Health In a New Key

Health in a New Key (HNK) started as an inquiry into new ways of thinking about community health and snowballed its way into a comprehensive and far-reaching strategy. Two SLHI publications – Resilience: Health In a New Key and Weave the People – document its genesis and growing impact.

As SLHI’s five-year, $1 million investment concluded in December 2010, the key question wasn’t what happened but how best to understand the interplay between “language of counting and accounting [and] the language of local knowledge, stories, history and shared cultural mores and rituals” (Weave the People, 2008) that had taken place. What we found:

• A community’s most important source of long-term sustainability lies in the networks it helps build. From the obvious (schools, faith-based organizations, social service providers) to the novel (businesses, media, law enforcement, municipalities) the number of new partners engaged by individual core grantees ranged from 14 to 50. Year-to-year investment generated a range of surprising assets and resources. The work of connecting people and possibilities generated hope, confidence, strength and optimism.
• Change remains the only constant. Organizations evolved, partners dropped out or came in. People’s lives dictated that they increase of decrease their involvement. The unexpected – whether for good or for ill – will find you.
• With longer-term focus, the desired change continuously takes root. Grantees noted the strength, resilience and extroversion of both people and projects. One spoke of becoming “more compassionate and confident that [we] can make a difference in people’s lives as a result of learning about and embracing the principles of asset-based community development.” Another pointed out that programs “did not shut down when [funds were cut]. Instead, volunteers and partners stepped forward.” Knowing that the community has complete ownership and won’t let a good thing die is the greatest assurance of sustainability possible.

Today the principles and practices of Health in a New Key inform nearly all of SLHI’s community investment work. Partnerships germinated five years ago continue. We explore and nurture related networks, and regularly incorporate new community partnership grantees into the larger HNK community of practice dedicated to strength-based community development.