From silos to synergy: Strengthening Ypsilanti’s community network
Fransisca Anozie
Master of Public Health Student, Health Behavior & Health Equity
It is all too common for public health organizations to operate in silos, even when their goals are similar. This is not always an outright choice, but is influenced by established routines, time limitations, competing for limited funds, and operating within complex systems. One organization may focus on mental health, another may specialize in improving nutritional programs, and the third may seek to improve literacy outcomes. Despite these different missions, they still serve the same population and an overarching goal: improving community health. However, a lack of coordination can result in overlapping efforts and unmet needs, collectively slowing down momentum.
This summer, I interned for the Injury Prevention Center through the Child Health and Development Lab led by Dr. Alison Miller, professor of Health Behavior & Health Equity at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. One of the projects I worked on was the Healthy Ypsi Project. This involved analyzing interviews with community stakeholders in Ypsilanti, MI, to gain key insights that could lead to a better understanding of the barriers preventing residents from accessing community health resources. During this process, one key finding became apparent: Enhancing collaboration and teamwork is crucial to creating lasting change.
A voice from the community
For example, one stakeholder shared:
“In a lot of coalition meetings, everyone’s talking about what they’re doing, but
no one’s really talking about what we can do together. I’d rather see a shared end
goal. If there were more efforts to bring us all together, not just thinking about
funding, but focusing on the common goal, we could make more progress.”
This statement embodies an essential point: Collaboration is about shared partnership. By building on existing efforts and teaming up to address gaps, organizations can cultivate sustainable impact and establish stronger relationships.
Recommendations for centering collaboration and driving results
To make real progress, we need to amplify the voices of local residents and the people who serve them, and put collaboration at the center. Some steps public health professionals could take include:
- Increase awareness of resources: Community organizations can use online tools like FindHelp to both increase awareness of their offerings and help connect the people they serve to other local programs and services.
- Implement standardized warm hand-off protocols: Training staff on warm handoff procedures ensures that every resident receives a kind and personal introduction to additional services. This approach fosters respectful connections and smoother transitions between organizations.
- Develop a unified technology strategy: Establishing shared protocols for electronic referrals helps track follow-up, gather feedback, and maintain continuity of care. Using a single system also makes it easier for organizations to coordinate and build trust with residents.
- Formalize relationships between local nonprofits: Creating a coalition of local nonprofits allows for better alignment of objectives, resources, and needs. By working together, organizations can complement each other’s efforts instead of duplicating them.
- Centralize community spaces: Designing shared service centers where families can access multiple supports in one location, such as childcare, literacy, and wellness services, helps remove transportation barriers. This model also encourages collaboration and strengthens relationships among providers.
- Utilize ‘anchor institution’ approaches: Anchor institutions are large, place-based organizations like hospitals or universities that invest in their community through multilevel strategies. Local nonprofits can adopt this approach to promote ongoing investment and authentic engagement by prioritizing local hiring, purchasing from area businesses, and partnering with other neighborhood organizations.
In conclusion, lasting change in community health does not happen in isolation. When stakeholders gather, not just to report progress, but to co-design solutions, they can illuminate blind spots, streamline referrals, and support one another in closing service gaps.
The vision is clear: A healthier Ypsilanti begins with a shared commitment, not just to serve, but to partner. That does not mean abandoning individual missions; it means aligning them for shared impact. It means shifting the question from “Who owns this work?” to “Who can we work with to do it better?”
Ypsilanti possesses the fundamental elements needed to improve the wellness of its residents, such as resources for housing, literacy, employment, childcare, medical care, and other essential services. Thus, there is no shortage of heart in the Ypsilanti community, only a need for more connective tissue. And the more we build that, the stronger, healthier, and more equitable our outcomes will be.
About the Author
Fransisca Anozie is a second-year master’s student at the University of Michigan School
of Public Health, specializing in Health Behavior & Health Equity. She is supported
by the NSF International Global Scholarship. She previously interned with the Injury
Prevention Center through the Child Health and Development Lab, contributing to the
SAFE ARMS and Healthy Ypsilanti projects. Fransisca is passionate about improving
the mental health and wellness of children and is grateful for the invaluable mentorship
and collaboration she received throughout her work. She also thanks the Injury Prevention
Center, University of Michigan School of Public Health, the Child Health Development
Lab, Michigan Medicine, the School of Public Health Writing Lab, and Public Health
IDEAS for Creating Healthy and Equitable Cities for their generous funding and support.