dqf2019011

Continued funding to support Health Resources in Action (HRiA) to develop community engagement and support to implement community water fluoridation (CWF) in two New England towns, Hartford, VT and Brockton, MA. Activities during implementation will include: significantly increase community awareness about the benefits of CWF and greater support for CWF implementation; stop attempts at ballot referenda around CWF; develop a toolkit to be used by other communities or coalitions interested in launching tier own grassroots CWF campaign; and elevate campaign impact and effectiveness using qualitative and quantitative data collection methods with a primary focus on the community’s support for and attitudes toward CWF. HRiA’s activities will align with the Foundation’s focus on the eradication of dental disease in children by improving building support for CWF by disseminating learnings on larger scale and increasing the implementation of CWF across the country. Grant funds will support staff guidance of the implementation plan, mini-grants to states, communications and marketing costs, overhead costs related to the execution of the plan, and consultant support to facilitate a collaborative engagement process that will build effective networks for mobilization around the implementation of CWF in New England.