NYC Healthy Neighborhoods

NYC Healthy Neighborhoods is a blog maintained by the NYC Health Department’s Center for Health Equity and its Neighborhood Health Action Centers in Harlem, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Here you will find local news, events, resources, and program information.

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May Is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month!

This month, we’re highlighting our NYC Teens Connection program, which educates teens about safe sex and consent.

The federally funded teen pregnancy prevention program brings evidence-based sexual health education to young people in New York City.

Teens work with their peers to educate them on safe sex practices as well as their sexual and reproductive rights.

We profiled teens and educators who participate in the program about how their involvement has had a positive impact on their lives and communities.

Check out their stories: #NeighborhoodVoicesNYC.

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Thanks to everyone who’s been following along with #NeighborhoodVoicesNYC! For the last few weeks, we’ve been sharing the stories of Harlem Health Advocacy Partners participants and health workers who are making healthy changes in their lives and their neighborhood.

We heard from Maritza, a community health worker who helps people manage conditions like asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure. Kim told us about her work as a community health organizer and how she has collaborated with her neighbors to bring about positive change. Nerisusan explained the importance of having health advocates for services like insurance or assistance from other City agencies. Millie told us how good she feels knowing that’s she’s taking care of her health. Jacob shared how the experience of being part of HHAP led to him volunteering in his neighborhood.

The community health worker program launched in 2015 to make a healthier and stronger Harlem. The program connects people living in five NYCHA developments in East and Central Harlem to neighborhood resources that can help them manage their current health conditions, enroll in health insurance and get involved with community organizing.

For more information on HHAP, call [phone] or email [email protected].

#NeighborhoodVoicesNYC

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Neighborhood Voices NYC: Maritza

“Being healthy is not only what you eat or what you do; it’s the environment; it’s the place where you live,” said Maritza, a Community Health Worker with our Harlem Health Advocacy Partners program.

She helps people living in East and Central Harlem to manage their health conditions like asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure.

“You can have an apartment but if the apartment has roaches and mold or it is dark and has cracks in the wall, that is not healthy — it can cause an asthma attack. So being healthy involves a lot of things, but it is really the place where you live.”

Follow along with #NeighborhoodVoicesNYC.

We’re sharing success stories from the Harlem Health Advocacy Partners program and amplifying the voices of the community health workers, health advocates, community health organizers and resident participants who are making healthy changes in their lives and their neighborhood.

For more information on HHAP, call [phone] or email [email protected].

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Neighborhood Voices NYC: Millie

“I’ve learned a lot about what is good for me, like eating fruits and vegetables,” said Millie, a graduate of the Harlem Health Advocacy Partners program. 

With the help of her Community Health Worker, Millie increased her daily physical activity and improved her nutrition – which lowered her blood pressure and improved her health.

“Now I do more exercise. I belong to a senior swimming club. I walk a lot, watch my diet and I try to eat healthy. I feel good knowing that I’m taking care of myself.”

Follow along with #NeighborhoodVoicesNYC.

We’re sharing success stories from the Harlem Health Advocacy Partners program and amplifying the voices of the community health workers, health advocates, community health organizers and resident participants who are making healthy changes in their lives and their neighborhood.

For more information on HHAP, call [phone] or email [email protected].

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Neighborhood Voices NYC: Jacob

Jacob is a former Harlem Health Advocacy Partners participant who now volunteers his time at the local senior center, leading walking groups throughout the neighborhood.

“I lead a walk every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I am trying to be a good example for the young people in the community,” he said.

“I notice lately that I could climb and walk down the steps. I see a lot of people in my age group that are not as physically able to do what I am doing. I take pride in myself for what I can do at my age. I am pleased with my physical and mental health.”

Follow along with #NeighborhoodVoicesNYC.

We’re sharing success stories from the Harlem Health Advocacy Partners program and amplifying the voices of the community health workers, health advocates, community health organizers and resident participants who are making healthy changes in their lives and their neighborhood.

For more information on HHAP, call [phone] or email [email protected].

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Neighborhood Voices NYC: Kim

Kim is a community health organizer with Harlem Health Advocacy Partners. She works in her building to organize her neighbors to make positive changes in their neighborhood.

“My job is to go out and unite the community to bring them together. They learn how to fight independently and advocate for themselves on things that affect their housing and health.

“We’ve also created peer support groups in each of the developments. So just because we don’t come and health coach you, we have wellness activities going on at any one development at any time.”

Follow along with #NeighborhoodVoicesNYC.

