Youth as Health Care Change Agents

Youth as Health Care Change Agents: Investing $23 Million in Community-Based Organizations Across Eastern MA

The Atrius Health Equity Foundation heard directly from community leaders that economic mobility, educational opportunity, and youth as a population of focus are important to close the life expectancy gap across neighborhoods in Eastern Massachusetts.

As a result of this community engagement and our belief that we must all come together to achieve health equity, we are honored to announce our largest investment to date: $23 million in total funding for our first cohort of the Youth as Health Care Change Agents grant program, a new effort to fund youth-led community health solutions in cities and neighborhoods across Eastern Massachusetts. Together, these awards cultivate a pathway of community-based organizations that are creating, launching, and sustaining innovative youth-driven efforts to meet community health needs and close life expectancy gaps.

With this investment, community-based organizations will provide youth with financial support, health education, and health career pathways to identify, develop, and implement solutions for their community’s health needs, now and in the future. Grantees are anchoring collaborative, community-based efforts to address pressing community health priorities, such as cardiometabolic disease or mental health and substance abuse.

In announcing these grants, we wish to honor the memory of Jack Connors, Jr., who served on the Founding Board of the Foundation. Jack insisted that the Foundation take big, bold steps to close the gap in life expectancy and was particularly dedicated to supporting youth to become the leaders of tomorrow.

Our Youth as Health Care Change Agents Awardees and Partners (A-Z):

Our Youth as Health Care Change Agents Awardees and Partners (A-Z):

  • TBD.

  • Youth as Changemakers supports Boston youth across the Fields Corner Crossroads Collaborative through a youth leadership and healthcare career pathway program. Implemented in partnership with All Dorchester Sports and Leadership, the Asian American Resource Workshop, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester, DotHouse Health, the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, New England Community Project, and the Vietnamese American Initiative for Development, Youth as Changemakers draws on the expertise of organizations specializing in healthcare, advocacy, economic and youth development, and civic engagement to empower young people as leaders strengthening the Dorchester community. 

    The Crossroads Youth Council (CYC) is as a collaborative hub for youth empowerment and leadership development. It brings together young people from across various organizations to form a unified body that drives advocacy, community engagement, and social justice initiatives. The CYC functions as a platform where youth can organize around critical issues such as education, mental health, and substance use disorders, while also participating in participatory budgeting processes that give them a direct say in how community resources are allocated. The CYC is designed to equip youth leaders with the knowledge necessary to participate meaningfully in a participatory budgeting process focused on addressing mental health and SUDs in the community. The Youth Ambassadors component of the program creates a pathway for Crossroads Youth Council members to intern at various sites within the Crossroads network, exposing them to potential careers in the healthcare sector, advocacy fields, and broader leadership opportunities.

  • TBD

  • Youth as Health Care Change Agents supports Lawrence youth through health career development, youth leadership, and mental health and wellness programming. Implemented in partnership with, Lawrence CommunityWorks, Merrimack Health, Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Youth Development Organization, ACT Lawrence, SquashBusters Lawrence, Groundwork Lawrence, Elevated Thought, Top Notch Scholars, and Boston College School of Social Work, the program brings together community, health care, youth development, and art-based social justice expertise to create pathways into health career exposures and training. The health-career development component offers internship cohorts that introduce youth to hospital departments such as infusion, pharmacy, and information systems, along with a pre-pathway program that supports personalized advising on education and career pathways. The stipended leadership cadre, drawn from partner community-based organizations and directly from the broader Lawrence community, builds youth capacity in health leadership, community organizing, communication, and outreach. Together, these efforts aim to prepare Lawrence youth for future careers in healthcare, strengthen leadership and well-being, and cultivate a new generation of health care change agents who help shape community-driven solutions and improve the health outcomes for their neighborhoods.

  • The Lynn Community Health Center Student Fellowship Program empowers 70 high school students in Lynn, Massachusetts to become informed health advocates and future healthcare leaders. It targets youth aged roughly 15–20 from neighborhoods facing health disparities, offering mentorship, hands-on learning, and real-world exposure to a wide range of healthcare careers. Participants engage in health education, advocacy work, and career exploration through job shadowing, “day in the life” sessions, and community projects. The program also builds students’ leadership, civic engagement, and practical skills while helping them understand and address key health issues in their families and community. Through these experiences, the fellowship aims to close health gaps in Lynn and inspire a new generation committed to health equity and community wellbeing.

  • Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition's Vigorous Youth Leaders supports youth in Mattapan and surrounding communities through a holistic program focused on youth development, health and nutrition, and health and transportation advocacy. The program also exposes participants to a wide range of health-related careers while strengthening their leadership, research, and advocacy skills. Vigorous Youth Leaders is offered in partnership with the Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition (MFFC), the Boston Organization of Nutritionists and Dietitians of Color (BOND of Color), MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning, WalkMassachusetts, Mattapan Community Health Center, and additional community partners. 

    Youth participants actively engage in—and co-lead—MFFC community health initiatives, including Mattapan on Wheels, the Mattapan Square Farmers Market, and community gardens. They take part in nutrition workshops led by BOND of Color and have participated in an eight-week session with Northeastern University exploring how artificial intelligence technologies influence physical activity. Through collaboration with MIT, youth learn Youth Participatory Action Research methods, develop potential public health and built-environment research projects, and explore how technology can be used to address real-world community challenges. Lastly, youth attend lunch and learns with our health related partners, exposing them to health career fields while building their network.

  • Youth as Health Change Agents, implemented in partnership with The BASE and Boston Community Pediatrics, builds on The BASE’s model of using sports and athletics to promote youth success in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan by integrating a Youth Health Board, a healthcare career track, physical and mental health workshops and activities, into the sports-focused strength and conditioning opportunities they offer. The Youth Health Board has regularly participated in a series of healthy-eating and mind–body wellness workshops and has spearheaded a healthy-eating campaign for other youth at The BASE, with the goal of youth eventually leading more health and wellness campaigns in the local community. Youth in the program also regularly participate in sessions that expose them to careers in the health field, with the hopes of facilitating a pathway into health careers.

Solutions Designed in Community

We supported grantees to conduct community design sessions that engaged youth and families to co-create their programs. Over their funding period, each grantee will work in partnership with other organizations, youth and family in their communities, to support youth in their full potential as health educators, health navigators, future health care professionals, and advocates for policy and systems change.

Our grant program has been directly designed with and for young people.

Community design workshops focused on youth as powerful agents of change.

Youth designed alongside their families, like these participants from Brockton.

Dorchester youth review life expectancy maps and health data in Boston.

Lawrence youth define health in their community.

Lowell youth share potential health solutions.

Photo credit: EmVision Productions