Volume 1, Issue 14 |February/March 2022 |
|
Our Monthly News & Updates |
|
COPE Quilt Makes Its Debut Under Christine Allen's Masterful Storytelling |
|
Christine Allen (CHW of Harvey County) has been making quilts for over 25 years. For her, quilts tell stories.
Allen told Angela Scott (CHW Field Supervisor) months ago that she was making a COPE quilt. The result — which debut on January 31 at Halstead Housing Authority with 18 Senior Center residents attending — is a visually stunning piece that radiates COPE's spirit in uniting and uplifting 20 communities (pictured right).
Quilts, for Allen, are visual representations of her creativity and lived experience. They bring our nation's history to life. They document her volunteer journeys with a domestic violence center and Habitat for Humanity.
They send a powerful message, too. Her "You Are Enough" quilt serves as a positive affirmation.
In her January presentation, she said to attendees that "organizations, such as COPE and Habitat for Humanity, empower family to change life. It takes all of us to work together to make them successful."
As a CHW, Allen reaches out to people who face similar challenges that she had undergone before. Each encounter allows her to sow seeds of friendships and kindness.
|
|
When asked whether she would take orders, Allen chuckled and said she may consider if organizations invite her to present and to share COPE's mission.
"Hope is an important part of our being. Strength can be found in our journey and experience together." ~Christine Allen
Courtesy photos: Christine Allen
|
|
The Montgomery County LHEAT Welcomes A New Green House 🌿
|
|
Last October we highlighted Montgomery County's process of building a green house to support the Fresh Start Youth Garden Program. We are happy to share that the green house was completely finished in November, 2022.
"The crops we are especially excited about are lettuce for wraps and a really great fresh herb garden," said Peggy Steele (Executive Director, Coffeyville Neighborhood Initiative and Fresh Start Youth Garden).
Casey Worden (Director of Child Nutrition for District 445) advises the Program on what and when to plant this Spring. The team hopes to provide fresh produce for District 445's salad bars so students can have a nutritious selection.
"Let’s hope for a bountiful harvest and for meaningful learning for all involved!" ~Peggy Steele
Courtesy photos: Peggy Steele
Peggy Steele contributed reporting
|
|
Robert Cooper just completed several U-shaped wooden beds to utilize the space to the maximum. |
|
Health Equity Journalism Takes Root in Harvey County, Thanks to LHEAT's Leadership |
|
" Mass media is a powerful tool in health promotion," remarked Lawrence Wallack, Professor Emeritus of Public Health at UC Berkeley. Community news organizations, thus, are viable partners for LHEATs to engage in equity initiatives. But, with dwindling funding and staff shortages, asking local news organizations to devote resources to health equity reporting — which often requires reporters to navigate complex datasets, interview people with a range of experiences and synthesize diverse sources — can be daunting.
The Harvey County LHEAT proves such asks can be achieved. Since September 2022, Harvey County Now has published 15 pieces about health equity, double the amount originally discussed with the LHEAT when the group first proposed underwriting health equity reporting for the newspaper.
Topics have included healthy food access, yoga and physical activity, fentanyl addiction, breast cancer awareness and health access, fire safety and prevention and infant mortality rates. These articles either connect health to economic issues or to local politics. For example, the soaring egg prices, a financial issue, are impacted by avian flu, a health issue. Between these two issues, access to affordable food was an equity angle Harvey County Now was able to cover on January 16.
The newspaper retains editorial control but works with the LHEAT to brainstorm potential topics. LHEAT members who are well-connected in the community also recommend sources and topics for journalists to consider.
|
|
"Funding for Harvey County Now allows the newspaper to hire freelancers to cover smaller stories, such as city commission meetings," said Dr. Rebecca Barrett-Fox, the LHEAT lead, "so journalists with training in health journalism can devote time to investigate and report on health equity issues."
Dr. Barrett-Fox recently witnessed first-hand how the news coverage is influencing the conversations in the community. At a local donut shop, she overheard some elderly men debating a health equity piece that the LHEAT supported.
"It was gratifying. Because of our work, people were discussing health equity issues. This means that they are thinking about these issues, developing their ideas in community with each other, hearing other people's opinions and experiences about something so important to Harvey County."
Adam Strunk, Harvey County Now editor, said that the partnership helps the newspaper to provide more content that their readers care about. "I would be happy to continue the partnership in the future," said Strunk.
|
|
💡 Tips for LHEATs to Engage with
News Organizations
|
|
 |
- Identify which news sources in your community have already made a commitment to health coverage.
- Newspapers may already have a standard Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) written for underwriters. It can be adapted for your LHEAT.
- Start your support by working with journalists who are already trained on health coverage and underwriting their work.
- Support journalists to learn about health equity or receive training in health reporting by funding their attendance at relevant conferences.
|
|
|
|
- Be prepared that you won't have editorial control, but come with ideas for what topics to cover, questions to ask, sources to read and people to speak to.
