Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin Bennett.
Hi Kristin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Yes, of course! Ever since I was a little girl, I had a passion for helping others and wanting to ensure everyone was healthy. I am from a small town in South Carolina originally, and I experienced firsthand the loss of many family members as a result of limited health and healthcare resources. I knew from an early age that this was an area where I wanted to make a difference. My mother will tell you that even at 9 years old, I dreamed of opening my own health clinic in our small South Carolina hometown. Now, the clinical aspect of healthcare was not 100% for me. When I went away to college at the University of Houston (UH), I actually started as a nursing major. But, after my first dissection in the anatomy lab, I knew the clinical route wasn’t for me. That’s when I discovered public and community health. I changed my major towards the end of my sophomore year from pre-nursing to public health, and I fell in love with it. Everything I was learning in school was precisely how I wanted to show up and impact the world. Fast forward a little after graduation, I was working in my field and gaining a lot of experience engaging communities to active roles in health outcomes in their communities, which we now know as community engagement and health equity work. If we are honest about what health equity work means and looks like at a grassroots level, it is truly addressing long-standing systemic issues and barriers that have led to poor health outcomes in certain communities. While doing this work, I quickly realized that if we wanted communities to be actual owners of their health outcomes, we owe them some support to accomplish this work. This is where Communities for Better Health (CFBH) was born. At CFBH, our goal is to equip communities with the resources they need to take meaningful action so that all neighbors have an equitable opportunity to live well. Since our inception in 2018, I have been fortunate to lead our organization to successfully implement multiple community-level programs to address food and nutrition security, launch our Health Equity Communiversity Training Program, and establish a health equity community of practice–The Community Health Equity Network. Through all this great work, CFBH was awarded the 2023 Culture of Health Prize from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. We are the first organization to bring this national prize home for the City of Houston.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not. Nonprofit work by no means is for the faint of heart. It can be challenging to find funders and partners that genuinely align with our organization’s mission, vision, and values. We work with our community members and leaders in a certain way, and not everyone works that same way.
It also took a lot of work to build trust with communities. So many communities have experienced disenfranchisement and are used to organizations coming into their communities, doing their project, and then leaving. We really had to work hard to develop deep, trusting relationships with community stakeholders so that they understood that we were here for the long game and were genuinely here to support and advance their values and ideas.
We’ve been impressed with Communities for Better Health, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Communities for Better Health (CFBH) is a nonprofit organization based in Houston, Texas. At CFBH, our goal is to equip communities with the resources they need to take meaningful action so that all neighbors have an equitable opportunity to live well. We carry out this work through our Health Equity Communiversity Program (formerly known as Nurturing Communities). Through this program, we take a holistic approach by meeting community residents, leaders, and organizations where they are and empowering them to advance health equity in their communities through evaluating capacities, equipping through community health programs and project planning training, and engaging through implementing project/program plans and creating system-level change.
CFBH also has a community of practice, the Community Health Equity Network. The Community Health Equity Network is a collective effort of interconnected leaders, communities, and organizations striving to advance health equity. The collective focuses on systems and structural approaches that address the root causes of health inequities, with a current focus on food access and insecurity, to promote lasting change in Houston’s historically Black and Latino neighborhoods.
One thing that we are super proud of at CFBH is being named as a recipient of the 2023 Culture of Health Prize from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Through our Community Health Equity Network, we are the only organization in Houston to receive this prestigious national award.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Yes, I definitely have a few. Being a leader, it is very important that I ensure that I pour into my own cup so that I can continue to do this work. I tend to use my downtime to enjoy some of my favorite podcasts or read a good book!
Podcast
Balanced Black Girl
Code Switch
Therapy for Black Girls
No Straight Path
Pass Around the Smile
Books
The Four Agreements by Don Ruiz
How to Know a Person by David Brooks
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cfbhhouston.org
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/communities-for-better-health/
