LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
A YEAR IN REVIEW
Dear Colorado Black Health Collaborative Community,
August marked one year as your Executive Director. During this time, I have met countless supporters, volunteers, and community stakeholders. After a year of listening to our founders, allies, and the Black community, the power of CBHC has made the deepest impression on me. “Living in the spirit of excellence” has established us as a respected and trusted, Black-led community organization within the state of Colorado.
The work of both leadership and our Board of Directors has made that possible. Our dedicated group of volunteers are pushing the vision of CBHC forward by offering meaningful collaboration opportunities and attracting the next generation of Black community members through our dedicated programs.
Something that has been on my mind this year has been both the evolution and revolution required for great things to happen. CBHC’s 15th anniversary is preceded by countless hours and immeasurable efforts from CBHC staff and community support. Community advocacy is no stranger to years of groundwork, resilience, and passion; and I want to take some time to highlight the foundation laid by our team as we continue to evolve:
CBHC Staff/Board of Directors
A priority of my first year has been in developing a team that consists of diverse skillsets and experiences to help lead the organization into the future. We are supporting the initiatives of CBHC’s strategic growth plan by aligning our resources and efforts with those priorities. I am extremely proud of the team, and I look forward to you collaborating with them.
Volunteer & Member Benefits
Our members and volunteers will have a more customized experience as we launch our new processes that provide training for volunteers to become more acquainted with the mission, vision, and success of CBHC. New members will stay up to date with our rebranded newsletters, community activation letters, and much more. As we have always said, volunteers and members are the backbone of our organization, and we will continue to strive to create a flawless experience for our supporters.
Programs
Not only has CBHC continued to focus on the health equity of Colorado’s Black community, but we have also continued to listen, advocate, and support the needs of the community by meeting them where they are. CBHC has continued the great work relating to tobacco and menthol usage, opioid addiction, mentorship, cardiovascular disease, and much more over the last 15 years, it was important that I continue the fight to address mental health disparities and gaps that exist for Black maternal mothers and youth.
As the end of the year slowly approaches, CBHC will continue to drive these new initiatives forward into 2024:
- Sports-Based Youth Mental Health Wellness Program focuses on catalyzing and sustaining change for Colorado’s Black Youth Athletes through incorporated mental health programming, group therapeutic services, and psychiatric over site and assessment. The youth will be provided with the appropriate coping mechanisms, ultimately leading to decreased mental health disparities by promoting a positive and therapeutic environment and developing coping mechanisms and strategies to increase self-esteem, resilience, and lower rates of depression and perceived stress.
- Perinatal and Maternal Mental Health Awareness Program that advocates for the voice of Black maternal mothers before, during, and after their pregnancy. Mental health is something that we all have experienced, with heightened levels since the beginning of COVID-19. For Black mothers, our voices have continuously been muted for generations, leading to disproportionate outcomes. By educating, advocating, and providing resources for our Black mothers, partners, family, and friends, CBHC hopes to create a change within local healthcare systems that promotes integrated care, shared decision-making, and applied emphasis toward Black women.
These are just a few highlights of a busy but productive year. As CBHC continues its journey, we will begin to adjust our pathways to accommodate the needs of the community that we serve. The heart of what we do will always remain the same, but it is time for CBHC to push to its next level. I am proud to serve as your Executive Director, and I and my team are honored to represent the Black Colorado community and its members that are advancing health equity for all.
Respectfully yours,
Dr. Shakari Lee
Media Alert
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 16, 2023
Contact: Colorado Black Health Collaborative (CBHC)
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 720.579.2126
208 Organizations Call on UN Committee to Recommend Stronger Tobacco Control Policies
The Colorado Black Health Collaborative joins the global appeal to protect the right to health.
Aurora, Colorado – AUGUST 8, 2023 – The Colorado Black Health Collaborative is honored to join Action on Smoking and Health and a total of 208 signatories from 61 countries in calling on the UN Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to maintain and strengthen its mention of the harms of tobacco in the Draft General Recommendation n°37 on Racial Discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to health.
The existing Draft recommendation is already an historic first for the tobacco control community, serving as a firm acknowledgement of the fact that the tobacco epidemic worsens public health disparities.
Read Draft 1 of the CERD General Recommendation 37 here
“As the harms of tobacco-nicotine use continue to manifest globally, great work is taking place to address global public health and well-being aligning with the menthol tobacco social justice work CBHC is doing to support our local Black Community.” (Terri Richardson, CBHC Board Vice Chair)
A strong General Recommendation from CERD is essential because the UN human rights treaty has been ratified by 182 countries, meaning those countries have a legal obligation to fulfill the requirements of CERD. General Recommendation 37 will be a global legal recommendation to strengthen tobacco control at the national level.
