The health promise of Promise Neighborhoods.

The Promise Neighborhoods initiative from the U.S. Department of Education offers grant funding to develop innovative educational and community support programs in distressed communities. Inspired by the success of the Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ), this initiative encourages similarly pioneering approaches to assist low-income children attain academic and social success. An increasing body of evidence suggests that health benefits accrue when youth are immersed in nurturing educational environments. This article summarizes key evidence for this phenomenon, as well as theories that suggest that Promise Neighborhoods can have as great an effect on health as they do on educational achievement.