Health disparities project: Lots of talk and lots of action

Betty Agin

Betty Agin has made a name for herself in Springfield - she's known as a community organizer, a woman who works hard to get inner city issues brought to the forefront of discussion and addressed by political, business and other community leaders, and a fearless soldier for positive reform.

Agin, a Springfield resident by way of her native Georgia, sits at the helm of the Universal Community Voices Eliminating Disparity, an outgrowth of the Springfield Health Disparities Project. 

 The Springfield Health Disparities Project is just one of many public health initiatives given new life through grant funds provided through the Mason Square Health Task Force. The Health Disparities Project received $17,000 in funds during the 2009-2010 cycle of funding.

The disparity project is a grass roots initiative aimed at engaging community residents and assisting them in identifying and taking appropriate action to address root causes of health inequities through conversations on community health.

The group is not just a "let's talk about it" network of concerned people, but also a "let's be about it" outreach.

Every second Saturday of the month, the Universal Community Voices Eliminating Disparities Project holds a community forum from 9:30 to 11:30 am at 365 Bay Street, Springfield, MA.  Last week's discussion group was on HIV and AIDS awareness, and connecting people to the prevention and treatment services in the community. The forums bring out neighborhood activists, doctors, nurses, political leaders, and concerned Moms and Pops. 

"It's usually open conversation and strategizing about what we can do to make this community better, to help one another, to work together," said Again, who was recognized for her community service work recently by the AFL-CIO supported group Western Mass Jobs With Justice group. "These meetings are for everybody, the health care provider, community organizers, people who work around specific issues like HIV, teen pregnancy, violence, young dads, single moms. Everybody. What we've learned is that for a lot of people in need of help, the issue is about not knowing where to turn for help. We can fix that."

The group has been successful in getting many issues of concern in the city addressed ranging from having blighted homes boarded or torn down to helping dozens of people with minor, decades-old, or even dropped criminal offenses on their records sealed so they can get jobs and find housing.

"Most of our job is to recruit and teach people how to be leaders in their own neighborhoods and be advocates for themselves around issues," Agin said.

Now that's what we call working for the greater good!