We’re sharing success stories from the Harlem Health Advocacy Partners program and amplifying the voices of the community health workers, health advocates, community health organizers and resident participants who are making healthy changes in their lives and their neighborhood.

For more information on HHAP, call [phone] or email [email protected].

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Neighborhood Voices NYC: Nerisusan

“We do need nurses; we do need doctors. We need all those health professionals. But we also need individuals that can help in the community and help bridge the gap.”

Nerisusan is one of those people. She’s a health advocate with Harlem Health Advocacy Partners who helps people with chronic diseases understand their health insurance, their medications and what they need to do to stay healthy.

“As a health advocate, our primary duty and responsibility is to assess any problems that the resident has with their medical insurance. Whether they can’t afford a bill or they need to appeal something or they need preauthorization, I help them with that. If they don’t have food in their fridge, I will also link them to another agency that helps them with food stamps.”

Follow along with #NeighborhoodVoicesNYC.

We’re sharing success stories from the Harlem Health Advocacy Partners program and amplifying the voices of the community health workers, health advocates, community health organizers and resident participants who are making healthy changes in their lives and their neighborhood.

For more information on HHAP, call [phone] or email [email protected].

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NYCHA Residents Share Stories on How They Improved Their Health

Health isn’t just created in your doctor’s office. Health is created in your apartment, on your block and alongside your neighbors. That’s why we started Harlem Health Advocacy Partners, a community health worker program that launched in 2015 to make a healthier and stronger Harlem. 

The program connects people living in five NYCHA developments in East and Central Harlem to neighborhood resources that can help them manage their current health conditions, enroll in health insurance and get involved with community organizing.

The program has engaged more than 3,000 individuals in over 600 wellness activities – including walking groups, health screenings, and wellness workshops. From 2016 to 2017, its 12 community health workers conducted some 2,500 one-on-one health coaching visits with 678 HHAP participants.

Data show that after six months, over 90 percent of HHAP health coaching participants made progress in achieving their health goals. HHAP has also helped over 900 participants with 2,000 health insurance-related issues.

For more information on the HHAP program, call [phone] or email [email protected].

Follow the series! #NeighborhoodVoicesNYC

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February Is Black History Month!

In celebration of Black History Month, we are recognizing the public health achievements of our leaders.

Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett and Assistant/Deputy Commissioners Dr. Torian Easterling, Dr. Aletha Maybank, Dr. Noel Manyindo and Dr. George Askew have dedicated their careers to advancing health equity in New York City. 

Thank you for all that you do!

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ICYMI: We recently shared the stories of teens and educators who participate in our NYC Teens Connection program.

The federally funded teen pregnancy prevention program brings evidence-based sexual health education to young people in New York City.

Teens work with their peers to educate them on safe sex practices as well as their sexual and reproductive rights.

Despite its success, the program’s future is in jeopardy if planned federal budget cuts take place.

#NeighborhoodVoicesNYC

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Danesha is a member of the NYC Teens Connection Youth Leadership Team from Staten Island, which works to prevent teen pregnancy.

Teens in the federally funded program are empowered to spread the message of safe sex and consent to their peers. Though the program has been successful, planned federal budget cuts have put its future in jeopardy.

“Programs like this are important because my parents grew up in a generation where they weren’t taught sexual education. So if you’re growing up in a household where your parents didn’t have sexual education and you go and ask them, their answer is just, ‘Don’t do it.’ Most people want to do something if you just tell them no.

“If you don’t give them proper information, then something is going to happen, especially if they don’t know how to protect themselves. If you’re not aware of what could happen, you don’t think of it as an issue until it happens. In my house, I asked my mom and she said, ‘It’s not something you need to do.’ That’s it. I didn’t, but I was always curious and wanted to know where I could learn more about sex.”

— Danesha, one of our amazing teens educating their peers on sexual and reproductive rights in their school and community.

Danesha’s story concludes our series on teens who have participated in NYC Teens Connection. Enjoy a recap of the series using #NeighborhoodVoicesNYC.

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“I’ve learned that safe sex is the best sex. You should protect yourself at all costs. I learned that consent is very important. I learned that teen pregnancy is real and is a major epidemic in today’s society. But I learned that judging is not OK. You should respect people because they’re human.”  — Sebastieon, a member of the NYC Teens Connection Youth Leadership Team in Brooklyn.

“The program has changed my life,” he said. “It taught me things that I wouldn’t go out and try to discover on my own. Everybody has questions. Teens usually think about sexual education and sex all the time, so I feel like I’d rather be educated. I’d rather know something and not need it than need it and not know it.”

