Public Health Innovation Workshop at Morehouse PHSI Futures Lab

“The number one reason leaders fail? They lack humility.” That is what one student said when we asked the question during the Morehouse PHSI Futures Lab, and it set the tone for the rest of the conversation. Over the course of the program, students confronted the realities shaping public health in their communities: ➡️In one community, 20 out of 120 people could not vote due to political barriers or incarceration. ➡️In the US, the lifetime treatment cost for a person living with HIV can reach $500,000 to $600,000. ➡️In the South, stigma still keeps too many from testing or accessing care. In the workshop, students explored how to have open and honest conversations with youth and families surrounding HIV prevention, healthy choices, and racial injustice. Then they asked: What could innovation look like here? One group led by Kimani S. Williams Ayishat Yussuf & Jerlisa Winston answer was Faith and Healing HIV Community Hubs. Spaces people already trust, such as churches, barbershops, and health centers linked together to deliver education, testing, and care. Peer educators and local leaders would lead the charge, dismantling stigma while connecting people to vital resources. For these students, health equity is not just about funding. It is about breaking down barriers from language gaps to systemic racism and making sure every person has access to the information and care they deserve. Goodie Nation exists to close the relationship gap so bold ideas like these do not stop at the workshop stage. They get the networks, mentors, and opportunities to create real change. If you are a founder, innovator, or purpose-driven professional, this is your invitation to be part of that bridge. Apply here to join the social good movement https://lnkd.in/e8FwJMq5 What would your community hub look like?

Number one reasons why leaders fail. They lack humility. Around 28120 people cannot vote because of political reasons and because they were locked up in jail, so they didn't have access and they could not put their input into voting. In the US, the lifetime treatment cost for a person with HIV is estimated around 500,000 to 600,000. But we were there educating them on like how to speak to their youth and their teenagers and their children about HIV and how to have protective sex and things of that nature. So that is something that we did it take experience and positive impact Health Center. We decided that for innovation that an effective way to help decrease HIV rates, especially in the South, would be the implementation of Faith in Healing HIV Community hubs. And this will include the implementation of a community based system which will consist of a network of trusted community organizations that include but are not limited to churches, Barber shops and health centers. These community based systems will provide HIV education. We'll provide linkage to care and we'll also play a role in reducing stigma. Peer educators and local leaders will also be able to deliver Faith Alive messages, mobile testing and also help to provide resources that will also be able to reduce stigma. HealthEquity is not just about funding, but it's basically to communicate to everybody what is from a language period, or it's just because you don't know the information that you need to know for healthcare. Systemic racism refers to policies and institutional practices that even if no longer are explicitly discriminatory, they still produce unequal outcomes, such as residential segregation or like October said, different types of funding for different communities that may be seen different. Forms of affluency as well as hospital, proximity to communities, underfunded public health infrastructure and many others in black and need community. So we have to take all of these things into account, show up for ourselves. Start with us first, OK? Because it starts with you making better decisions, and then we can help the people that we serve.