Avatar photo

Sandra Larson

21 Posts

Sandra Larson is a freelance writer based in Boston. She previously served as Shelterforce's health fellow.
COVID

Lessons from Award-Winning Hospital-Community Partnerships

American Hospital Association’s NOVA awards honor hospitals’ success in addressing social determinants of health.

Policy

What’s the Best Way to Judge How Well a City’s Housing Policies Improve Health?

CityHealth revamps its housing medal criteria, shifts away from inclusionary zoning to flexible funding and tenant protections. “We realized there is no singular policy intervention that can address the whole of affordable housing.”

Health

Trauma-Informed Practices Help Deliver Better Care to Clients and Staff

Poverty, violence, and racism can fuel toxic stress. It’s critical that organizations respond with trauma-informed care. Here’s how.

Housing

A Homeownership Program that Takes Health into Account

A 10-city initiative to boost homeownership also aims to align required fair housing and health needs assessments. Can it be done?

COVID

Housing Organizations Pivot to Provide COVID Testing and Vaccinations

Some CDCs hope that building trust can save lives now while building a stronger foundation for long-term health. “COVID is a catalyst forcing us to think outside the box, to pivot, to explore our partnerships in different ways.”

Community Development Field

Getting Competitive Health Care Systems to Work Together For the Community

Although they were serving the same communities, Philadelphia’s nonprofit hospitals weren’t coordinating with each other. A yearslong process aimed to change that. How did the hospitals eventually come together and what lessons can be drawn to inform hospital collaborations elsewhere?

Health

What’s Different When the Community Collects the Data?

When residents were recruited to conduct an annual study that examines community change and health in nine Massachusetts communities, they didn’t just collect data—they changed how and what was collected.

Housing

Filling the Affordable Housing Financing Gap in the Gulf Coast Region

A new approach to pooling financing? Gulf Coast Housing Partnership’s initiative combines LIHTC credits and low-interest loans from national Medicaid managed care organizations for projects that blend affordable housing and onsite health centers.

Community Development Field

Insights for Health and Community Development Partnerships from People Who Have Crossed Sectors

Increasingly, health practitioners are being hired by community development organizations, and vice versa. What can they tell us about how differently the sectors operate and perceive issues, and where there’s potential for partnership?