Building Resilient Inclusive Communities (BRIC)

About BRIC

Though challenges surfaced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so have potential opportunities to support states in addressing health risk factors and increasing overall community resiliency for chronic disease prevention. In collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO) and the Division of Population Health (DPH), and a team of nationally recognized experts, NACDD is working with 20 State Health Departments and other organizations to implement the Building Resilient Inclusive Communities (BRIC) program. As part of the BRIC program, states are engaging more than 60 communities to address food and nutrition security, improve safe physical activity access, and reduce social isolation and loneliness through a policy, systems, and environmental change lens. Social determinants of health, health equity, and social justice principles are integrated into the planning and implementation of all three strategy areas, in addition to accounting for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. States are working to impact groups at highest risk by making progress towards and achieving a combination of the following outcomes:

Food and Nutrition Security

Outcomes	State Spotlights
• Collaborate with food policy council/coalition/task force on equitable nutrition security for food banks, pantries, and/or feeding sites during the COVID-19 pandemic • Efforts to increase number of food banks, pantries, or feeding sites in each community selected to adopt nutrition standards due to increase in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic • Efforts to support the increase in the number of people in communities who receive healthier foods distributed by food pantries, food banks, or other feeding sites, taking into consideration how demand has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic • Efforts to increase number of places providing increased financial access to healthier foods	– Provide mini-grants to 5 Hawai’i Food Banks support healthier food for clients such as purchase refrigeration, and shelving. (Hawai’i County, HI) – Partner with CT Foodshare to implement a series of trainings for food pantries/anchor organizations on improving equity through Supporting Wellness at Pantries and client choice implementation. (Connecticut)

Safe Physical Activity Access

Outcomes	State Spotlights
• Collaborate with task forces/coalitions that support safe, equitable physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic • Progress to support at least one local improvement plan that includes the potential assessment of local community design as it relates to improving safe and equitable access to physical activity (including number of federal, state, or local partners formally engaged) as well as how local demand had changed during the COVID-19 pandemic • Efforts to support at least two verified changes in the characteristics of each selected community that demonstrate walkability or increased safety for those most at risk for COVID-19 illness and death, taking into effect how local demand has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic • Efforts to support at least two alternative commuting facilities, programs, or services created or enhanced that support equitable access that can be used by the priority population in each community to safely travel to essential services, including jobs, medical appointments, grocery stores or food pantries, taking into effect how local demand has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic	– Host NACDD’s Walkability Action Institute for up 9 Washington State communities. (Washington) – Lucas County Active Transportation Steering Committee will conduct numerous community engagement activities to gain community input for the finalized Active Transportation Plan. (Lucas County, Ohio)

Outcomes

State Spotlights

• Collaborate with task forces/coalitions that support safe, equitable physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Progress to support at least one local improvement plan that includes the potential assessment of local community design as it relates to improving safe and equitable access to physical activity (including number of federal, state, or local partners formally engaged) as well as how local demand had changed during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Efforts to support at least two verified changes in the characteristics of each selected community that demonstrate walkability or increased safety for those most at risk for COVID-19 illness and death, taking into effect how local demand has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Efforts to support at least two alternative commuting facilities, programs, or services created or enhanced that support equitable access that can be used by the priority population in each community to safely travel to essential services, including jobs, medical appointments, grocery stores or food pantries, taking into effect how local demand has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic

– Host NACDD’s Walkability Action Institute for up 9 Washington State communities. (Washington)
– Lucas County Active Transportation Steering Committee will conduct numerous community engagement activities to gain community input for the finalized Active Transportation Plan. (Lucas County, Ohio)

Social Connectedness

Outcomes	State Spotlights
• Collaborate with task forces/coalitions that support equitable social connectedness during the COVID-19 pandemic • Efforts to implement new or improved community strategies that emphasize and integrate feasible and innovative social connectedness efforts for older adults at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19; incorporation of existing networks of community health workers should be encouraged • Efforts to implement at least two new or improved equitable programs for older adults living in high burden communities that offer on-line and in-person educational, social, creative, and physical activities that encourage personal interactions, regular attendance, and community involvement working in collaboration with existing programs • Efforts to implement at least two new or improved equitable Intergenerational Mentoring Programs in the community to foster healthy, ongoing, supportive relationships between older adults and youth	– Provide statewide training for Area Agencies on Aging on identifying sustainable evidence-based programs and policy, systems and environmental change strategies (Illinois) – New York State Department of Health, New York State Office for the Aging, Association on Aging in New York, and DOROT have partnered to develop the “Friendly Calls Volunteer Handbook” and training videos to reduce social isolation among older adults statewide. (New York)

Outcomes

State Spotlights

• Collaborate with task forces/coalitions that support equitable social connectedness during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Efforts to implement new or improved community strategies that emphasize and integrate feasible and innovative social connectedness efforts for older adults at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19; incorporation of existing networks of community health workers should be encouraged
• Efforts to implement at least two new or improved equitable programs for older adults living in high burden communities that offer on-line and in-person educational, social, creative, and physical activities that encourage personal interactions, regular attendance, and community involvement working in collaboration with existing programs
• Efforts to implement at least two new or improved equitable Intergenerational Mentoring Programs in the community to foster healthy, ongoing, supportive relationships between older adults and youth

– Provide statewide training for Area Agencies on Aging on identifying sustainable evidence-based programs and policy, systems and environmental change strategies (Illinois)
– New York State Department of Health, New York State Office for the Aging, Association on Aging in New York, and DOROT have partnered to develop the “Friendly Calls Volunteer Handbook” and training videos to reduce social isolation among older adults statewide. (New York)