Abt's The Intersect

To create equity as an output, you need to incorporate equity throughout your project’s inputs. Tara Reed and Meghan Henry discuss Abt’s systemic approach to dismantling systemic inequities, and how we’re putting it to work as we produce HUD’s annual report to Congress on homelessness.

To implement equity externally, you have to practice equity internally. Drs. Karen Gray-Adams and Katrina Bledsoe explain why organizations that are ready to evolve should be prepared to embrace discomfort (it’s worth it), and discuss how Abt is using education to build equity into the foundations of the policy world moving forward.

Climate change will affect everyone, so what measures can U.S. communities take now to adapt and thrive? From water-saving landscapes to strategic retreats from hazard-prone areas, experts Colleen Moore and Alexis St. Juliana explore a range of promising responses they’ve identified and explain why historically vulnerable communities must be part of the solutions.

Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) provide essential healthcare to people who are uninsured or underinsured. Increasingly, FQHCs are answering the call to bolster what have traditionally been public health and social services, and the question of how we support and enhance these resources is becoming more pressing. In this podcast, Abt's Ann Loeffler speaks to Lathran Woodard—the Chief Executive Officer of the South Carolina Primary Health Care Association—about the history of the health center movement, the mission that sets it apart, and the need to support and grow FQHCs and their workforce.

Clean energy is not only essential to combating climate change, it creates proven economic benefits—and opportunities to engage the untapped potential of the world’s future workforce. ? Dr. Nicole Goldin and Lindsey Foley discuss the vital role youth can—and must--play in the green economy in the latest episode of The Intersect.

Like everything—and everyone—else, health systems function at the mercy of climate change, which means climate adaptation is vital not only to local resilience, but to health systems strengthening and security. So how can we connect these programmatically? In this episode of The Intersect, Abt’s Eric Reading and Kelly Saldana explain the urgent need for climate integration in global development.

A new study by Abt for the Department of Labor shows an apprenticeship program improved wages across the board, but job equity—not just in earnings but in career choices—remains a challenge. From supportive services for participants to the benefits of mentors, Dr. Katrina Bledsoe and study author Karen Gardiner discuss possible solutions.

Social programs designed to promote equity—in housing, jobs, justice, health care, and more—rely on data to identify strategies and measure impact. But what happens when our data collection and analyses are inadvertently sabotaged by bias? Drs. Rucha Londhe and Eric Hedberg share tips and experiences on the latest episode of The Intersect podcast.

As vulnerable populations increasingly derive “more and more and more” of the medical and social service they need from community health centers, the question of how we support and enhance these vital resources becomes more pressing. In this podcast, Abt's Ann Loeffler speaks to Annette Kowal, president and CEO for the Colorado Community Health Network, about the state of the industry, how we got to this point, and how we might move forward.

As the climate crisis unfolds, the impacts will be particularly acute for vulnerable populations who live amid flood zones, heat islands, and rampant pollution, all of which cause disproportionate health issues. Barbara Fields, Frank Alexander, and Paul Anninos discuss the intersections between climate, housing, and equity policies in America, and the community-level approaches we can take to address these social determinants of health.