title: Implementing a Community Empowerment Center to Build Capacity for Developing, Implementing, and Sustaining Interventions to Promote Community Health.
abstract: The Community Empowerment Center used a community-engaged approach to build capacity among residents to develop and implement interventions focused on creating a healthier environment. The Center partnered with residents living in a public housing community and adjacent low-income neighborhood and provided support through a mini-grant program. A six-session training program guided community members in mini grant development; 25 individuals attended at least one session. Six grant proposals were submitted; three were awarded $12,000 each for intervention implementation. Findings offer a model for engaging residents from low-resource settings in intervention development, implementation, and sustainability for community health promotion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Behavior and Education, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8015, Statesboro, GA, 30460, USA. ssmallwood@georgiasouthern.edu.
authors.forename: Stacy W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Smallwood
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Darcy A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Freedman
authors.affiliation: College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Pitner
authors.affiliation: College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Sharpe
authors.affiliation: College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Jennie Ann
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.affiliation: College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Shanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hastie
authors.affiliation: College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Brittney
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hunter
mesh_terms: D057191:Capacity Building / Q000458:organization & administration; D003256:Community Participation / Q000379:methods*; D005381:Financing, Organized / Q000458:organization & administration; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D011203:Poverty; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011635:Public Health Administration; D011638:Public Housing; D012111:Residence Characteristics
keywords: Community engagement; Community health; Healthy environment; Public housing; Urban health