Strategic Initiatives
Issue-Based Work
Everyone should have what they need to live their healthiest lives, no matter their background or where they live. We are committed to helping communities remove barriers to their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
Behavioral Health
By utilizing a statewide, community-level approach we are gaining a deeper understanding of what works and greater insight into the structural barriers limiting a person-centered, recovery-oriented system. Through this work, we and other stakeholders are influencing the field and providing support to reshape it.
Contraceptive Access
The Right Time initiative is based on the simple belief that everyone should have the opportunity to pursue the future they want, including if, when, and under what circumstances to get pregnant. We seek to help individuals take control of their own health by improving information about, and removing barriers to, contraceptive services, recognizing that decisions always rest with the patient.
Crisis Response
Our Diverting to Care initiative focuses on how and by whom behavioral health emergencies are handled because people with mental health or substance use disorders are best cared for in their communities — not in jails or prisons or through law enforcement and criminal justice interventions.
Firearm Injury & Death Prevention
Whether taking the form of homicides, suicides, or accidents, firearm violence deeply impacts all Missourians. Solutions can feel elusive, but change is possible. The more people we bring together, gun-owners and non-owners alike, the closer we will be to finding the approaches we need to put an end to the cycles of firearm injury and death.
Food Systems
Our Food Justice initiative aims to ensure fair access to food that is healthy, affordable, and honors their community and heritage. Approaches focus on access, cultivation, production, and distribution to create a sustainable and just food system.
Infant Mortality
We established the Infant Mortality Reduction Initiative because all babies deserve their best chance to thrive. We work with communities to find solutions that will help more infants live past their first birthday, no matter what part of Missouri they call home.
Medicaid Expansion
Medicaid is a key piece of the safety net in Missouri. The program allows lower-income Missourians to see a doctor when they are sick, get check-ups, buy medications, and go to the hospital. Having health insurance helps people maintain their health, go to work, and take care of their families. Now that Medicaid has expanded in Missouri, awareness and outreach are essential to help people get and stay covered.