The Collective
for Health Equity
The Collective for Health Equity (CHE) is a national initiative connecting community-based organizations, partners, and leaders to strengthen community-led approaches to health and wellbeing. Advancing community-based organizations to lead toward inclusive, responsive, and community-defined health equity.
The Collective’s Origin Story
After 18 Years, We’ve Reached a Turning Point
The Collective for Health Equity (CHE), formerly the National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health (NNED), is a national network advancing community-based organizations (CBOs) towards inclusive, responsive, and community-led equity. For nearly two decades, this work has supported community-based organizations in building capacity, sharing knowledge, and advancing culturally grounded approaches to care. What began as a national effort focused on behavioral health grew into a trusted network of organizations, practitioners, and leaders committed to addressing disparities and strengthening health and wellbeing in their communities.
At its core, this work has always centered community voice, lived experience, and the belief that solutions are strongest when they are shaped by the communities they serve.
With the close of federal funding, there was an opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and build forward in a new way. Rather than simply continuing as it was, this moment created space to consider how the work could evolve to better support community-based organizations and address the broader realities shaping health across communities.
A New Chapter:
The Collective for Health Equity
Co-Creating with Community
The Collective for Health Equity emerged through a collaborative process shaped by community leaders, practitioners, and partners across the country.
A Collaboration Council was formed to help guide this next phase, bringing together diverse perspectives, lived experience, and deep connections to the work. Through shared dialogue the Council helped shape key elements of this next chapter, including the direction, focus, and identity of the initiative.
Toward Health Equity
Building on a strong foundation of relationships and learning, this new chapter reflects a broader vision for the work. It expands beyond behavioral health to address health equity, recognizing disparities that exist within various factors that influence health outcomes across communities.
As the Collective continues to grow, it remains grounded in the same principles that have shaped the work from the beginning: centering community voice, fostering connection, creating space for wisdom sharing, and supporting approaches that reflect the needs and strengths of communities. We invite you to join us, let’s advance health equity together.