Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute

The Hassenfeld Institute

Making a positive impact on the lives of children and their families in Rhode Island and beyond

Founded in 2016 with a generous donation from the family of Alan Hassenfeld, the Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute aims to make a positive impact on the lives of children and their families in Rhode Island and beyond. The Institute's work is centered around family mental health and related community-level drivers such as food insecurity and community violence.

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Made stronger by its deep and far-reaching collaborations, the Hassenfeld Institute partners with key community-based agencies throughout Rhode Island to ensure that families’ voices and needs are at the forefront of our work.  We develop innovative and culturally appropriate public health interventions and social services for the prevention and treatment of children’s and families’ health concerns.

“ The Hassenfeld Institute has a simple yet transformational goal: to eliminate health inequities in pregnancy and childhood for Rhode Island families by 2032. ”

Michael Silverstein Director of the Hassenfeld Institute
Before a conference on social media’s mental health impacts on children and families, the director of the Hassenfeld Institute on Child Health Innovation spoke about the importance of grasping the true nature of social media’s grip.
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Kaitlyn Rabb ‘20, ‘21 MPH, who was a Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute Summer Scholar and a Bonner Community Fellow at Brown, conducts health-related policy analysis, advocacy, research, and project management at RI KIDS COUNT.
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Brown University’s Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute hosted the 8th Conference of the Global Consortium for Depression Prevention. The event, “Depression Prevention in the Context of Diversity, Development, and the Digital Age,” gathered over 40 authorities from around the world to tackle the escalating crisis of youth mental health.
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