Embracing Targeted Universalism
At the Forum, we renewed our longstanding commitment of the Help Me Grow Model to advance equity for all families, especially for those who are most at-risk of falling behind typical academic, developmental and behavioral standards. The Model advances equity through its premise of targeted universalism, which recognizes that those with the greatest need must derive the greatest benefits from available programs, services and funding streams. The Model has a tremendous impact on those who reside in urban cores and remote rural areas, by connecting underserved children and families to existing community-based services and following up to ensure families found such services to be helpful. Current calls for racial and social justice, amplified by recent tragic events, have strengthened our resolve to overcome barriers and ensure facilitated access to critical resources for those who are so adversely impacted by social, environmental, and behavioral factors as a consequence of prejudice and racism.
During the Forum, we asked participants to keep the following two key questions in mind:
- Is the Help Me Grow focus on strengthening families’ protective factors, including providing concrete support in times of need, sufficient to ensure we address families’ basic needs?
- Does the Help Me Grow Model adequately advance equity for all families by applying an approach of targeted universalism?
Prescription for Progress
We were honored to have Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD return to the Forum for a keynote question and answer session, after delivering an inspiring keynote address at our 10th Annual Help Me Grow Forum in Buffalo, New York last year. Dr. Hanna-Attisha is the physician who uncovered the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, which exposed a vast number of urban children and families to lead contamination through their drinking water. After recovering herself from a COVID-19 infection, Hanna-Attisha has played a key role in further advocating for children during the pandemic and has been an outspoken activist during the ongoing racial justice movement.
During the session, I was struck by the similarities that Hanna-Attisha draws between the Flint crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. “Flint is recovering from our last preventable public health crisis and now we’re rattled by this other public health crisis, also preventable,” she said.
She noted how the disparities among those affected by each crisis are similar, with people of color being the most severely affected. She talked about how the lessons learned in Michigan after the water crisis are now the same lessons the nation is learning from COVID-19 – that we need a strong investment in public health, we must recognize the importance of disparities and injustices, and we must respect science.
Hanna-Attisha encouraged participants to advocate for change, with her best prescription for progress being living wage jobs for parents, with paid leave and healthcare benefits that are not tied to employment. She also called for a return to in-person school so children can access an education and proper nutrition. She pointed out how ensuring food security and providing health insurance that is not linked to employment are not innovative concepts, but are instead standard in many other countries.
Hanna-Attisha encouraged Forum participants to advocate for change that will bring about equity in society by voting, writing opinion articles, and mobilizing friends through social media. She stated that we must take action when we see an injustice, and acknowledged she was hesitant to speak out during the Flint water crisis, but is so pleased that she did because nothing would have changed if she hadn’t.
Her words still stay with me: “Never doubt that you have the power to make a difference.” Hanna-Attisha echoed these sentiments in a recently published Op-Ed in the New York Times.
