Healthy Savannah Announces Community Health Advocate Training on November 10

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Nov. 1, 2022 - PRLog -- (SAVANNAH, GA) Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia are inviting community members, church and health ministry leaders, community service providers and others interested in health equity to consider joining its Community Health Advocate (CHA) training program. An upcoming training session is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 10.

This is the fourth CHA training class that has been offered since the project launched last summer. The program is funded through a supplemental grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to broaden the initiatives of a five-year Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant awarded in 2018. Both grants are administered by Healthy Savannah and the "Y" with the goal of fostering sustainable health equity among Black and Latinx residents in low-wealth neighborhoods and improving COVID-19 and flu vaccine awareness and acceptance in Savannah's Black and Latinx communities.

Smalls attributes the work of CHAs, who often meet one-on-one with community members at school, church and neighborhood events; to a growing change in perspectives about acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine and awareness of the importance of boosters.

Chatham County's vaccination rates have risen for one dose from 8% in February 2021 to 64% in June 2022, to a current rate of 65%. According to the Georgia Department of Health, 58% of Chatham County residents are fully vaccinated and 46% are vaccinated with an additional dose. Vaccination rates for the Black community are currently 52.4%, up from 51.8% in June 2022. For the Hispanic community, the rate is at 47%, up from 42.2% in June 2022.

The upcoming training session will be held at 6:30 p.m. on November 10, with attendees meeting via ZOOM in small groups of about 10 each. In addition to a $500 stipend they'll receive for performing community outreach activities after the training, participants can sharpen leadership skills and learn about advocacy. They will also be invited to attend an appreciation celebration for the first three cohorts of trainees being planned for November which will feature Lillian Grant-Baptiste, chair of Healthy Savannah, as the keynote speaker.

The participants will also have the opportunity to attend a storytelling workshop with renowned sociologist, Bertice Berry, PhD, being planned for December. A best-selling author and award-winning lecturer, Berry has been named Comedian of the Year, Lecturer of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year. She has published 11 best-selling books in both fiction and non-fiction and won numerous awards and accolades for both her writing and presentations.

To apply for the Community Health Advocate Training program, or to learn more, please email Dr. Elsie Smalls at elsie@healthysavannah.org or call 843-323-9997.