Children’s HealthWatch

Message Development
Written By Kristine Neil

Nearly 80% of our overall health is shaped by social and environmental factors—things like food, transportation, and housing. Yet, 7 million people live one crisis away from eviction and 21 million people pay too much on rent. But, what’s at stake is more than “affordable housing.” It’s acknowledging that hard working parents who pay their taxes are increasingly unable to pay their rent or afford a mortgage—and that has damaging impacts on their health and the health of their children. Children’s HealthWatch—who has been collecting real-time data in frontline healthcare settings since 1998—discovered that housing—its accessibility, its stability, and its affordability—matters a lot. It matters for the growth and development and health and well-being of young children.

Strategy

We began by developing a message framework that Children’s Health Watch could employ to shift public perceptions and policies about the relationship between housing and health so that a new, more healthful future can emerge for young children and their families. Using this framework, we created a practical and easy-to-use communications toolkit for children’s health advocates across the country. The toolkit lays out in plain language many of the central issues in housing and mental health including intergenerational stress, adverse childhood experiences, and community support. 

Impact

  • Children’s Health Watch are more equipped to talk about the relationship between housing and children’s health utilizing plain language, storytelling, and research 
  • The toolkit equipped health practitioners with actionable resources, such as talking points, social media posts, fact sheet, and op-ed outline, to engage government officials and public health leaders as partners and allies on children’s health and wellbeing.

“In our 5+ years of working together, Mission Partners has significantly improved our ability to communicate our work across sectors. The messaging Mission Partners developed and tested is now being utilized by a national campaign, has been featured in the media, and sparked several federal policy proposals.”

– Team Lead, Children’s HealthWatch

cover of the Children's Healthwatch toolkit

inside of Children's HealthWatch toolkit

Kristine Neil

Fractional Web Partner

I'm Kristine Neil - a communications strategist who has spent 20+ years designing websites, first running a full-scale design and marketing agency, and now leading my own studio. I've been the creative director managing the work, the coder quietly fixing what others couldn't, and the strategist in the room asking why before how. Somewhere between the MBA and the other degrees, I decided web design was just one tool in a much bigger toolbox - the real work is figuring out what you're trying to say, who needs to hear it, and what's getting in the way. A website is just where all of that comes to life.

I mostly build on Squarespace, and after years deep in the platform I know how far it can go and when to push past its limits. These days, I'm especially drawn to working as a fractional partner - getting to know an organization over time and helping with whatever moves them forward, whether that's a full redesign, an ongoing hand with content and strategy, or just being the person who knows their site best. I write here about AI, UX, eCommerce, web strategy, and making the complex feel a little more human.

Contact Me

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