March 20, 2021
—by Dr. Arturo Menefee—
Welcome to the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) blog! I am Dr. Arturo Menefee, Director of Leadership Development for The University of Alabama Center for Economic Development (UACED). I serve as the project director for ENI. I’m glad you’re interested in learning more.
So, what is ENI? ENI equips communities to address the pandemic-related issues of today while building capacity to deal with the health and quality of life challenges of tomorrow.
How will we equip neighbors and community partners? The ENI team will connect neighborhoods to resources. These resources are designed to improve health equity and community development. Our goal? Healthier communities across Alabama!
ENI will take a unique community-building approach to health equity. The ENI team will create infrastructure to improve health outcomes in each community. ENI focuses on a community’s greatest strength—its people. We will work with everyone from youths to retirees in partner communities.
ENI aims to help as many people as possible. Because equity is at the heart of the initiative, we are working with 15 communities that have typically not been prioritized in the past. These communities are dedicated to growing equity and improving health outcomes in their neighborhoods. You can learn more about these communities in the community page.
It is our hope that the positive impacts of ENI will benefit communities beyond the program’s end date. We hope you’ll join us in this work! Explore the resources and stories on www.enialabama.org.
If you want to learn more about how you can connect with our work, reach out to our team. You can also follow ENI on Facebook and Instagram. Or you can email us at info@enialabama.org. We look forward to connecting with you!
