Solidarity Not Charity.
-- Common Ground Health Clinic
-- Common Ground Health Clinic
| Community Health & Strength Initiative |
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The Community Health and Strength Initiative is a program that supports our community garden, health education classes, Know your Rights trainings, and “Undoing Racism” trainings. Our community garden is managed by CGHC project Coordinator in collaboration with Teche street neighbors. Health educations are conducted by a Registered Dietician and Health Educator/herbalists. Achieved outcomes of the CH&SIThe Black Star AcademyCH&SI Program Coordinator set up a computer lab for youth research, homework help and internet access for students who attend Black Star Academy. We have also worked with the Academy to establish a community play park (See PowerPoint Presentation). In addition we have prepared a space and received permits to start a Farmer’s Market. The unforeseen outcome related to this project was the community children’s enthusiasm to work with us and to be part of a project that benefits them. The Craige Cultural Center CH&SI Program Coordinator also established a computer lab at the Craige Cultural Center to enable the center’s after school program attendants to conduct research and do their homework. We also provided technical assistance to the leadership of the Craige Center to write and submit a grant to the Gulf Coast Fund and the City Council/Harrah’s Community Grant. Our grant writing endeavor to the Gulf Coast Fund was successful. The City Council/Harrah’s Community Grant is still pending. The New Orleans Food and Farm Network Through the CH&SI funding we were able to provide a community organizer/ liaison stipends to work with the NOFFN and in their Food Talk Project and cooking programs at the O Perry Walker High school in Algiers. Currently the NOFFN is growing and the collaboration is growing stronger as well. The unforeseen outcome was the involvement of the school and students in the Food Talk Project. Many student participants now are co-leads on this project. The Savory Spoon Cooking Class is a nutritional cooking program taught at the O.P. Walker High through the NOFFN. Lanette Williams, RSW, facilitates the cooking class and holds discussions about the effects of food production on global warming. She also discusses the growing process and helps students track how and where food comes from. The students prepare and cook their own meals twice a week and are tested every Friday about recipes and vocabulary words. The students also keep a journal of all the cooking classes, and at the end of the semester, there is a big celebration of all the cooking, recipe modification and food-related discussions. The Algiers Community Garden CH&SI supported our outreach workers and herbalists in partnership with the NOFFN to establish and continue to groom a local community garden. The garden grows herbs and vegetables and also hosts the annual fire cider preparation. The main outcome of this garden is community involvement in clinic activities and the health education on herbs and their usage by CGHC Herbalist, Rachael Reeves with support from her colleagues, Amy Seifert and Wendy Hounsel. |
