On Friday, March 17th the Bronx Health REACH Coalition members from Walker Memorial Baptist Church, Church of God of Prophecy, and Christ the King Catholic Church, and representatives from the two other New York REACH grantees, Bronx Community Health Network and New York University School of Medicine REACH FAR project met and spoke with staff members from Senator Kristen Gillibrand's office to showcase the work REACH grantees are doing in several NYC communities. We felt it important to let the Senator know about the community transformation effect of REACH and that support for it comes out of the Prevention Fund in the ACA.
While the staff of the three REACH grantees spoke well of our respective work, it was the testimonials of the community residents present that illustrated the changes happening in the community. Sandra Jenkins, representing Church of God of Prophecy, shared the experience that at past church events soda would always be one of the first things consumed. But over the past year she has noticed that it’s now water that’s consumed first, leaving the soda virtually untouched. Flora Goldston, representing Walker Memorial Baptist Church, shared that there are now many parishioners at her church who are exercising more, visiting farmers markets, having their blood pressure checked. Bronx Health REACH is grateful to Senator Gillibrand’s staff for spending almost 2 hours with the group, learning of the work being done and its impact on the lives of community residents. We hope that with this information the senator will become a huge champion of REACH in the US Senate.
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