Black Belt H.O.P.E.
Health, Outreach, Promotion, & Education
The Black Belt H.O.P.E. (Health, Outreach, Promotion and Education) Program was created through a grant awarded to BBCF in 2022 to provide a response to the COVID-19 epidemic. BBCF partnered with the Alabama Department of Public Health, Alabama Workforce Development Councils, and the UA School of Medicine (among others) to successfully engage with the community in COVID health education. The program design included the development of 24 community health workers (H.O.P.E. Ambassadors), forging new community partnerships to sustain health equity projects and activities to empower citizens of the Black Belt as healthcare self-advocates through education. Although the H.O.P.E. program has sunset as of May 31, 2024, the progress documented through data collection points to tremendous success. According to BBCF President Felecia Lucky, “health equity is vital to the citizens of the Black Belt. BBCF will continue to partner, educate, and engage with the community for many years beyond the life of this particular grant.”
The H.O.P.E. program’s culminating activity was the BBCF Health Equity Conference, held May 6 at the Carl C. Morgan Convention Center in Selma, AL. At the conference, community members engaged with physicians, counselors and other healthcare professionals. The primary topics included health equity, the importance of community health workers, mental health and telemedicine. The engaged audience was treated to speakers, table discussions, a community health workers’ skit (performed by the H.O.P.E. Ambassadors) and lunch. President Lucky opened and closed the Health Equity Conference expressing “deep gratitude for the dedicated individuals that serve as H.O.P.E. Ambassadors, County Coordinators and the project leaders, Rev. Wendell Paris and Samantha Ledbetter.”
In total, the H.O.P.E. Ambassadors surveyed 33,837 contacts with whom they shared vital and potentially life-saving information. Individual resident’s responses indicated an 84% rate of satisfaction with the program. The H.O.P.E. program also forged 474 community partnerships, the key to sustaining and expanding health equity in the Black Belt (along with the development of the Black Belt Advisory Committee for Health Equity). Chris Spencer, BBCF Chief Community Engagement Officer stated, “BBCF will continue to address health equity through community engagement. We are currently looking at several opportunities to partner and promote community health advocates.”
The Black Belt H.O.P.E. Ambassador Project recruited and trained “Ambassadors” to educate residents on the importance of vaccinations and boosters and help them understand why testing and responding to contact tracer calls are critical for decreasing cases of COVID-19 community spread. “BBCF’s unique role is apparent as a helpful and trusted connector across communities. Our ability to connect while listening, networking, harnessing, and amplifying local resources fuels our singular approach to create real opportunity through our vision of transformation in Alabama’s Black Belt”, according to Chris Spencer, BBCF Chief Engagement Officer.
For further information about the Black Belt H.O.P.E. Program, please contact blackbelthope@blackbeltfound.org.