Our Goal
The COVID-19 Needs Assessment data identified not only direct needs around the pandemic but also a broader context of historical mistrust, generational trauma, ongoing systemic racism and a need for more health care professionals from the African Heritage Community. Getting medical information from trusted community sources was a key recommendation that came from the COVID Needs Assessment data. The collaborative aims for this website to become a place where the Northland African Heritage Community can seek trusted information from trusted community African Heritage healthcare professionals, both during the pandemic and going forward, to facilitate partnerships among community-based organizations and healthcare systems to address longstanding health-care inequities.
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Our Mission
Our Mission is to create, develop, and build health equity through policies, practices, procedures and community lead programs that positively impact the health and well-being of everyone. We aim to achieve this through community-based social impact strategies.
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Our vision
Our vision is that Health Equity Northland manages and implements strategies and solutions within the social determinants of health to improve life expectancies for everyone with attention to communities of color.
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Our Values
Our values are based in the belief that “A community will survive and prosper as a whole when we are all walking on even ground.”
The Covid-19 Needs Assessment Project
Under the leadership of Olihe Okoro, PhD, and Janet Kennedy, CEO of Healthy Alliances Matter LLC Company with funding from Minnesota Department of Health and multiple community organizations, a collaborative formed May 2020 to assess the needs of the Northland African Heritage community to increase community understanding and engagement around COVID-19 vaccines, testing, case interviews, contact tracing, and other COVID-19 concerns and to facilitate partnerships among community-based organizations and healthcare systems, in order to support COVID-19 prevention efforts for the African Heritage community.*
The COVID-19 Needs Assessment project utilized Community Research Consultants from the African Heritage community to assist with community-based research to assess pandemic-related needs across differences in age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Some of the strategies included conducting a survey, interviews and focus groups with area African Heritage community members.
Our Partners
The collaborative includes the Environmental Equity Committee, Healthy Alliances Matter and Wilderness Health. Organizational partners include UMD College of Pharmacy, Generations Health Care Initiatives, St Louis County Public Health, Essentia Health, Lake Superior Community Health Center, St Luke's Hospital, DanSan Creative, Digiterp Communications, Warrior Pinterest Design.
Funding organizations: Minnesota Department of Health, St. Louis County Public Health, Northland Foundation, Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, Generations Health Care Initiative, Wilderness Health Essentia Health, St. Luke’s, and the Ordean Foundation.
Sponsorships: Healthy Alliances Matter LLC , Nomadicblack, LLC and Zeitgeist
