Successfully engaging with youth: Gen Z doesn’t care about “how we’ve always done it”
– By Adrian Holloway – “Kids these days are a different breed. They are never satisfied. They lack motivation.” Do any of these statements sound familiar? I’m sure many of us have heard and maybe even said these phrases. Whether these phrases are true or not is all a matter of perspective. If the lens…
Still standing: Celebrating Alabama’s first incorporated Black city during Black History Month
– By Erica Cunningham – In 1899, Hobson City, Alabama, became the first incorporated Black city in Alabama. 124 years later, Hobson City still stands strong and celebrates how far they have come as a community. Black History Month was first proposed in February of 1969 by Black educators and students at Kent State University…
Where did I catch that?: A basic guide to contact tracing
– by Debbie Quinn – We’ve all done it. You catch a cold, get a fever, or feel the symptoms of a stomach bug. My first thought is always “Where could I have gotten that?” I think back to the food I’ve eaten and the people I’ve been in close contact with – especially children.…
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Christmas Traditions Unite New Neighbors
– by Debra Goble – In the U.S., we’re big on traditions – especially when it comes to Christmas. Cutting down a tree to put in the living room; decorating our homes with tinsel and lights; gathering with family and indulging in honey ham and various casseroles. Traditions are so important to many Americans that…
Little Things Matter: How Exercise Can Improve Your Community
– By Erica Cunningham – You probably know someone with a chronic disease. Maybe you are living with a chronic disease yourself. About one in two adults live with a chronic disease and one in four adults live with two or more, but only half of adults get the physical activity they need to help…
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Goodwater, AL Welcomes ENI
Goodwater welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on December 08, 2022. The community of 1,376 residents in Coosa County is one of fifteen across the state participating in ENI. The program will equip neighbors and community partners to address the pandemic-related issues of today while building capacity to deal with the health and quality of…
Camp Hill, AL Welcomes ENI
Camp Hill welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on December 03, 2022. The community of 1,264 residents in Tallapoosa County is one of fifteen across the state participating in ENI. The program will equip neighbors and community partners to address the pandemic-related issues of today while building capacity to deal with the health and quality…
Love given, love shared, and love received: One rural community’s experience with COVID-19
– By Teneeshia Goodman Johnson – No matter who you are, what you do, or where you are from, the COVID pandemic affected everyone in some capacity. March 2020 was the beginning of the scariest couple of years of my 46 years of life. The unknown is always uncomfortable and can be scary, but the…
“They like to be included:” Understanding Unincorporated Communities
– By Gabrielle Lamplugh & Cristin Brawner – Living in an Unincorporated Community: Similarities & Differences For most Alabamians, “unincorporated communities” are not an unfamiliar concept. Many Alabamians work and live in unincorporated places. In fact, twenty percent of the Alabama communities surveyed during the 2020 Census were unincorporated. All unincorporated areas differ from incorporated…
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Understanding violence in Asian American communities during Domestic Violence Awareness Month
– By Erin Hackenmueller – Every October, the U.S. honors Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM). Domestic violence (also called intimate partner violence, domestic abuse, or relationship abuse) is a pattern of behaviors used by one partner to maintain power and control over another partner in an intimate relationship. 1 in 3 women and 1 in…
Mental health in Asian American communities: A taboo topic with serious consequences
– By Khiaw Srihanouvong – Mental health struggles do not discriminate. They can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, race, or religious background. The Asian community tends to keep mental health issues very private. It’s considered a taboo subject. I live in Alabama’s Gulf Coast region, and I’ve noticed it is less common for Asian individuals to…
POX On Us: What do we know so far about Monkeypox?
