Community Based Leaders Health and Wellness

Mental health

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

The issue we are seeking to address is the significant barriers to health and wellness faced by service providers in homelessness, and re-entry in South Los Angeles. These populations often lack access to essential resources and support systems, resulting in poor mental and physical health outcomes. Factors such as limited access to nutritious food, free and low cost fitness, safe exercise spaces, healthcare services, stable housing, and employment opportunities exacerbate their challenges. Moreover, the stigma surrounding mental health and the lack of culturally sensitive care further impede their ability to achieve well-being.
Also, low income communities lack education and community engagement around health and wellness which results in poor habits that lead to mental health challenges. Everyday, our community is surrounded by fast food restaurants and media promoting unhealthy diets. There is a lack of understanding around mental health and wellness within our community.

Health Ethics Program aims to break these barriers by providing structured weekly and monthly individual and group sessions and connect clients to therapy, counseling, and community resources. HLL fosters healthy habits that reduce mental and physical illness. Health Ethics Program, directly and indirectly impacts clients through education and community outreach, workshops and events. With Physical health, we provide fitness sessions coached by Danielle Lafayette, an All American track and Field Athlete, Championship coach, health and wellness specialist with lived experience. We assist clients with understanding exercise techniques, nutrition, and connection to the community. This field has a high turnover rate, we plan to help alleviate mental stress.

Retention of service providers in the no profit sector.

This is a new project that includes assessments for each session to measure its impact. We will define and measure success through a variety of metrics and evaluations. Our assessments will track improvements in participants' health and wellness across the six pillars of health including mental health. Success indicators include:
Increased awareness and engagement in health and wellness activities
Improved hydration and healthy eating habits
Enhanced physical fitness levels
Improved financial literacy and stability
Establishment and strengthening of supportive relationships
Increased emotional resilience and better sleep quality
We will conduct pre- and post-program surveys, track attendance and participation rates, and gather qualitative feedback from participants. Additionally, we will monitor reductions in violence, mental health challenges, homelessness risk, and improvements in educational attainment, employability, and economic mobility.