HLHF is a collaboration among Cabarrus Health Alliance, Cabarrus County Department of Aging, and CMC-NorthEast Faith Nursing & Ministry
The HLHF project staff is currently partnering with over 20 local churches and six senior centers and will continue to work with additional sites over a seven year period. At the conclusion of the program, 33 total community sites will be part of the HLHF community wellness program.
The key element in the HLHF community wellness program is a community and faith-based train-the-trainer program for volunteer Community Health Advocates (CAs). At least two to three volunteers from each community site will be selected to become CAs. They will receive free training workshops provided by the Cabarrus Health Alliance to learn how to lead safe and effective exercise classes as well as provide basic nutrition information to program participants. Once trained, CAs will lead exercise classes with the assistance of the HLHF program staff until they are comfortable teaching on their own. The goal of the CA is to maintain and promote positive lifestyle changes within the community. “Training CAs to provide wellness services not only helps empower the community to make healthier choices, it sustains a higher quality of wellness within the community when a program like HLHF ends.” – Jenn West, HLHF Community Wellness Coordinator
The HLHF community wellness program will also provide participating sites with free resources including: exercise equipment, health assessments, tobacco cessation classes, health promotion educational materials, and prizes and incentives to motivate participants and sustain the program.
The HLHF community wellness program works with low income youth, adults, older adults, and adults with disabilities in the counties of Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, and Rowan to prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes through positive behavior changes in physical activity and nutrition.
