Newsroom

November 16, 2017

Changing the ‘tough on crime’ narrative

| By Jonathan Heller | Here’s our vision for how a U.S. Attorney General’s op ed could lift up a transformational narrative on crime and justice.  Instead, every day, we are bombarded with a particular ‘tough on crime’ narrative: our leaders and the media telling us that crime is rising and […]
November 3, 2017

Take Action! #TaxesAreGood for Health

Every day in our country, communities accomplish remarkable things using the resources we maintain together. Our roads, our clean air, our public schools, our parks, and our health departments are just a small part of the collective investment — through our taxes — that keeps everyone moving forward. Investments in public goods provide benefits […]
October 26, 2017

I left whole, I returned in pieces

| By Pamela Winn, Introduction by Kim Gilhuly | We are kicking off a semi-regular series to place the human impact stories of our research and advocacy work front and center. In the Human Impact Stories Series (HISS!), we’ll thread together the narratives of folks’ experiences with the institutional practices […]
September 28, 2017

Panel on women’s rights in prisons comes to UMass

The Massachusetts Daily Collegian article by Alvin Buyinza on the "Women Behind Bars: Public Health and Criminal Justice Reform" panel held by the School of Public Health and Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
August 21, 2017

Finding inspiration at Netroots Nation

| By Ana Tellez | I was lucky enough to attend Netroots Nation earlier this month, representing Human Impact Partners at the largest annual gathering of the progressive movement in the US. The conference was headlined by big names like civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and former Vice President […]
August 16, 2017

Let’s Stand with Charlottesville

We condemn the actions of the White supremacists and neo-nazis who gathered and violently attacked peaceful protesters in the name of racism. White supremacy, terrorism, and racial violence contradict our collective vision of a safe and healthy society.
July 12, 2017

New Resource Helps Health Departments Build Power for Health Equity

| Press Release | Oakland, CA — After years of struggling to close health disparities, a new movement has taken root: health departments are taking on racial and social justice. Health departments are confronting the power imbalances and forms of oppression at the root of health inequities, changing the conversation about […]
June 26, 2017

Notes from the Field: Should We Lock Up Parents of Young Children?

| By Kim Gilhuly | It was 8:00 pm, but people stayed. It was 8:00 pm last Monday night, at the end of a long day hearing 20 bills in Massachusetts Legislature. But people stayed. Teens skipped their normal Monday afternoon and night to speak powerfully — and clearly reached legislators’ ears — about having […]
June 19, 2017

Past and Present Racial Wealth Imbalances Don’t Have to Tell Our Future

| By Holly Avey | Earlier this year, I published a post talking about the wealth inequities of proposed federal policies. (Remember: wealth = assets minus debts). Beyond talking about how these changes would heap more money on the rich while starving the poor, we also need to discuss the huge […]
June 14, 2017

Once Prisoners, Now Justice Reform Advocates

Wisconsin Public Radio article by Gretchen Brown on how EXPO Wisconsin works to end mass Incarceration In Wisconsin and beyond, related to our December 2016 report, Excessive Revocations in Wisconsin: The Health Impacts of Locking People Up without a New Conviction.
June 7, 2017

New Research on Youth Arrests and Diversion Aim to Keep Michigan Kids Healthy and Successful

| Press Release | Lansing, MI — Human Impact Partners and the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency released companion reports examining both Michigan youth arrests and diversion from formal court involvement. These new research reports add to the growing evidence that juvenile diversion works better than arrest and/or formal court adjudication. […]
June 2, 2017

Activating Public Health as the Beachhead to Advance Equity in Government

|By Jonathan Heller | Last week, I was in Los Angeles for the Advancing Health Equity Awards, and I co-facilitated the workshop that followed the ceremony: Using Inside/Outside Strategies to Advance Health Equity in Partnership with Social Justice Movements. It was incredibly inspiring to see what public health departments around the state are […]
April 24, 2017

Highlighting the Humans of HIP: Sara

| By Gus Alexander | As a research assistant here at HIP, it was required that I believe research can affect positive change. And I do. I believe that research has a role to play for social justice. Just like the Black Panther Party used research to deconstruct biomedical claims […]
April 3, 2017

Keep Your Eyes on the Money: The Wealth Inequities of Current Policy Changes

| By Holly Avey | Let’s talk about wealth inequities. The current presidential administration, including the vice president, the chief of staff, and the emerging cabinet, have more wealth than one-third of Americans combined. Concentrated wealth creates concentrated power. And indications suggest that this particular group of very wealthy individuals may be more […]
March 21, 2017

Trump’s toxic budget and fighting for the people’s health

| By Nancy Krieger, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health | Follow the money. This old adage could not be more true now, as applied to the Trump Administration’s budget, released on March 16, 2017.1 This cruel and greedy document (in so many ways) 2–6 savages everything that we in public health and so many others know is necessary for people, […]
March 16, 2017

New Report on Riverside County Budget Decisions to Improve Community Safety

| Press Release | This report is part of a collaborative effort between the ACLU of Southern California, Starting Over Inc., Straight Talk Inc., and Human Impact Partners to review the impacts of the local criminal justice system on community health in Riverside County. Riverside, CA — In the face […]
February 6, 2017

Tell me what you’re for, not what you’re against

| By Sara Satinsky | “What can I do?” It’s the question we at Human Impact Partners are asking ourselves, each other, and pretty much anyone who will discuss it — and one that we hear swirling in the streets during these post-inauguration days. A powerhouse panel took on this question at […]
February 6, 2017

Public Health Awakened: A movement whose time is now

Donald Trump made many promises on the campaign trail, many of which were unconscionable to those working to advance health, equity, and justice. Those promises and the harmful and hateful rhetoric of the campaign are well embodied in Trump’s 100 Days Plan — a set of proposals articulating the Administration’s agenda and […]