Invest in Nurture Connection

Help Create a Healthy and Just Future for Every Child

Connections Create Health

Healthy relationships in the beginning years of a child’s life are the building blocks upon which they create a healthy and productive life and a bright future. By centering equity and coming together with our most expansive ideas for promoting Early Relational Health, we can create a healthy and just future for every child, family, and community.

Why This Matters

The past few years have starkly exposed the inequities in our society and systems that are perpetuated by discrimination and racism. Research shows that significant stressors, such as poverty, violence, or housing instability, can have negative effects on development, mental and physical health, social well-being, and family relationships. These realities are especially challenging for families with young children, families of color, immigrants, and those with limited resources and social supports.

So how do we give parents and caregivers the care and support they need to take care of their families and, as a result, create healthier, resilient, and more connected communities for every child and family?

One of the most important ways is by creating a society that prioritizes and promotes Early Relational Health because all children — but particularly those experiencing disadvantage and adversity — need strong, positive, and nurturing relationships to grow and thrive.

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Our Vision for Creating
Systems-Level Change

Interest in ERH is exploding as both research and the lived experience of families validate the critical importance of the early years for lifelong health and success. Our targeted strategies will help us realize our collective ERH vision:

  • Promote respectful and trusted parent and family partnerships.
  • Develop the next-generation, cross-sector ERH workforce.
  • Expand ERH research and evidence-based, equitable promotion of ERH.
  • Support place-based, community-level ERH efforts.
  • Use policy levers that support ERH expansion and sustainability.
  • Raise awareness about ERH’s vital role in promoting children’s lifelong health and well-being.

Join Our ERH Funders Community

At the end of 2021, more than two dozen funders came together for the first Early Relational Health (ERH) Funders Summit. The result was the creation of the ERH Funders Community. Join us as we continue to seek opportunities for shared learning and connection to improve how we work together to advance Early Relational Health and emotional connection between parents/caregivers and their young children.

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An ERH Funder’s Perspective

By Ira Hillman (Einhorn Collaborative)

The ERH Funders Community shares a vision of a world where all parents have time off from work – with pay – in order to continue strengthening their relationships with their children, creating habits of mutual, reciprocal, and responsive connection.

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