Healthier Glades launched in fall 2017 in the historically underserved rural area of Palm Beach County with rich culture and agricultural assets. “The Glades” is the collective of four communities—Belle Glade, Pahokee, South Bay and the unincorporated community of Canal Point—located in the western section of the county along Lake Okeechobee. Healthier Glades’ focus is behavioral health, with the goal for residents to thrive physically, emotionally and spiritually. Community Partners of South Florida serves as the initiative’s fiscal agent.
To assist residents in coping with life stressors and to create a sense of mental well-being that will impact the Glades communities.
The Glades is a community where all residents are thriving physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Our motto for Healthier Glades is ‘unlocking our community strengths.’ Residents and agencies have so much to offer their fellow community members—they just need a little bit of help to take their ideas from dream to fruition. I know we will see a meaningful return on our investment by believing in their capabilities to create positive change.
First Steps
Palm Health Foundation’s board was hesitant of the Glades’ engaging in this work given a long history of challenges with Glades power structures to partner in different ways. At the same time, the community distrusted funders and systems from their own long history of many promises made but not kept. It took time to establish trust and find the “coalition of the willing.”
Where We Stumbled
Skepticism from both the foundation about “readiness” and the community about distrust of funders and “help” suggested that perhaps the Glades communities would not be fully engaged. Along the way, the process encountered gatekeepers who believed they were serving the best interests of their community. It took time to navigate through this dynamic, develop relationships and build trust.
Where We Thrived
The foundation consistently showed up and listened without answers. Having convened a number of community-wide gatherings, and encountering skepticism, the foundation supported a series of health “Dialogue to Action” sessions in the three major communities (Belle Glade, South Bay and Pahokee) in partnership with Community Partners of South Florida, a trusted, community-focused nonprofit and member organization of EveryDay Democracy, who has over 30 different types of dialogue to action guides. Through the process, clear champions were identified who clearly showed interest in experimenting with a new way to address inequities in their communities.
The Tipping Point
Having selected behavioral health as their focus area, the initiative quickly found their shared purpose. Rewriting the Glades narrative and developing participation channels contributed to turning the tide.
Palm Beach County is named by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation a Culture of Health Prize-winning community! Check out our community’s video here.
The Healthier Together initiative is featured, starting on page 164, in the newly published book, Aligning Systems for Health: Two Years of Learning, presented by Georgia Health Policy Center at Georgia State University. Click to download the book.
In ReThink Health’s Unsung Stewards podcast, Palm Health Foundation CEO discusses how the foundation uses a hyperlocal approach in addressing the community’s needs during the COVID-19
Healthier Together Mini Grants Showcase, a learning event, celebrates the diverse resident-led efforts taking place around Palm Beach County
Highlighting the Unity Wall in Lake Worth Beach:
WPTV, Unity Wall Dedicated in Lake Worth Beach
WPBF, Wall of Unity in Lake Worth Beach Brings Community Together
Lake Worth Herald, The Wall for Us All
Download our Healthier Together paper, A Shared Purpose, Transforming Communities Through the Social Determinants of Health.
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