- Consider timely and long-term issues for potential coverage.
- Give journalists time to investigate complex questions, such as "How contaminated is well water in your rural areas?."
Source: Dr. Barrett-Fox
|
|
|
|
The Cherokee County LHEAT Tackles Transportation One Ride at A Time |
|
"These are some great numbers showing the impact Cherokee County is making on general transportation with the COPE funding." ~ Jody Hoener (COPE Community Regional Lead for the Southeast Region) |
|
Increasing access to affordable transportation options is an issue that many LHEATs have discussed and sought to address.
Last December, the Cherokee County LHEAT launched a general transportation program and has seen number of rides increasing in just two months. Despite the weather and limited days in service (19 days in December and 21 days in January), the LHEAT recorded a total of 179 rides in these two months.
"January also saw riders become regulars of the program. Some also rely on this service to get to work everyday," said Scott Christiansen of Southeast Kansas Community Action Program, Inc., and a LHEAT member.
Source: The Cherokee County LHEAT
|
|
Supporting Johnson County Families through Diaper Distribution |
|
Diaper scarcity severely impacts low-income families. In the U.S., one in three mothers struggles to maintain a steady supply of diapers, further challenging childcare. In early February, the Johnson County LHEAT and CHWs hosted a diaper distribution event to support multiple families with young children.
Courtesy photo: Christina Pacheco
|
|
Sedgwick County CHWs in Action at the Wellness Open House |
|
|
|
On January 21, Candra Jones (Sedgwick County CHW Supervisor ) and Thien Doan (CHW with a home base in GraceMed) presented at the Wellness Hub Community Open House event at Oaklawn Activity Center. Jones and Doan are no strangers to their beloved community. Check out their effort on their Facebook.
Courtesy photo: Thien Doan
|
|
The Sedgwick County LHEAT Partners with the ICT Community Fridge Project |
|
Learning on an empty stomach hinders academic performance. The Sedgwick County LHEAT understood this and initiated a partnership with ICT Community Fridge Project, an organization aiming to de-commodify food rooted in anti-capitalism, anti-racism, and anti-imperialism, to address this.
In January, the LHEAT helped deliver snacks to Wichita East, South and West High Schools.
|
|
Candra Jones (CHW supervisor, pictured on the right) with a school staff after delivering snacks to Wichita West High School.
Courtesy photo: Candra Jones
|
|
The Wyandotte County LHEAT is one of the early adopters of Laundry Love, a community movement that partners with groups, schools and local laundromats to wash the clothes and bedding for individuals and families who need the service.
Continuing this initiative requires careful coordination and mobilization. Kim Weaver, the LHEAT lead, shared with us the most recent activity on February 20. The LHEAT's partner, Leah's Laundromat on the Q also used its social media to promote this initiative.
Courtesy photo: Kim Weaver
|
Watch this YouTube video in which Weaver discussed the idea of this initiative |
|
|
Don't risk losing your healthcare coverage. |
|
Accessing COVID-19 educational resources is easier than ever through this portal |
|
The link will direct you to Pfizer's educational sources, including:
- key considerations for COVID-19 management, including symptoms, risk factors for severe COVID-19;
- the importance of testing;
- how this education may be integrated within the health system.
|
|
|
Legislative Day at the Capitol |
|
On January 26th, Johnny Curtis-Parker (CHW Supervisors in Brown and Jackson Counties) and Ton Miras Neira (COPE Community Health Worker Project Manager) attended a legislative day with a panel lunch organized by the Health Forward Foundation (HFF). The goal of this panel was to educate legislators on the positive impact CHWs have on the health outcomes of our community.
Curtis-Parker and Miras Neira emphasized to legislators that CHWs bring cost savings to health systems by engaging in preventative care. They also shared success stories from the COPE project that sparked a conversation among legislators in attendance.
Courtesy photo: Estuardo Garcia
|
|
Johnny Curtis-Parker (CHW Supervisor in Brown and Jackson Counties) speaking at the panel |
|
Ton Miras Neira (CHW Project Manager) (R) speaking at the panel with Nate Madden from HFF on his right
|
|
It's Better When We Are Together |
|
The COPE project covers 20 counties throughout four different regions. Bringing everyone into an in-person regional collaborative is a herculean task. But, the West region did it! This month, it hosted an in-person collaborative to celebrate the team's successes.
Courtesy photo: Clarissa Carrillo Martinez
|
|
Match is National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month |
|
|
|
Join NACDD (the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities) in March to promote Developmental Disabilities Awareness on social media. Using the following hashtags to engage with NACDD: #DDawareness2023,#DDAM2023, #BeyondtheConvo or #BeyondtheConversation.
Its social media campaign seeks to "raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all facets of community life, as well as awareness of the barriers that people with disabilities still sometimes face in connecting to the communities in which they live."
|
|
Missed our prior issues? Want to share our work with community partners? Links to prior issues below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
