Saturday, April 15 brought together a myriad of folks of all ages, sizes and stages of fitness to the Homewood-Brushton YMCA. They all took part in the first Community Wellness Initiative coordinated by Nedra Williams, founder of “Creative Balance 4 Empowering People—Mind Body and Spirit.”
Williams spent years working in the social services and mental health industries as a therapist. It was there that she witnessed a serious downward spiral in the quality of life among African Americans. She observed how women were running households by themselves, the infusion of crack cocaine into African American neighborhoods, crime, subsequent incarceration and other negative factors. With those issues taking a toll on people’s bodies and minds, she felt compelled to do something that could mitigate some of the mental and physical damage being done.
In 2015 Williams launched a wellness initiative, based on the “It Takes a Village” premise to begin providing wellness fairs and workshops in underserved communities.
“My concerns plagued me so much I wanted to wave a magic wand and change it all, but I knew there was no magic wand; we hold the magic within us,” Williams said. “I also could see that I was just one person and if I was to be effective and meet a wide range of needs, and to really impact a larger body of our people, I’d have to broker services from colleagues that are doing work in these areas.”
Thus, Williams’ inaugural event came to be. The daylong event at the Homewood YMCA offered a variety of opportunities for participants to not only learn about, but participate in activities geared to enhance personal fitness. The activities included: Zumba and Belly Dance instruction by Gail Alberto Martin; A one mile walk around the upper track of the Y; a workout boot camp conducted by certified personal trainer, Clay Moorefield; African Dance Movements by Ebony Castaphney; Hip-Hop Aerobics by Jim “Big Weave” Weaver, owner of NAKA Fitness; And Line Dancing by Roland Ford, Pittsburgh’s Line Dance King.
The constant flow of participants all day showed that people have a significant interest in working on their health and learning how to implement self-care. Carla Wilson, who came from Wilkinsburg with friend Marcia Lions, said she “had kept saying I was going to start going to the gym, but never did. We heard about this and felt we’d give it a try.”
“I’m here to support Nedra because I know how important it is for African Americans to do better in the way they eat and moving more,” said LaWanda Long.
At no cost, visitors heard from a range of speakers with information ranging from Alternative Medicine by Dr. Uhuru Hotep, associate director of the Michael P. Weber Learning Skills Center at Duquesne University, to a mental health presentation by De’netta Benjamin, LCSW, director of Quality Improvement for Familylinks.
Williams began laying the groundwork to create this day four years ago. “The first person I consulted with was state Rep. Ed Gainey. He was very encouraging, believed in my vision, and provided me with a letter of support to take with me as I sought out sponsors and continued to press forward with the plans for this day,” Williams said. “I was unsure of myself, but Ed helped me gain confidence I needed to stay the course to see this day come to pass.”
“I am here to support Nedra, but also because this event is good and purposeful for two reasons,” Gainey said. “First, since as a people we are at risk for all the chronic diseases, we have a great need for everything going on today. It is outstanding to be here and learn of techniques for developing healthier lifestyles, getting this information on how to keep our bodies and minds in shape is great. But the second thing is that this creates a market…I hear people saying they wish they had boot camp every Saturday. It is that information we should be taking to the foundations and instead of them telling us what we need, why not provide us funding that will support what we ourselves know we need,” Gainey said.
“This is a great time from a market standpoint to find out what the community wants and how to make it happen.”
Williams’ long-term goal for “Creative Balance 4 Empowering People” transcends a one day event. “I hope that folks will learn to make health and well-being a way of life, not just something they do one day in the spring because it was free. My goal is that as a community we begin to experience a paradigm shift—one that will result in healthier minds, bodies and spirits, longer lives and better quality of living.”
Like us at https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Pittsburgh-Courier/143866755628836?ref=hl
Follow @NewPghCourier on Twitter https://twitter.com/NewPghCourier
