Empowering NYCHA Residents to Lead Healthier Lives
Working with Community Health Workers through the Health Advocacy Partners Program
Some NYCHA residents at developments in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens are leading healthier lives thanks to the Health Advocacy Partners Program (HAPP), which provides community health workers in their neighborhoods who empower them with the tools and resources to manage chronic conditions, improve mental wellness, and participate in activities that offer social connection.
HAPP aims to improve the health and wellbeing of NYCHA residents through free, six months of personalized health coaching, group wellness workshops, and community and civic engagement activities. HAPP is provided in partnership with the NYC Health Department, NYCHA, and partner organizations Health People, RiseBoro Community Partnerships, and Community Mediation Services, and is part of Public Health Corps, a citywide initiative designed to combat health inequities through the involvement of trusted community members.
At the core of the program are the community health workers (CHW) who work with residents one-on-one and in group settings. Each organization has a range of 9 to 12 CHWs who were recruited in partnership with NYCHA’s Office of Resident Economic Empowerment and Sustainability. These organizations work directly with residents and tailor their offerings to meet the unique needs of the communities they serve, ensuring that participants feel supported.
Health People is a South Bronx nonprofit agency with a HAPP unit that primarily serves residents of Butler Houses, some residents of Morris Houses, and developments in Claremont Village. The organization offers various workshops on topics such as chronic conditions management, mental health awareness, elder abuse prevention, nutrition education, and financial literacy. Some of the wellness activities include walking groups and cooking demonstrations, including an $8 challenge, where residents are taught how to create affordable meals for a family of four. CHWs also assist residents with mobility issues by visiting food pantries and waiting in line to pick up food. Additionally, this winter they beautified the area by planting hundreds of bulbs around the development.
Morris Houses resident Bernard Smith does outreach for the Health People HAPP program: “I go to all the resident association meetings and spread the word about HAPP. This is an excellent program that gets everybody together, and we do workshops, have lunch, have walking groups, learn how to cook healthy food, and take exercise classes. It’s for everyone and it’s reaching people who don’t normally get out much and have mobility issues. Some people sit in their walkers and move their arms.”
RiseBoro Community Partnership is a Brooklyn-based nonprofit organization with a HAPP unit that primarily serves residents from Marcy Houses but also has resident participants from Sumner Houses and Tompkins Houses. RiseBoro organizes wellness programs that cater to both young people and seniors, including mixed martial arts for youth ages 14 to 20 and chair yoga for seniors. RiseBoro also hosts cooking classes and health talks, and it ties workshops to current events, including one on norovirus and another on air quality when the Canadian wildfire smoke was in New York City.
Mother and daughter Symanthia and Adrine Rose are Marcy Houses residents who participate in the program together. “All the staff are nice and caring and willing to help you out with any problems you have,” said Symanthia Rose. “I feel free to talk about any subject that is going on with me, and I like the different activities they have for us to do like art, salsa, boxing. I also like learning about each other. It’s a very good program.”
Her daughter Adrine agrees: “This is a good program. There are a lot of seniors and many of the people who attend are older than me, but I enjoy it. I’m there to support and be there with my mom because we’re two peas in a pod. I like doing the chair yoga and the boxing. I also like when they have cooking classes.”
Community Mediation Services (CMS) is a Queens-based community services organization with a HAPP unit that serves Queensbridge Houses residents. CMS provides four days of workshops and activities for participants, including “Mind, Body, and Soul” classes that focus on caring for their bodies and chronic conditions as well as self-care and “Wellness Through the Arts” on Fridays, where CHWs highlight a chronic condition and do an arts activity.
Queensbridge resident Adiela Holgin said: “For me, it has been very satisfying to come here. It has changed my life a lot because I used to stay alone in my house. I have made a lot of friends. I’m very amused by the programs they have here. They help us with our health, food – they tell us how to cook it, and how to take care of ourselves. I feel very happy with this program.”
Another Queensbridge participant, Angel Alberto, shared his gratitude: “I feel very happy with the program because it has greatly improved my walks and my depressive state that I had. The program motivated me a lot because there were many people in the community participating together and it was kind of a party and something very pleasant and beneficial to our health.”
“Community-based organizations and community health workers are critical partners in addressing long-standing health inequities in our neighborhoods,” said NYC Health Department Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Toni Eyssallenne. “CHWs in the Health Advocacy Partners Program serve as trusted leaders and effectively bridge the needs of community members to healthcare and social service programs. We are grateful to our HAPP partners at RiseBoro Community Partnerships, Community Mediation Services, Health People, and NYCHA for their shared commitment to place-based solutions, meeting people where they are, and bringing health programs and resources directly to NYCHA developments.”
At NYCHA, HAPP is overseen by the Department of Resident Health Initiatives; Community Health Worker Program Coordinator Gloria Mesa said: “The HAPP partners’ dedication to serving NYCHA residents has been remarkable. Although it has only been about a year, their impact on the communities they serve has been impactful. We look forward to continuing this partner-based work bringing health and wellness resources to NYCHA residents.”
For more information on the program, or other community health partnerships, email health.initiatives@nycha.nyc.gov.
Featured photo caption: Participants from Community Mediation Services’ HAPP program with the artwork they created.