to healthcare. Lower income communities do not have the same resources and financial income to seek the help they need.”
  • “Everyone is so busy focusing on their own survival and wellbeing that many others’ needs just fall through the cracks.”
• There are good people working for change
  • “These are the types of conversations that remind me why so many of us stand for the lengthy, cold winters of Massachusetts. Folks are organized and organizing. While it sometimes seems that the different pieces are too siloed to feel the greater movement, there are so many good people trying.”
  • “After the discussion, I couldn't stop thinking about how BMC chose to invest in this development which benefits the community. I was also thinking about what are the other 'for-profit' hospitals and health systems choosing to do with this discretionary tax break they receive and is it as impactful as BMC's choice.”
  • “Carl mentioned the importance of moving beyond safe spaces to brave spaces. Samantha talked about acting as an upstander, naming institutional injustices, even when - or especially when - she is operating as a consultant. We need [people] like Samantha and Carl in these leadership positions within highly impactful organizations.”
• We have the power to make change together
  • “I think some issues persist because we are not aware of the amount of power we have. Generation after generation of community members…believe that the power lays within the system. A change will begin once we realize that without the community, the system does not exist. We are the power within any system.”
  • “The Community does not know what they don't know. We need to empower community members to use…their voice. In voicing community concerns substantial action can be made towards progress…Right now, many communities are in survival mode. Empowering these communities will enable them to thrive.”

Up next, our members start unpacking our Power Module, and we look forward to sharing an update with you in the coming weeks!

In partnership,

The GenUnity Team