Boots on the Ground November 5, 2016
CBHC Health Access Committee
Diabetes is a significant problem in the Black community and Colorado Black Health Collaborative (CBHC) is serious about trying to tackle some of the health issues that affect our community the most.
Nineteen Colorado Black Health Collaborative volunteers came on a Saturday to go door to door to engage the neighbors in Northeast Denver and enhance awareness about diabetes. It was a wonderful day. Volunteers learned about diabetes at our base camp, The Dahlia Center for Health and Well-Being. As volunteers took to the streets after the training, music was in the air, people were walking, talking, and living their lives. CBHC just wants to share some of the sights and sounds that we encountered on the Boots on the Ground journey related to diabetes 2.
As we approached one house an older man and woman, both in wheelchairs, were sitting outside. One of them was simply lounging the other was dicing and slicing the ingredients for the night’s meal. We explained our purpose and she remarked, “Ya’ll have come 20 years too late!” But, as we scanned the scene there were four children ranging from 6- 11 years old. It was not too late for them. At one house kids were running in and out having a good time. The mother shared that the household was culturally mixed and had to contend with soul food as well as Mexican food so that was a challenge to get everyone eating healthy. One of her young children had already been diagnosed with diabetes 2 and they were really trying to make some lifestyle changes. She was aware of the resources and programming at the Dahlia Center and thought it was great to have such a resource in the community.
A big man with a tall can of beer in his hand told us he drinks one just once a month as he doesn’t want to mess up what he has gained by losing 100 pounds. He used to have diabetes and now it was gone with the tremendous weight loss. He had accomplished the weight loss by stopping all soda and junk food. He was eating more vegetables and salad. His motivation was his grandchildren. He really liked playing with them and when he was heavier he could barely do anything with them.
As we turned another corner there were dogs barking loudly and racing along the chain linked fence. We were concerned that they could jump the fence and have us for lunch. As we were negotiating around the dogs we bumped into a pregnant lady. Volunteers had learned about gestational diabetes in the session. Women with gestational diabetes could have very large babies. It is important for women to get checked. We shared this information with the passerby. She thanked us and we marched along.
An elderly lady walking briskly with her cane held above the ground appeared a bit guarded as we were passing alongside her. When we told her what we were doing she told us her daughter had diabetes for over 20 years so she knew all about it. She didn’t have diabetes, but she was continuing to eat healthy and walked every day. We had caught her on her final jaunt to her house.
At one of the final houses we approached, the neighbors were coming out of the door and said, “we already voted.” We explained that we were there for something even more important than voting – HEALTH. We explained about CBHC and diabetes, and the Dahlia Center. “Thanks for the information,” they said. They also had some pearls for us. They mentioned that we need to keep doing things like this. “The Black community has got to do better for ourselves. We need to be more informed and get the information out to the people.” They wanted to be involved.
All in all it was a SWEET day. CBHC visited over 200 houses. Volunteers were educated and served the community. The community was receptive to the information. Many wanted to be engaged and informed more about the Dahlia Center for Health and Well-being, The Colorado Black Health Collaborative, and diabetes as well as other diseases impacting the community. CBHC has used the Boots on the Ground methodology in the past with our Sexually Transmitted Disease Project, so we adapted it for the diabetes event. Along with going door to door we posted articles on our website and Facebook page. We also twitted information on November 3rd.
The Colorado Black Health Collaborative plans to continue to seize these opportunities such as collaborating with the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) Together to Goal National Day of Action, to get healthful messages out to our community and help engage and empower members of the community to take action.
Find out more about the Colorado Black Health Collaborative at www.coloradoblackhealth.org.