Ensuring a better world to grow up in.
Connecting the Missing Pieces
To fix a problem, you have to look at both the whole picture and the small details.
Right now, the world and its people are divided. Public spaces, employment structures, healthcare, public benefits, and academic research usually operate separately and rarely talk to one another. For families trying to navigate the daily realities of life, it can feel like these disconnected systems are actively working against them.
We’ve experienced these systemic issues firsthand, and we see the hidden threads intertwining all of them. We connect the pieces that others overlook—proving that maternal mental health, economic stability, community architecture, and other seemingly unrelated topics are not separate issues, but part of one single, interconnected system.
What We Focus On
Applied Public Health Research
Studying existing data to collaborate with institutions, researchers, developers, and people with lived experience to understand how maternal-child health, systemic disparities, and the physical environment relate.
Environmental Justice & Equity
Eliminating the unjust barriers families face while attempting to navigate public systems and spaces, focusing on reducing the disparities for Black and Brown mothers and infants, especially in lower-income areas.
Advocacy, Policy & Systems Change
Using our applied research to advocate for families, fix the root causes of systemic issues, advocate for policies that protect families, and implement solutions through Cyrus Community Development.
About
Cyrus Community Development
Cyrus Community Development is a division of CYRUS, and it’s where our work becomes tangible. This side of our organization takes care of our communities and implements change.
We partner with local businesses to audit their spaces and make them truly welcoming for families, host workshops that teach sustainability and upcycling, and run direct community care programs to ensure families have what they need to thrive.
Our Commitments
Sustainability
Leaving behind a healthier earth with stronger communities.
Taking care of our children means taking care of the Earth. We integrate green standards into our work and use our community workshops to teach children and caregivers the creative art of upcycling and protecting the planet.
Support
Building pathways that help families, small businesses, and organizations.
We bring immediate, dignified relief to families where they live, shop, and gather. Whether it’s easing the stress of public parenting through spatial audits or ensuring children have basic necessities, we meet families exactly where they are at.
Systems Change
Creating equitable improvements to society with families at the center.
We think in systems and want to shine a light on collective injustices. We use our applied research to challenge the status quo, advocate for families, and fix the root causes of systemic issues, ensuring a better world to grow up in.
How We’re Helping Our Communities
Addressing Social Determinants of Health
Creating systems that unify communities and improve maternal-child outcomes.
Applied Public Health Research
Studying the built environment’s impact on maternal mental health and child development.
Community Directory for Families
Mapping Twin Cities local places with and without private nursing areas, changing tables, and other family-inclusive amenities.
Advocating for Environmental Justice
Reducing systemic disparities so all mothers can access dignified, hygienic spaces to breastfeed, regardless of race or income level.
Our Research
Business Insights
Partner with us
We welcome anyone who resonates with our mission of ensuring a better world to grow up in to reach out and connect with us.
Cyrus Community Development 