Contact: Anne Pankratz, 608-216-5637
apankratz2@wisc.
Madison, Wis. — Across Wisconsin, opportunities to live a long, healthy life are not shared equally by all. Many of Wisconsin’s health outcomes lag behind national averages, and the state is home to some of the most extreme health disparities in the nation. To address these issues, Wisconsin local governments, state agencies, academic partners, and nonprofit groups have joined forces to create the Legacy Community Alliance for Health (LCAH). The alliance was awarded a $1 million Community Impact Grant from the Wisconsin Partnership Program at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Through the project, the LCAH aims to improve health and health equity through local government policymaking and programming.
LCAH, which launched in January, is a five-year project to build capacity within participating municipalities to improve health and health equity through the use of data and evidence-informed policies. The goal is to help communities achieve gains in at least one of four policy areas of interest: clean water, active transportation, safe and affordable housing, and healthy and affordable local food systems. Each participating community will choose its own policy approach.
Participating communities will be drawn from the Green Tier Legacy Community Network, a coalition of local governments focused on advancing goals around sustainability, equity, and economic growth with the support of participating organizations and state agencies. Academic partners under the umbrella of the UW-Madison UniverCity Alliance will support this work with data, research, evaluation and training expertise. These diverse partners are enthusiastic about working with local governments in Wisconsin to improve the long-term health of their constituents and communities.
For more information on the Legacy Community Alliance for Health Project, visit http://greentiercommunities.
About the Green Tier Legacy Community Network: The Green Tier Legacy Community network helps communities in Wisconsin move continuously toward a sustainable future. Member communities include Appleton, Ashland, Bayfield, Bayfield County, Bayside, Eau Claire, Eau Claire County, Fitchburg, La Crosse, La Crosse County, Middleton, Monona, Port Washington, Sheboygan, Weston and Wisconsin Rapids. Supporting organizations include 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, COWS, League of Wisconsin Municipalities, Municipal Environmental Group – Wastewater, Wisconsin Counties Association, Wisconsin DNR, and Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp. For more information visit http://greentiercommunities.
About the UniverCity Alliance: The UniverCity Alliance brings together students, faculty and research centers from across the UW-Madison campus and connects them to cities, counties, and the places people live. The Alliance includes representatives from the Population Health Institute, COWS, Global Health Institute, Institute for Research on Poverty, Morgridge Center for Public Service, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, and UW Extension. For more information visit https://univercity.wisc.edu/