“Securing support from 208 prestigious organizations from around the world solidifies the importance of including the harms caused by tobacco in the protections provided by human rights treaty mechanisms,” said Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy, Managing Attorney at Action on Smoking and Health, the organization that initiated the submission. “We are hopeful that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) will be convinced of the need to further include tobacco in its recommendations on Racism and the Right to Health.”
Signatory organizations include academic institutions, legal centers, and public health advocacy organizations who are united in their agreement that the tobacco epidemic impacts global citizens’ enjoyment of their basic human rights, such as their right to health.
Tobacco products are the leading cause of preventable death, worldwide. Countries must act quickly to strengthen their tobacco control policies to protect their citizens’ right to health.
Founded in 1948, WHO is the United Nations agency that connects nations, partners and people to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable – so everyone, everywhere can attain the highest level of health. This year, World No Tobacco Day was on May 31st and explored how tobacco growing harms our health, the health of farmers and the planet’s health. The tobacco industry interferes with attempts to substitute tobacco growing, contributing to the global food crisis.
This campaign encourages governments, public health organizations (like the CBHC), and citizens to end tobacco growing subsidies and use the savings to support farmers to switch to more sustainable crops that improve food security and nutrition.
Campaign objectives
- Mobilize governments to end subsidies on tobacco growing and use of savings for crop substitution programmes that support farmers to switch and improve food security and nutrition.
- Raise awareness in tobacco farming communities about the benefits of moving away from tobacco and growing sustainable crops;
- Support efforts to combat desertification and environmental degradation by decreasing tobacco farming;
- Expose industry efforts to obstruct sustainable livelihoods work.
The key measure of campaign success would be the number of governments that pledge to end subsidies on tobacco growing.
Check out the WHO’s Featured Publication
Or, learn more about this year’s campaign and get a wealth of resources by clicking here.
Campaign Highlights
Hello CBHC Family,
Thelma Craig Steps Down as the Colorado Black Health Collaborative, Chair of the Board of Directors
We want to share with you that Ms. Thelma Craig has stepped down from her position as the Chair of the Colorado Black Health Collaborative (CBHC) Board of Directors. Her resignation comes after 14 years of serving the organization and our community.
Thelma was there from the beginning when the community asked us to continue the work to achieve health equity in Colorado’s Black Community. She was the first and only Board Chair of the organization. She also wore multiple other hats. Her creativity was infused into many of the events that happened during her tenure. She worked hard to develop relationships with funders and others to support CBHC’s work.
Non-profit work is hard. We know that non-profit work is more about passion than praise and Thelma certainly was passionate. We are very appreciative of the work that she did. However, the time has come for her to move on to other life endeavors. We are sure she will make an impact in her new spaces.
The CBHC Board Chair position will be filled in the near future. We have a new Executive Director, Dr. Shakari Lee. She is excited about the opportunity and aspires to have CBHC reach even higher heights. Be on the lookout in 2023 as we press forward to do the important work of achieving health equity in Colorado’s Black Community.
About The Colorado Black Health Collaborative
The Colorado Black Health Collaborative is a community-based organization that is committed to improving health and wellness in Colorado’s Black, African, and African American communities through collaborations, partnerships, and teaming arrangements with community-based organizations, non-profits, public organizations, private entities and government agencies.
Miya Vaughn Sharing Her Journey to Fitness
November 2021
A chance meeting at a “Candles and Mimosa” event led to a connection with Miya Vaughn. We were relaxing and talking as you do at a self-care activity. She had not heard of the Colorado Black Health Collaborative. After she had shared her health story, we thought it would be a great idea for Miya to share her story with others. Sometimes people feel like it is impossible to do the things to get us to a better state of health. Miya shows it can be done.
Read Miya’s Story
Depressed, Distressed, and Oppressed were all words to describe me back in 2017-2019. I was living with my ex-boyfriend and was gaining weight like none other. My clothes size had increased dramatically, and I was sinking deeper down a hole of depression. I had made attempts to lose weight but wasn’t consistent in any of those attempts. The doctor’s report I got was devastating. The doctor told me I was pre-diabetic and needed to lose weight. From that day forward, I knew I had to make some changes. To this day I have lost over 40 pounds and have made a drastic change to my eating habits.
Since I am pre-diabetic, I must make sure I monitor my blood sugar. Research has shown that if I monitor my blood sugar, watch my diet and exercise, I will not become a diabetic. I make it a daily mission to monitor my diet. Exercising daily is a key component in my life. I can honestly say exercise has truly saved my life. There are so many excellent benefits to exercising. Stress relief, maintaining a healthy weight, and combating health conditions and diseases are some of the great benefits of exercising.
My mission is to inspire and encourage others to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Are we all human and love to have a piece of chocolate cake from time to time? Of, course but the key is to make sure we aren’t eating the chocolate cake every day.
I hope my story can inspire someone to maybe turn their life around. Thank you for the opportunity to share my story.