A Health Equity Zone
Central Providence Unidos originated as part of the Rhode Island Department of Health’s Health Equity Zone Network. Alongside other Health Equity Zones across the state, Central Providence Unidos seeks to close health and economic disparities by addressing their root causes.
Rhode Island’s Health Equity Zone initiative is an innovative, place-based approach that brings communities together to build the infrastructure needed to achieve healthy, systemic changes at the local level. Health Equity Zones are geographic areas where existing opportunities emerge and investments are made to address differences in health outcomes.Â
Our Theory of Change
If Central Providence Unidos invests operational, financial, and political capital into efforts that meet residents’ foundational needs, increases residents’ access to drivers of mobility, and amplifies community power and capacity, then the conditions that drive health and economic disparities will improve.
Our Evolution
Since its inception, our place-based collective impact work has expanded from one neighborhood to nine. As we’ve expanded our place, our name and story has evolved with it. Throughout this evolution, our commitment to addressing health equity at the intersection of economic opportunity has remained a constant.
A Place-Based Initiative of the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council
Central Providence Unidos is a place-based, comprehensive initiative of the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, a successful model of community revitalization and economic development, aimed at increasing economic mobility and health equity across nine neighborhoods in Central Providence.
2015
The Providence neighborhood of Olneyville was selected as one of Rhode Island’s first threeHealth Equity Zones, with One Neighborhood Builders serving as backbone. The Olneyville Health Equity Zone aimed to promote economic opportunity and empower the community through resident leadership trainings and supporting community-based organizations.
2018
Understanding the overlapping partners and shared challenges, the Olneyville Health Equity Zone was expanded to incorporate the three adjacent neighborhoods of Federal Hill, Hartford, and Valley, forming the Central Providence Health Equity Zone.
2020
One Neighborhood Builders is one of only 14 organizations across the country selected for Blue Meridian Partners’ Place Matters Portfolio to convene Central Providence Opportunities (CPO), the only New England organization selected. This two-year, $8-million, place-based eff ort is intended to improveeconomic mobility for residents in the nine neighborhoods in the 02908 and 02909 ZIP codes: Elmhurst, Federal Hill, Hartford, Manton, Mount Pleasant, Olneyville, Silver Lake, Smith Hill, and Valley.
2021
Central Providence Opportunities and Central Providence Health Equity Zone merge to become Central Providence Opportunities: A Health Equity Zone (CPO-HEZ). Through this merger, Central Providence Opportunities investments and the Central Providence Health Equity Zone programs and partnerships work under a shared agenda and pooled resources to maximize impact.
2025
With a formalized collective governance structure for shared decision-making, the Executive Committee votes to change the name from Central Providence Opportunities: A Health Equity Zone to Central Providence Unidos.
2026
Central Providence Unidos transitions to a new backbone organization, the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council.
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