WHO WE ARE
Vital Partnerships (VP) is a consulting agency dedicated to fostering equitable access to resources and services for historically-marginalized communities by bridging the gap among these communities, government agencies, and organizations.
VP specializes in the public health and healthcare industries, implementing strategic solutions informed by lived and professional experience that promote health equity, social justice, and improved services. We think of ourselves as a collaborative of professional community advocates.
VALUES
Always with Integrity
Always with Joy
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...and...
Always in Solidarity
VISION
We are advocates
addressing resource disparities by bridging institutions and communities.
MISSION
With Partners
Community
Organizations
Government
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On Public Health
Strategic Governance
Service Delivery
Community Power
Our Story & Team
Vital Partnerships (VP) was officially branded in January 2023 by co-founders Adriana Negrón and Wichie Artú. Collectively, they have over a decade of professional experience in public health initiatives.
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Wichie Artú
Executive Director
Since 2004, he has used the concept of joy and collaborative programming to make communities more resilient:
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Youth Entrepreneurship Programs
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Accessible interactive arts events
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Culturally-informed resource & service delivery
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Equity strategies for data systems
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In 2019, he became increasingly aware of how white supremacy played a unique role in community-oriented work - unpaid/low-paying labor (or volunteerism) was the norm. Wichie has since aimed to change this exploitative culture into one where lived experiences are valued on par with professional/academic experience.
Adriana Negrón
Programs Director
Adriana has played a vital role in the organizational and programmatic strategy of VP. In late 2022, she brought us her lived experience as a mother of four diverse children and her professional experience with:
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Project management
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Event planning experience
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Family perinatal care
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Refugee Resettlement
OUR PARTNERS
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PROJECTS
2021 - Present
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Racial Disparities in the Criminal & Juvenile Justice System Advisory Panel
We have been asked to sit on the VT Legislature’s advisory panel consisting of folks from the VT Executive Administration, the Attorney General’s office, and executive directors of state and local social justice organizations. We are tasked with creating a report every biennium. In the latest report (2021), we played a fundamental role in recommending the structure and policies behind a potential Vermont’s Bureau of Social Justice Statistics.
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2022-2023
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Community Resilience Grant
​We are partnering with VT Department of Health’s Health Equity & Community Engagement team, VT Public Health Association, United Way of Windham County, and four paid community members from around Windham county to provide a $150,000 funding opportunity to individuals and organizations in Windham County. This funding was meant to address health disparities in the County in accordance with the Social Determinants of Health. Among grant recipients were Out in the Open, SuSu Healing Collective, and Neighborhood Connections.
2022-2026
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Tobacco Use Prevention & Cessation in Brattleboro BIPOC Community
In partnership with the VT Department of Health’s Tobacco Control Program (TCP), NAACP of Windham County VT (NAACP), SPARKS Leadership Program, and Local Clinicians, we are focused on reducing and preventing tobacco use in the Brattleboro area BIPOC communities through facilitating multi-sector local coalitions and promoting health systems change.
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2023
​Youth PRIDE Photo Contest & Exhibition
In celebration of PRIDE Month, we are partnering with In-Sight Photography and the Brattleboro Museum & Arts Center (BMAC) to host the Youth PRIDE Photo Contest and Exhibition - inviting LGBTQIA+ youth from Brattleboro and surrounding areas. All participants will receive recognition for their work through exhibits at BMAC, In-Sight, and/or downtown Brattleboro storefronts. Opening reception will be during Brattleboro’s June Gallery Walk on June 2nd. The exhibit will close with a reception during July’s Gallery Walk where awards will be given.
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2021-2023
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SoVT BIPOC COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts
In partnerships with the NAACP of Windham County, VT Department of Health’s Health Equity & Community Engagement team, and over 30 community organizations, we advocated for and coordinated vaccine and booster clinics for people of color in Southern Vermont - vaccinating an estimated 1500 BIPOC folks and families.
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We are generating a final qualitative report based on results from an informal survey, and our experience coordinating the SoVT BIPOC Vaccine Clinics that speak to the common themes around why people chose to get vaccinated or not and reflections on vaccine experiences for Windham County participants. We are also assisting with access to COVID-19 vaccination for different BIPOC populations in Windham County; this may include assistance with recruitment, registration, and clinic planning.
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