Using Authentic Engagement to Improve Health Outcomes: Community Center Practices and Values (At the Agency)

In this article, we explore how community centers seed healthy lifestyles through engagement of residents in community wellness initiatives in low-income, urban neighborhoods. These initiatives, focused on the building blocks of healthy lifestyles, include crossgeneration engagement in nutrition education, urban agriculture, access to healthy food, and physical activity. Success of these initiatives stems from the unique practices and values embedded in community centers: taking a holistic perspective on the individual, paying attention to the environment, cocreating with neighbors, partnering in purposeful ways, and focusing on resident- and community-centered outcomes. Through these practices and values, community centers are shaping initiatives that address the key underlying factors that affect health and creating long-term solutions that will benefit entire communities.