Health Equity and the Fight Against Breast Cancer
October is recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness Month – an important opportunity to learn more about breast cancer, increase awareness, and participate in screenings. Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, approximately 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their…
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Mental Health First Aid: A Lifeline for Everyone
September is National Suicide Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness about mental health and the importance of providing support to those in need. Being able to identify mental health emergencies and provide people with resources for mental health care can make a significant difference in saving lives. This month, we are sharing insights from…
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Advancing Health Equity and Supporting Families through Back-to-School Fairs
– By Gabrielle Lamplugh – As summer winds down and Alabama communities head back to school, many organizations and leaders are stepping up to support students and families with essential resources. Among those leaders are our ENI community liaisons, who have worked hard with their respective communities to host events ensuring families are ready for…
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Celebrating ENI Success: Summer Events
– By Gabrielle Lamplugh – Last summer, the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative celebrated its second year with an expansion into five new partner communities. This summer, we are thrilled to see the continued progress of ENI’s partner sites, including some of our newest communities. 100 Alabama Miles Prichard, which joined ENI in the summer of 2023,…
Celebrating ENI Success: Advisory Groups Work Together to Improve Health Equity
– By Cristin Brawner – ENI is a community-focused, community-driven initiative. ENI Advisory Groups help ensure ENI is locally focused and locally led. They also ensure the success of ENI by leveraging local assets to meet local needs. Advisory Group members are community leaders who care about improving health and well-being. Advisory Group members come…
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ENI Celebrates National Nurses Month
– By Gabrielle Lamplugh – Throughout our ENI communities, nurses play a critical role in improving community health. This May, in honor of National Nurses Month, we are excited to share about the crucial role of nurses in advancing health equity from the perspective of Adrian Holloway, ENI Community Liaison in LaFayette. For Adrian, who…
Celebrating ENI Success: Identifying Assets, Building on Ideas
– By Gabrielle Lamplugh – The Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative and our partner communities are establishing local health equity plans. These plans will make our state a healthier place to live, work, raise a family, and enjoy life. Mike Easterwood, ENI Associate & Community Development Specialist, has assisted ENI communities with developing and implementing their health…
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Celebrating ENI Success: Supporting the Growth of Nonprofits
– By Uyen Truong – An ancient proverb goes: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Addressing the immediate needs of underserved communities is crucial, but equipping each community to stand on its own feet is even more…
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Breaking Barriers: Empowering Individuals with Developmental Disabilities Through Employment
– By Braden Hopkins – We hold a lot of misconceptions about people with developmental disabilities. ENI Goodwater Community Liaison Tracy Burton founded the Central Alabama Reach Out Center to help solve this problem. To help us understand the importance of employment opportunities for people with disabilities, Mr. Burton joined ENI for an interview about…
Celebrating ENI Success: Empowering Alabama’s Youth as Community Health Leaders
– By Gabrielle Lamplugh – Youth engagement has been integral to the success of the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative and a focus of the project from its earliest days. We recognize the role the next generation will play in shaping the future of community health. And young people are already an essential part of improving health…
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Finding Health Insurance
– By Sarah Morris – Finding health insurance can be challenging and is difficult to know where to start. So how do you find a health insurance plan that is right for you? Here are some tips and resources to help you navigate the confusing world of health insurance. Why does health insurance matter? Health…
What is Mental Health?
– By Ashley Green – Mental health is important at any stage of life, from childhood through adulthood. It affects how we feel, think, and act. Mental health is just as important for overall health as taking care of our physical health. Many factors can lead to mental health issues, including a stressful or traumatic…
Cancer Prevention: Are There Steps I Can Take To Reduce My Risk Of Developing Cancer?
– By Brianna Miluk with assistance from Priyanka Ginwal, Theophilus Aperkor, and Samaneh Shirani Lapari – Prevention and Early Detection of Cancer Did you know that cancer is the second leading cause of death in adults in the United States? The most common cancers are breast, lung, colon and rectum and prostate. Cancer treatment can…
ENI 2023 Year in Review
Progress Achieved The Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative had a milestone year in 2023! Thanks to our incredible team, fabulous communities, amazing partners, and supportive funders, ENI reached approximately 65,000 people in our 20 communities, across Alabama, and beyond. We work every day to equip communities to address the COVID-19 pandemic-related issues of today while building capacity…
Keeping the Culture Alive: How Indigenous Communities in Alabama are Reviving their Traditions
– By Gabrielle Lamplugh – Each year, Native American Heritage Day occurs on the Friday following Thanksgiving. The day celebrates the unique heritage, culture, and traditions of Native Americans in the United States. The state of Alabama recognizes nine unique Native American tribes. The Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative is fortunate to partner with two tribal communities.…
Living Rural on Purpose
– By Gabrielle Lamplugh – ENI Community Liaison Emily Simpson has lived in Crossville, Alabama for her whole life. Emily shared that this northeast Alabama community of a couple of thousand residents has greatly influenced who she is today. While many young adults long to move away from their hometown, she couldn’t be more proud…
Honoring Veterans Day: Healthcare Challenges and Goals
– By Braden Hopkins – Alabama has a long history of pioneering veterans’ health care. This year, Tuskegee Veterans Administration Medical Center is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Founded in 1923 at a historically Black university, the hospital stands out in history. After World War I, Black veterans demanded an accessible hospital in Alabama. The Tuskegee…
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Addressing ENI Communities’ Health Concerns: Cancer
– By Debbie Quinn – ENI partner communities and their Advisory Groups answered questions about health in their communities. These conversations surfaced a few health issues that were of major concern across the state. ENI will begin to address these concerns through a Health Equity Plan for each community. We’d also like to highlight some…
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Celebrating World Mental Health Day: Addressing Mental Health in Black Communities
