Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Recap: Health Promoter Training - Mental Health

On December 8, AAHI's Health Promoters got together for their bi-monthly training on mental health. We invited two behavioral health providers to come join us for a discussion on the steps of getting mental health care one might need.



Instead of the usual training format, AAHI hosted a panel discussion to encourage our Health Promoters to share their outreach experience in the Asian American community regarding mental health. Our panelists for the training are Nouf Bazaz and Jenni Young. Nouf, Senior Fellow at the World Organization for Resource Development & Education (WORDE), serves as the Program Director of the International Cultural Center (ICC) Crossroads, a program of WORDE that provides counseling, case management, and positive youth development programming to refugee and immigrant families. Jenni, Licensed Couples and Family Therapist, works with the Mandarin-speaking population in Baltimore. She is also completing her PhD in Family Science at the University of Maryland.



During the evening, our Health Promoters asked questions on cultural sensitives and strategies on explaining mental health to community members and had an insightful conversations with the panelists. Our panelists also share their experience on working with clients who are Asian Americans and acknowledge the importance of raising awareness about getting mental health care with community members.

We would like to thank both Nouf and Jenni for coming during their busy schedules and providing us with such a useful training!

Fun Fact: Did you know that both Nouf and Jenni are in our newly published mental health photonovel 2? Go to our Resource Library to find out more!

Click on picture above to see more pictures from the evening!

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Recap: ECHO Workshop #12 - Aging in Montgomery County: Creating an Inclusive Community for a Lifetime

On December 6th, AAHI, in partnership with the African American Health Program, the Latino Health Initiative, and the Community Action Agency, hosted our 12th Empowering Community Health Organizations (ECHO) Workshop! This workshop, "Aging in Montgomery County: Creating an Inclusive Community for a Lifetime", is the first of our three part series focusing on the needs, impacts, and opportunities of an aging community. Part two and three of this series will follow in the spring and fall of 2017.

Our ECHO Project is a series of professional and practical training workshops designed to build the capacity and sustainability of community organizations.



This workshop was led by Dr. John Kenney, Chief of Aging and Disability Services with Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services. He provided an overview of the current and emerging older population of the County, discussed the health and socio-economic disparities among the diverse population and what opportunities there are for older people in our community. To reinforce what they learned during the presentation, attendees participated in a small group activity envisioning what a healthy aging community in Montgomery County can look like.



Over 100 attendees, representing about 40 organizations, came to the workshop. Thank you to our wonderful speaker, Steering Committee, Health Promoter, and staff for making this a successful event. We look forward to seeing you again in our spring 2017 ECHO Workshop!

Please click on the image below to see more photos from the night!