Primary Submission Category: Place/Communities
Mapping Power to Plan Effective Public Health Interventions
Authors: Akilah Collins-Anderson, Patricia Y. Miranda-Hartsuff, Monique Green Jones, Eric Kessell, Maggie Graham, Akilah Collins-Anderson, Ali Abazeed, Malak Kabalan, Patricia Wren,
Presenting Author: Tricia Miranda-Hartsuff*
Background: The Communities in Context Project was formed in Greater Detroit to identify effective strategies for conducting community-engaged and tailored public health interventions centered on power structures. Methods: From June 2023-February 2024, a community-academic partnership convened representatives from twelve local organizations and implemented a 4-phase process to identify power structures and available community assets related to mental health and housing. The 4 phases were: (1) community-engaged creation of power and asset mapping instruments; (2) facilitated community conversations to identify Detroit-area “players” and their power to “get the work done” (e.g. powerful supporters, powerless opponents); (3) systematic cataloguing of assets collected from identified players; and (4) community convening to validate learnings to date. Results: The power mapping process identified 394 unique “players” (e.g., organizations, institutions, public figures) working in the mental health and housing sectors. Asset mapping further identified nearly 1,000 distinct resources that were systematically cataloged based on the frequency of their mention. Subsequently, 19 people representing greater Detroit mental and housing participated in a community convening to discuss and validate findings. Participants’ responses ranged from surprise to strong endorsement when specific government agencies and organizations were identified as “powerful opponents” of mental health and housing efforts. However, there was broad consensus around the essential and positive efforts undertaken by individual-level counseling and supportive housing services, which were frequently described as “powerless supporters.” Conclusions: Power affects intervention success and organizational stability. Powerful funders could benefit non-profit organizations working in mental health and housing by realigning their grantmaking to support collaborative, not duplicative, efforts.