Teens in the program educate their peers about safe-sex practices in an effort to decrease teen pregnancy. For example, the game Rubber Wrap-Up teaches teens how to properly put on a condom.

“It’s like a relay race, and you have to go through the steps saying it out loud,” Sebastieon said. “You have to remove the condom from the packaging after you check the expiration date and checking for the air bubble. You have to place the condom on the dildo, roll it down properly, then remove the condom, tie it and dispense of it. Whoever did it first wins.

“It was really fun. It takes something that’s hard to talk about and makes it easier. Everybody likes games. If you make it fun, they don’t even realize that they’re learning. Learning without realizing that you’re learning is the best way to learn.”

We’re sharing the stories of teens who have participated in NYC Teens Connection, a federally funded teen pregnancy prevention program whose future is in jeopardy if planned federal budget cuts take place.

Follow along with #NeighborhoodVoicesNYC.

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Rayna joined NYC Teens Connection because she felt it was important for teens to know about sexual health and pregnancy prevention resources – and hear about it from their peers.

“With better knowledge teens can protect themselves and stay safe. It’s important because there are a lot of STIs going around and it’s always best to protect yourself,” she said.

“We learned about HIV and AIDS in a health class, but it wasn’t a full sex ed class. Some teens don’t really take advantage of what the teacher tells them. If they hear it from a friend, it gets to them more. They understand it more.”

We’re sharing the stories of teens who have participated in NYC Teens Connection. The program’s future is in jeopardy if planned federal budget cuts take place.

Follow along with #NeighborhoodVoicesNYC.

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“The community lacks the education it deserves because in the North Shore of Staten Island it’s mainly minorities and marginalized communities,” said Mars, a member of the NYC Teens Connection Youth Leadership Team in Staten Island. They are working to educate their peers on preventing teen pregnancy, as well as raising awareness on sexual and reproductive rights.

“People don’t get the education they deserve because of their standing in society. If people knew where they can get these resources and where they can go for help or questions, I think that would be better for the whole community. Young people could go to older people and there wouldn’t be that awkward tension in the air, and they’d be free to discuss questions and all their concerns.”

We’re sharing the stories of teens who have participated in NYC Teens Connection, a federally funded teen pregnancy prevention program whose future is in jeopardy if planned federal budget cuts take place. 

Follow along with #NeighborhoodVoicesNYC.

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“In the early ’90s, the teen pregnancy rate was really high. And now it’s been significantly dropping over the years. Do we want to go back to when unplanned pregnancy was really high? We need to invest more in our young people. Adolescents always seem to get the short end of the stick, whether that’s job opportunities or after-school programming, and now for TPP grants. We need to invest more in them, trust in them, trust that they want this kind of programming. They want to listen to us, and they want us to be there for them. It’s our job to do that.”

Pascale Saintonge Austin is the director of family planning and pregnancy prevention programs at Children’s Aid, which brings evidence-based sexual health education to young people in New York City. Children’s Aid and the Health Department’s NYC Teens Connection program are both recipients of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program grant.

Follow the series. 

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Jordan is a member of the NYC Teens Connection Youth Leadership Team in Brooklyn. The federally funded teen pregnancy prevention program brings evidence-based sexual health education to young people in New York City.

However, the program’s future is in jeopardy if planned federal budget cuts take place.

“We’re on a mission, and we’re trying to accomplish something. Budget cuts would put our journey and our mission to a halt, but that won’t stop us. We’re going to keep going. It’s great that we see youth active in the community with something that is positive.” — Jordan, one of our amazing teens who is leading the way by working with other teens on preventing teen pregnancy.

Follow along with #NeighborhoodVoicesNYC.

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“I’ve been able to help other people my age with knowing their rights for getting birth control. You’re allowed to seek places like Planned Parenthood without the consent of a parent or guardian even if you are under 18 in New York, and that’s a really important fact that I’ve been able to spread around to my friends and my community.” — Maxx, a member of the NYC Teens Connection Youth Leadership Team in Staten Island

We’re sharing the stories of teens who have participated in NYC Teens Connection, a federally funded teen pregnancy prevention program whose future is in jeopardy if planned federal budget cuts take place. Maxx is just one of the amazing teens who is leading the way by working with other teens on preventing teen pregnancy, as well as raising consciousness on sexual and reproductive rights in their schools and communities.

Follow along with #NeighborhoodVoicesNYC.