– By Erica Cunningham – World Mental Health Day is a day of reflection, awareness, and action. It is a day to recognize the importance of mental well-being and to understand the unique challenges faced by various communities. In preparation for World Mental Health Day, we had the privilege of speaking with ENI Regional Director,…
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Faith in Your Journey to a Healthy Life
– By Uyen Truong – What is Faith? Since the early days of human history, faith has been a compass, navigating individuals through life and shaping how they live. While “faith” often means a strong belief in God or religion, it can mean much more. To many, faith is the virtue that they uphold. It…
Fayette Welcomes ENI
Fayette welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on September 7, 2023. The community of 4,185 residents in Fayette County is one of twenty 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…
Guin Welcomes ENI
Guin welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on September 7, 2023. The community of 2,172 residents in Marion County is one of twenty 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…
Addressing ENI Communities’ Health Concerns: Hypertension
– By Debbie Quinn – ENI partner communities and their Advisory Groups answered questions about health in their communities. These conversations surfaced a few health issues that were of major concern across the state. ENI will begin to address these concerns through a Health Equity Plan for each community. We’d also like to highlight some…
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Haleyville Welcomes ENI
Haleyville welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on August 23, 2023. The community of 4,381 residents in Winston and Marion County is one of twenty 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…
Sulligent Welcomes ENI
Sulligent welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on August 18, 2023. The community of 1,838 residents in Lamar County is one of twenty 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…
Pittsview Welcomes ENI
Pittsview welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on August 16, 2023. The community of around 1,200 residents in Russell County is one of twenty 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…
Improving Health Equity, One Shot at a Time
– By Gabrielle Lamplugh – Every August, the Alabama Department of Public Health takes part in National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM). The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention coordinates the event. For almost 20 years, NIAM has promoted the positive health impact of vaccines. August is an important time to consider vaccine schedules and choices.…
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Addressing ENI Communities’ Health Concerns: Diabetes
– By Debbie Quinn – ENI partner communities and their Advisory Groups answered questions about health in their communities. As our team looked at their answers, it was clear there were a few health issues that were of major concern in every community. ENI will begin to address these concerns through a Health Equity Plan…
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ENI Prioritizes Health Equity this Juneteenth
– By Gabrielle Lamplugh – On June 19, communities across the state of Alabama celebrated Juneteenth. The holiday commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas finally heard word of the Emancipation Proclamation – over two and a half years after it was issued. For over 150 years Juneteenth has been celebrated…
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The Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative Expands Grant and Welcomes New Communities
– by Arturo Menefee – Over the past two years, the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative has been working hard to address COVID-19 and improve health equity in 15 underserved communities across the beautiful state of Alabama. We’re thrilled to announce that our work will continue with the award of a 1-year, $3.7 million extension of the…
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Celebrating Civic Participation this Independence Day
– By Cristin Brawner – Independence Day: A Civic Holiday Independence Day brings a lot of memories and images to mind for many of us. Fireworks. Patriotic music and speeches. Hot dogs, hamburgers, and barbecue. Time with family and friends. Escaping the heat and humidity in the closest creek, lake, river, or pool, especially here…
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Health Equity in Action: An Interview with ADPH’s Latisha Kennebrew
– by Gabrielle Lamplugh – Members of the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) team occasionally get asked about the meaning of the “E” in ENI. Some folks have questions about the meaning of equity. While others wonder what equitable health looks like practically in the communities we serve. We turned to Latisha Kennebrew, Director of the…
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Prichard Welcomes ENI
Prichard welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on June 17th, 2023. The community of 18,870 residents in Mobile County is one of twenty 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…
For Family & Country: Honoring the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians’ Legacy of Military Service
– By Gabrielle Lamplugh – A History of Service Since 2020, Maggie Rivers has served as the Project Director for the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians, named for its location which stretches from Mobile (MO) to Washington (WA) counties in southwest Alabama. In 2022 she also joined the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative as the Community Liaison…
Vietnamese Women Trapped Between an Abusive Home and a Global Pandemic
– By Uyen Truong – Domestic violence is a persistent issue affecting millions of people worldwide. Yet, it is extremely challenging for law enforcement to identify and intervene promptly, especially when domestic violence can emerge in various forms. The fight is even harder among Asian communities. The victims, predominantly women, are usually ingrained in the…
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What is Mental Health First Aid?
– By Debbie Quinn – First aid, or the emergency care needed when a person is injured or ill until full medical treatment is available, is commonly accepted as necessary. Most people have either used or watched someone use first aid. Perhaps it was placing pressure on a bleeding injury, patting someone on the back…
Beyond Books: Libraries as Community Connectors
– By Cristin Brawner – When you think of your neighborhood library, what comes to mind? Perhaps shelves filled with books or large stacks of reference resources spring to mind. Or story times for preschoolers and book talks with local authors. Others might conjure up images of a digital reader or a smartphone app connecting…
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Embracing the Spectrum During Autism Awareness Month
– By Erica Cunningham – Raising a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) comes with unique challenges. But how does this experience change based on where you live? Residing in a rural area can add greater obstacles to raising a child with ASD. Greater distances between family members and resources as well as several other…
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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…
Crossville and Kilpatrick Welcome ENI
Crossville and Kilpatrick welcomed the Equitable Neighborhoods Initiative (ENI) on March 6, 2023. Crossville, with 1,620 residents, and Kilpatrick, an unincorporated community, in Dekalb County are two of fifteen communities 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…
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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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