By Eboni Strickland, for Voices for Children Coalition
You’ve heard the phrase before: “It takes a village to raise a child.” But what if we flipped it? What if we said, “Every parent deserves a village, too”?
That’s where Katie Kenyon begins. With over a decade of work with The Foundation for Delaware County’s public health programs and more than 20 years in the domestic violence field before that, Katie doesn’t just believe in community support. She embodies it. After losing her first son at 23 weeks and later becoming a mother through adoption, Katie found herself needing the same kind of care she now helps others receive.
“I needed much community and care to help me through each of those experiences,” she shared. That lived experience now shapes her work with Healthy Start, a program that supports pregnant people and new parents with care, safety, and resources to thrive.
Much like Voices for Children, Katie’s work is rooted in collaboration. “Our consortium invites participating parents to the table with service providers, legislative staff, and community advocates. It’s not just about serving families but building with them,” she says.
When asked what people often miss about community health, Katie is clear: “I think many people are still stuck thinking that to have a healthy pregnancy, you have to engage in healthy behaviors once you know you’re pregnant and go to the doctor the right number of times. A public health approach recognizes that those two things actually only contribute a small amount to our health outcomes.”
She points to essential needs like safe housing, nutritious food, living wages, quality childcare, and meaningful social connections. “By having these protective factors early in life and adolescence, we help increase the likelihood that children grow up to have healthy birth outcomes and better health throughout their lifespan. I can’t think of more worthwhile investments.”
Katie remains hopeful saying that “I’m hopeful that we’ll see more progress at the county and state level related to maternal, infant and parental health. This is happening through the work of stakeholders involved in the Community Health Improvement Plan with the Delaware County Health Department and the work of legislators involved in the Black Maternal Health Caucus in Harrisburg.”
She also highlights how her team is focusing on new clinical-community partnerships that help increase access to care and improve coordination between providers and community resources. “The language we use to meet funding requirements may change, but the work remains the same,” she notes.
That work includes meeting people where they are, whether through virtual programs, telehealth, services in multiple languages, or in-person care delivered in spaces that feel safe. “It’s not always easy,” she adds, “but many of us remain hopeful that something will emerge from those ashes.”
In a world where policies shift faster than people can catch their breath, Katie Kenyon moves with quiet conviction. Her work is consistent, intentional, and grounded in one belief: people deserve care that meets them where they are. For the families she and her team support every day, that kind of care can be the difference between falling through the cracks and finding solid ground.
Original Questions the questions are under
- What originally drew you to this work?
Response: You often hear the expression that it takes a village to raise a child, but it’s also true that everyone deserves a village when they become parents. I began working with The Foundation for Delaware County’s public health programs over 10 years ago, after more than 20 years working in the domestic violence space. By 2014, when I started with Healthy Start, I had lost my first son at 23 weeks of pregnancy and had become a mother twice more through adoption – I needed much community and care I to help me through each of those experiences.
I wanted to be part of work that ensured that every parent had the healthy pregnancy that they deserved, the ability to be pregnant when they chose to, and the support, safety and resources they needed to thrive with a new baby in the home.
Staff in the Foundation’s public health programs serve as a ‘Village for Families’. They help pregnant individuals and new parents every day to make sure families have resources, education, support, assistance, and care. We do this through home visiting nurses, Healthy Start case managers, Fatherhood support, Doula care, perinatal behavioral health services, specialized services for parents living with substance use disorders, community education, civil legal assistance, sexual and reproductive health education, supplemental nutrition assistance through WIC, housing support, and general care coordination. Much like Voices for Children, our consortium invites participating parents to the table with service providers, legislative staff, healthcare providers, and community advocates to identify what helps expecting families and parents with infants thrive in Delco.
- What do you wish more people understood about the health challenges facing our communities?
Response: I think many people are still stuck thinking that to have a healthy pregnancy, you have to engage in healthy behaviors once you know you’re pregnant and go to the doctor the right number of times. A public health approach recognizes that those two things actually only contribute a small amount to our health outcomes. Much more of our health is impacted by where we live, work, play, practice our faith, our access to care, our built environment and social and economic factors. To improve health, we need high quality and respectfully delivered clinical care, but it is also critical to have; a safe place to live, healthy food to eat, a livable wage, high quality childcare, good opportunities, and social connections. By having these protective factors early in life and adolescence, we help increase the likelihood that children grow up to have healthy birth outcomes and better health throughout their lifespan. I can’t think of more worthwhile investments. - How has your team adapted to your approach to community health in response to recent policy shifts and systemic challenges?
Response: We know why we are here; to help individuals who face the greatest barriers or are most marginalized. The language that we use to meet funding requirements may change, but the work remains the same. My colleagues continue to meet people where they are at in this climate – and that may mean more virtual programs or more telehealth, more services delivered in different languages, or it may mean more time in person with clients in a new space that feels safe to them.
One way that our team is adapting to the unique healthcare challenges in Delco is by focusing on new clinical-community partnerships that help increase access to care while helping the clinical settings coordinate better with community resources. Developing strong and authentic cross-sector partnerships is going to help all of us do more with less resources and find unexpected opportunities to work together with people who might not have been at the table before.
- What’s one resource or service people often overlook but that makes a big difference in community well-being?
Response: I want to shout out WIC, which is an important benefit for pregnant, postpartum, and lactating individuals, or babies or young children under 5 with a medical need. A lot of people know that WIC can help with formula, but they don’t always know all that WIC can provide. Eligible WIC families receive a financial benefit on a loaded card that can be used to purchase healthy, nutritious foods that can help a pregnant person have a healthier birth outcome (WIC enrollment during pregnancy has been shown to reduce the risk of a pre-term birth!), can help a postpartum or lactating parent be healthy after the birth and can help develop healthy habits across the life-span for babies, toddlers & young children. At WIC clinics in Delaware County, parents can see a nutritionist or a nutrition assistant, get their child weighed, have hemoglobin checked, get breastfeeding support, and receive education, along with connections to community resources. In Delaware County, about 8000 individuals receive WIC – that’s a huge number of people who benefit. At the same time, 1 in 3 people who are eligible for WIC are NOT signed up – we can do more to help those families find their way to WIC. - Where do you hope to see the most progress in the next year, and what will it take to get us there?
Response: Phew. We are going to see a lot of programs, benefits and resources cut and that’s going to significantly affect many of us in Delaware County. In that regard – holding steady in a storm is going to feel like an accomplishment for many nonprofit partners and families alike. We are all going to need to support one another and support the families that reach out to us as best we can, together.
I am hopeful that we will see more progress at the county and state level related to maternal, infant and parental health. This is happening through the work of stakeholders involved in the Community Health Improvement Plan with the Delaware County Health Department, and the work of legislators involved in the Black Maternal Health Caucus in Harrisburg. Delaware County’s Rep. Gina H. Curry from the 164th District is a cofounder of the caucus, which has introduced a slate of PA bills – many of which have seen bipartisan support.
The closure of Crozer Health had a catastrophic impact on health in Delaware County and nothing will replace a full-service hospital system. There are some opportunities to bring new health delivery models (increasing doula utilization, more midwives, group models of prenatal care) to the county and my hope is that existing systems will continue to bring additional resources to Delaware County, especially to those communities who are subjected to the greatest disparities in health outcomes. It’s not always easy, but I think many of us remain hopeful that something will emerge from those ashes.