About Helen

WHAT IS HELEN?

The Health Equity Leadership & Exchange Network (HELEN) is a collaborative effort between the National REACH Coalition, Morehouse School of Medicine, and the National Collaborative for Health Equity.

Purpose: HELEN is a national network designed to bolster leadership and the exchange of ideas and information among communities of color and other vulnerable populations relative to the advancement of health equity in laws, policies, and programs.

HELEN will:

  • Provide a forum for health equity champions to share information about timely, relevant, and pressing policy issues impacting health equity
  • Provide a mechanism to research, analyze, summarize, and disseminate information for education and bi-directional exchange of information to engage people in a broader dialogue on policies impacting health equity
  • Actively inform and monitor the development, implementation, promotion, and impact of local, state and national health laws, policies, and programs on health equity
  • Exchange timely and essential information, and actualize strategies and approaches at the local, state, regional, and national level that positively impact health equity and the elimination of health disparities
  • Collaboratively engage communities and organizations, in a national dialog to meaningfully address the inequities experienced and observed among vulnerable and underserved populations
  • Increase understanding and demystify legislative and regulatory processes - employing a health equity lens to analyze health laws and policies

HELEN Champions Include:

Local Health Departments, Academic Institutions, Tribal Leadership and Health Services, Urban and Rural Community Health Centers and Clinics, Human Services and Social Services providers working in under-served communities.