CORE announces Data for Change cohort

In partnership with the Providence Community Health Division, CORE will partner with seven health and equity-focused organizations to grow their ability to use data to drive and sustain positive change.

The Center for Outcomes Research & Education today announced the first cohort of participants in its Data for Change program. In partnership with the Providence Community Health Division, CORE will provide support, technical assistance, mentoring, and shared learning opportunities to seven community-based organizations as part of a collaborative effort aimed at growing their ability to use data to create and sustain positive change. CORE will also work with participants to gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges they've experienced around using data in community settings. These organizations’ experience and expertise will help inform ongoing Data for Change efforts, as well as other community-based work.

“We know that data is essential to advancing health equity, yet those doing the critical work of improving community health often contend with resource limitations and institutional inequities that make it difficult to access, use, and disseminate data.” explained Lizzie Fussell, Program Manager at CORE. “Through the Data for Change project, CORE is partnering with this cohort to strengthen their collective capacity to use data to improve outcomes, foster collaboration, and ultimately drive organizational and community change."

Data for Change cohort members include the following organizations.

• Clatsop Community Action helps people in Clatsop County meet housing, food, and other basic living needs. The nonprofit provides emergency food, housing, energy assistance, and other basic critical services and supports clients with resources and referrals, with a goal of making them more self-sufficient and productive.
• Hood River Adult Center seeks to enhance the lives of seniors in Hood River with services and activities. The center offers a variety of services and support including meal programs, a cooling center, medical equipment lending, senior health insurance benefits assistance, a food pantry, and more.
• Growing Gardens uses the experience of growing food in schools, backyards, and correctional facilities to cultivate healthy and equitable communities, improve diets and health outcomes, bring science education to life, and create meaningful pathways to employment. Growing Gardens runs programming statewide and provides training and community organizing nationally.
• Portland Street Medicine is a Portland-based coalition of volunteer medical providers, social workers, care managers, and lay people dedicated to reaching the area’s most forgotten citizens. Portland Street Medicine seeks to be on the frontline of efforts to improve the healthcare of homeless people in Portland.
• Rogue Valley Farm to School in Ashland educates children about the food system through hands-on farm and garden programs, and by increasing local foods in school meals. The organization seeks to inspire an appreciation of local agriculture that improves the economy, environment, and community health.
• Unidos advocates for Latino immigrant families and works to build bridges of support and understanding among Latino and non-Latino communities in rural Yamhill County, Oregon. That includes promoting the integration, participation, representation, and success of Latino individuals and families in the area.
• Our Village Gardens makes it possible for people living in Oregon's largest affordable housing neighborhoods to grow their own food, gain employment through locally created food projects, and have access to a community-run grocery store. Village Gardens' staff work alongside community leaders to create new initiatives that promote both economic and food resilience.

For more information or to provide philanthropic support for the Data for Change program, get in touch!