Healthy Neighborhood

The Journey of a Community Addressing the Social Determinants of Health

CITIZENSHIP FOR HEALTH

Beginning in 2020, HVR and Wayne State University’s School of Social Work partnered with Hope Village Citizens for Health because we value collaboration and a citizen-centered approach toward reaching the long-term goal of developing a high quality of life for all in the HOPE Village – for which health and well-being are paramount!

The Citizenship for Health model of improving health and well-being of residents in the Hope Village Neighborhood through civic engagement was a catalyst for the HOPE Village 360 webpage and related social media outreach.

It also was a springboard for several other Health Programs in the HOPE Village neighborhood including a new Community Health Advocate. The Hope Village Community Health Advocate engages HOPE Villagers on a range of health and wellness matters, such as self-measurement of blood pressure, nutritious meal preparation tips, and HOPE Village exercise opportunities.

The Citizenship for Health program has moved into a phase dedicated to sustaining the gains made by improving physical activity and nutrition, the cornerstones of healthy lifestyles.

Navigating Resources

We have discovered that lack of access to resources and difficulty with service providers, can be stressful and detrimental to your health. HVR has a Neighborhood Resource Navigator and Community Engagement Specialist on staff to assist residents. They have helped secure tens of thousands of dollars in benefits for Hope Village residents.

INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPS FOR HEALTH

Hope Village Revitalization partners with leading organizations to inform community by having health conversations and activities to build a healthier community: for example, with the American Heart Association, we facilitate Hands only CPR – non certificate trainings to teach residents how to react in case of emergency until first responders arrive to help.

HVR promotes Know Your Numbers: Get screened! Knowing your blood pressure and blood sugar numbers may prevent or lower the risk of a health crisis. Other partnerships like the Healthy Heart Self-Monitoring Blood Pressure Program and the Open Airways Juvenile Asthma Prevention Program encourages community members to be more aware of their numbers, and helps reduce school absenteeism due to asthma events in children.

A ZONE OF COMMUNITY HEALTH

Hope Village Revitalization leads the charge to create a community that fully embraces Health and wellness as an essential quality of life. Our neighborhood is blessed to have several primary care facilities within a half mile radius. HVR coordinates with these medical facilities and other community partners to improve healthcare opportunities for our residents.

HVR in partnership with the American Heart Association and local churches, are installing blood pressure monitoring stations and AED devices in several key locations in Hope Village. We want our community informed and prepared for better heart health.

NEARBY CLINICS

A LEARNING AND HEALTHY NEIGHBORHOOD

“When you know better you do better” is a rallying cry for our community.

HVR provides a monthly wellness Wednesday series where we bring health professionals for intimate conversations with residents regarding a variety of health topics. During the summer we offer “Walk With Doc” where again residents can have intimate conversations with medical professionals while scrolling through Cool Cities Park.

Our Citizenship for Health Deliberations participants continue to support their health games by meeting regularly for self-directed chair exercises.

REPLICATING OUR SUCCESSES

HVR’s evidence based approach to addressing Social Determinants of Health has been very successful and we are now replicating our model into additional Detroit neighborhoods and a rural city in Michigan.

HVR’s practice of meeting people where they are allows us to engage new demographics and additional community partners around health topics that are lifted up by the community. Our National Solutions for Health Equity program allowed HVR to regrant to smaller community organizations that are addressing Health topics in the neighborhood like men’s cardiovascular health.