At one of our weekly staff meetings at the Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies (IWES), Dr. Denese Shervington, the organization's founder, launched the meeting sharing an article from the Journal of Research and Practice on Health Disparities. Before reading more from this article, Dr. Shervington explicitly mentioned how critical it is for an organization to stay grounded and think deeply about the relevance of the issues raised in the reading and their impact on our work with the community . The article explores the implications of historical trauma, health disparities, and social epidemiology on public health practice. I recognize in that moment of the meeting and appreciate the sense of reflexivity and mission-driven work that IWES is committed to. I was struck by the true commitment to healing, resilience, and recovery of the New Orleans community reflected in the determination represented by this conversation. I could feel the passion and energy that each staff member brings to their work to close health disparities, advocate for underserved populations, and rebuild a resilient community. My summer was a learning opportunity in a culturally rich city where I was able to experience the intersections of community development, public health, and social justice work. One of my main goals for this internship was to gain a deeper understanding of how a community-based organization engages the community by prioritizing women's and girls' health. I was excited after my first community experience through an ImPACT (Informed Parents and Children Together) session during my first week at IWES. I participated in ImPACT through one of the youth HIV prevention programs. We visited the youth in the...middle of the paper......teen awareness programme, Making Proud Choices and Youth Focus, training as a facilitator for one of the programs will have improved my ability to have more active participation to the sessions. I treasure the deep human connections I have created through IWES activities and programs and the ability to connect with the community on many levels. I am very grateful for this experience, for having had the opportunity to rethink issues of reproductive rights, gender relations, population and development. It's been great to be part of a larger movement that seeks to recognize the human right to reproductive rights and address issues of social justice, trauma, and historical oppression. Works Cited A Conceptual Model of Historical Trauma: Implications for Public Health Practice and Research (2006) Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice
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