Vancouver, Wash. – The Fourth Plain Coalition was recently named one of 18 BUILD Health Challenge award recipients in the country.

The BUILD Fourth Plain project will receive $166,000 to support the work of Evergreen Habitat for Humanity, Clark County Public Health, city of Vancouver, Fourth Plain Forward, Legacy Health, Kaiser Permanente and PeaceHealth Southwest. The organizations will work together to prevent and mitigate the negative impacts of unaffordable, substandard and unstable housing. The efforts aim to positively impact the mental health status of residents living along the Fourth Plain corridor.

 “This funding is a testament to what can happen when partners come together to collectively address challenges facing a community,” said Lauren Henricksen, community health specialist at Clark County Public Health. “The Fourth Plain Coalition is committed to eliminating the disparities experienced by families living along the Fourth Plain corridor, and the BUILD Health Challenge will help us accomplish this goal.”

Evergreen Habitat for Humanity will serve as the fiscal agent for the two-year grant. Legacy Health, Kaiser Permanente and PeaceHealth Southwest are not only partners in the project but also committed additional funding and in-kind services.

“Evergreen Habitat for Humanity is excited to be a part of the Fourth Plain Coalition, and we’re proud to be the fiscal agent to help move this important work forward,” said Josh Townsley, Evergreen Habitat for Humanity executive director.

“The city of Vancouver is a proud member of the Fourth Plain Coalition,” said Rebecca Kennedy, planning manager for the city of Vancouver. “Through the Fourth Plain Forward Action Plan process in 2015, community members expressed a range of challenges they experienced, from a lack of affordable and safe housing, to a lack of transportation options and employment opportunities.”

The Fourth Plain Coalition is comprised of more than 40 multisectoral partners focused on reducing the health and economic disparities experienced by families living along the Fourth Plain corridor in Vancouver.

To address housing stability and the goals of this project, the coalition will focus on four systemic interventions:

• Strengthening local data infrastructure
• Local legislative solutions
• Policy assessment and implementation
• Training local leaders to promote sustainable, healthy neighborhood development

About the Fourth Plain Coalition

The Fourth Plain Coalition launched in 2018 with the goal of working toward a more equitable, diverse and thriving Fourth Plain corridor. The coalition brings together more than 40 partners and agencies from the public, private and nonprofit sectors, and aligns their work around the following core priorities: family support, housing and economic security, and community wellness and safety.

About the BUILD Health Challenge

The BUILD Health Challenge is a national program focusing on bold, upstream, integrated, local and data-driven projects (BUILD) that can improve community health. The BUILD Health Challenge award provides recipients with funding, capacity-building support and access to a national peer learning network to enhance collaborative partnerships and is made possible with the support of: BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, Blue Shield of California Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas, de Beaumont Foundation, Episcopal Health Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc., New Jersey Health Initiatives, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

CONTACT
Marissa Armstrong
Communications specialist
Public Health
564.397.7307
marissa.armstrong@clark.wa.gov