Welcome to Bay Area Healthy Living Support and Communication Platform.
BayHeal in short!
At BayHeal, our mission ( briefly) is to empower immigrants in the Bay Area to access healthy living skills as well as providing resources on Support Services in the Bay Area.
Our areas of intervention since January 2015:
a. Mental Health Services; where we have managed to link 8 beneficiaries to mental health support services.
b. Medical Check-ups; where we escorted 4 beneficiaries to hospitals as a way of reassurance.
c. Diet and Nutrition Panning; where we provided 12 talk sessions on dieting and nutrition planning.
d. Exercise and Play; we continue to provide information on nearest aerobics and sports facilities to encourage physical exercise among immigrants.
Bay Area Healthy Living Support and Communication Platform is an officially registered organization with the State of California.
The model of engagement is by working with existing African communities. It combines a snowball and peer-driven linkage contact mechanism.
We have so far identified venues and activities engaged in by different African Immigrant sub-groups.
a. West Africans meet during the food and culture shows mainly at Berkeley BART Station.
b. Tanzanians meet under the auspices of the Lutheran Faith based Community activities in Oakland.
c. Ugandans meet during the African Martyrs' day celebration as well as Uganda independence day in Oakland, Palo Alto and Antioch.
d. Kenyans meet during their community self help meetings called Harambee in San Leandro, Richmond, Concord and Oakland.
e. Zimbabweans, Zambians, South Africans meet during an annual award meeting and cultural fares. The most recent was in San Jose and at San Francisco Public Library.
f. Mozambicans and Angolans meet at Silver Spoons and there they have a music band.
g. Congolese, Eritreans and Ethiopians have dedicated and registered organizations in Oakland and San Francisco. They meet regularly at these venues.
We are so thrilled to have contributed to the Welcoming America. Building Nations of neighbors' Community Consultation Report. Our contribution was specifically talking about hardships faced by undocumented persons who happen to have arrived in USA. We also talked of need to have clear transitioning counseling for asylees and refugees. We also contributed towards a general theme representing what it means to be new in America.
Working with immigrants is fulfilling and hopefully our efforts help provide desire for living a positive quality life for all.
Thank you.