—By Debbie Quinn— MONKEYPOX to be exact is NOT Chickenpox or Smallpox and you don’t get it by playing with monkeys. A pox is a pimple-like eruption or rash on the skin that can contain pus. While vaccines that prevent the smallpox are also at least 85% effective in preventing monkeypox, the diseases are different.…
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How to Engage Youth to Lead Change
– By Khiaw Srihanouvong – Youth are our future and will one day be the decision-makers in our communities. For youth today, the world looks a lot different than it did for those of us who are currently the decision-makers in communities. That can make it difficult to connect with kids and get them involved.…
Dadeville, AL Welcomes ENI
Dadeville welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on September 14, 2022. The community of 3,098 residents in Tallapoosa County is one of fifteen across the state participating in ENI. The program will equip neighbors and community partners to address the pandemic-related issues of today while building capacity to deal with the health and quality of…
Another School Year, Another COVID Year
— By Debbie Quinn — Well, it’s Groundhog Day! Remember the movie with Bill Murray from 1993? It demonstrates the sameness of every day and hoping for something to change. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? So, this is another school year and a repeat of every school year that has ever come before. For the first…
Back to school: Welcoming neighbors into a new school system
– By Debra Goble – As the beginning of the school year approaches across our state, we find students with many mixed emotions. For some students, there is a feeling of excitement. For others, it’s a time of turmoil. The public schools in Blountsville, Alabama, occasionally enroll Guatemalan students who do not speak English. It…
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Collinsville, AL, Welcomes ENI
Collinsville welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on August 18, 2022. The community of 2,212 residents in DeKalb and Cherokee County is one of fifteen across the state participating in ENI. The program will equip neighbors and community partners to address the pandemic-related issues of today while building the capacity to deal with the health…
Blountsville, AL Welcomes ENI
Blountsville welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on August 18, 2022. The community of 2,262 residents in Blount County is one of fifteen across the state participating in ENI. The program will equip neighbors and community partners to address the pandemic-related issues of today while building the capacity to deal with the health and quality…
Living in America when English isn’t your first language
– By Khiaw Srihanouvong – For those born and raised in America, the English language comes a lot easier than it does for those who must learn it as a second language. Even though America has no official language, almost everything is made for English speakers. Signs, newspapers, and flyers often share important resources. But…
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Why is there another COVID spike?
– By Debbie Quinn – Why in the world is it 2022 and we’re still dealing with COVID-19? Especially after vaccines and boosters when we thought we reached herd immunity? There are three huge challenges that are making the COVID-19 pandemic difficult to overcome. COVID-19 keeps changing on us! Like any flu virus, the virus…
How Building Youth Leadership Will Inspire Your Community’s Future
—By Dr. Sabine Simmons— Leadership involves inspiring people to build, create, achieve and accomplish a common goal. Cultivating leadership will ensure that any municipality or neighborhood thrives and can meet challenges. But leaders do not just appear out of thin air. Leaders must be trained, and qualities such as emotional intelligence and empathy must be…
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Celebrating the Lao/Thai/Khmer New Year
—By Khiaw Srihanouvong— The two ENI communities of Bayou La Batre and Coden, Alabama, are home to a large Asian American population. Residents from Laos, Thailand and Cambodia recently celebrated the L.T.K New Year in America. The event is held in mid-April when the sun enters the constellation of Aries, according to the Hindu calendar.…
Building Community Leadership: The Basics
—By Dr. Sabine Simmons— Leadership in any organization is important. A community is a type of organization that we often forget to recognize as such. Community leadership is essential to representing the needs of everyone in the community and ensuring that resources are distributed fairly. Forbes defines leadership as the skill or ability of an…
Bayou La Batre & Coden, AL Welcomes ENI
Bayou La Batre and Coden welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on March 26, 2022. These Mobile County communities consist of 2,543 (2019) residents in Bayou La Batre and an estimated 2,000-2,800 residents in Coden. They are two of fifteen across the state participating in ENI. The program will equip neighbors and community partners to…
MOWA Choctaw Indians in Mt. Vernon/McIntosh, AL Welcomes ENI
The MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians in Mt. Vernon and McIntosh welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on March 24, 2022. The community of approximately 8,000 residents across both Mobile and Washington counties is one of fifteen across the state participating in ENI. The program will equip neighbors and community partners to address the pandemic-related…
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Ma-Chis Lower Creek Indian Tribe in Elba, Alabama Welcomes ENI
The Ma-Chis Lower Creek Indian Tribe in Elba, Alabama welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on March 12, 2022. The community of 3,841 (2019) residents in Coffee County is one of fifteen across the state participating in ENI. The program will equip neighbors and community partners to address the pandemic-related issues of today while building…
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LaFayette, AL, Welcomes ENI
LaFayette welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on March 8, 2022. The community of 2,943 (2019) residents in Chambers County is one of fifteen across the state participating in ENI. The program will equip neighbors and community partners to address the pandemic-related issues of today while building the capacity to deal with the health and…
Hobson City, AL Welcomes ENI
Hobson City welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on December 16, 2021. The community of 759 residents in Calhoun County is one of fifteen across the state participating in ENI. The program equips communities to address the pandemic-related issues of today while building capacity to deal with the health and quality of life challenges of…
Midway, AL Welcomes ENI
Midway welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on December 13, 2021. The community of 421 residents in Bullock County is one of fifteen across the state participating in ENI. The program will equip neighbors and community partners to address the pandemic-related issues of today while building capacity to deal with the health and quality of…
Welcome to the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative
—by Dr. Arturo Menefee— Welcome to the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) blog! I am Dr. Arturo Menefee, Director of Leadership Development for The University of Alabama Center for Economic Development (UACED). I serve as the project director for ENI. I’m glad you’re interested in learning more. So, what is ENI? ENI equips communities to address…
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