The College of Public Health is coordinating a free workshop series focused on health and mental-health issues for Philadelphia residents, in a new partnership between the Office of Community Engaged Research and Practice (CERP) and the city’s Mayor’s Commission on African American Males (MCAAM). The program begins this October with a workshop on mental health, and the series will run at least through spring 2023.
“When CERP started, there was a plan to hold public health talks that would bring Temple faculty out into the community,” explains Heather Gardiner, associate professor of social and behavioral sciences and director of CERP. “COVID limited that, but we were thinking about ways to jumpstart the program when the Mayor's Commission reached out and asked if we had interest in partnering.”
MCAAM’s purpose is to advocate on behalf of Black men and boys in Philadelphia, specifically in making policy and legislation recommendations to the mayor, city council and city agencies. Health and wellness is one area of its focus.
“We're interested in everything from mental and behavioral health to physical health,” says Eric Marsh Sr., chair of the MCAAM, who also is community outreach organizer for WHYY. “There's a lot of conversation around nutrition, body image and eating disorders, heart disease, and diabetes. One other topic I think is really important is stress and conflict management, especially considering the current climate across the city. We are looking at this series through a social justice lens and looking at the systemic causes for so many of these health disparities.”
The events will include talks by experts in the selected fields, possibly panel discussions, and tables set up to distribute information or make referrals. “We’re trying to make it as interactive and engaging as possible,” Marsh says.
CERP and MCAAM are partnering with the Philadelphia Housing Authority, the Church of the Advocate and other community organizations across the city, which will host events and help engage community residents.
At an annual event called the Brothas Stroll in West Philadelphia in April—held to raise awareness about Black men’s health—CERP informally polled attendees to identify which topics most interested them. Mental health, physical fitness, and social justice ranked highly. The series begins with a October 1 session on mental health at Vaux Community Building, which offers a range of health and wellness services, including programs supported by College of Public Health students, in the Sharswood/Blumberg neighborhood of North Philadelphia. The workshop will feature talks from Black Men Heal and other mental health organizations, with on-site activities including art and music therapy, meditation and yoga.
An October event will focus on cardiovascular disease and heart health, with Deborah Crabbe, professor of medicine at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine and a cardiologist at the Temple Heart and Vascular Institute at Temple University Hospital, presenting alongside Michael Robertson, MCAAM co-chair, who will share his experience with heart disease. There will be a virtual event during the holiday season and more sessions in community locations in the spring.