Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley
Title: Digging Deeper
Student Interns:
Aaron Bayard
Temple University, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, St. Luke’s Campus
Academic Preceptor:
Tricia Bernecker, PhD, RN
DeSales University
Community Preceptor:
Abby Letcher, MD
Mobile Harm Reduction
Zaleeae Sierra
Promise Neighborhoods
Community Site:
Promise Neighborhoods is an organization focused on the betterment and success of children through coordination of neighborhood resources. Each neighborhood is celebrated as its own unique source of information and people, where beneficial factors can be emphasized and damaging ones can be restructured. Promise Neighborhoods is affiliated with the local wellness center, where a month’s worth of food and beverages is packaged and distributed to those in need.
Mobile Harm Reduction is supported by Lehigh Valley Health Network and Valley Health Partners. It uses its small group of members to delve into the heart of Allentown and its troubling history of substance misuse. This small task force enables personal outreach and allows the care team to dig deeper into the lives and health of unhoused people and those who suffer from substance use disorder. Its harm reduction takes many forms, including food distribution, health clinics staffed by addiction medicine physicians, personalized social work for rehab and housing, Narcan distribution, and basic-needs aid. Mobile Harm Reduction does exactly what its name suggests: it reduces harm to the community in any way possible.
Team’s Experience:
The Bridging the Gaps intern assisted both community partners in various ways throughout the summer. For Promise Neighborhoods, the intern packed and distributed food at the wellness center and helped create a survey for Allentown community members to assess their need for resources and identify health inequities. The intern also assisted at the local church summer program where Promise Neighborhoods members play with the local children.
With a three-person care team, the intern walked the streets of Allentown, connecting with the unhoused and those suffering from substance use disorder to aid them in their recovery and survival. The team worked every day, rain or shine, providing food, Narcan supplies, and health resources to those in need, ensuring conversations were heard and relationships were forged. The BTG intern made sandwiches, assisted with checkups, distributed oral care supplies, and created a health handout that supplied individuals with basic information on cardiovascular health, cholesterol, and diabetes.
Reflections
Bridging the Gaps allowed me to take a deep dive into the community that I have lived in my entire life. It allowed me to get away from the classroom and see the realities of those around me. Throughout these seven weeks I have listened more and spoken less, choosing to really connect with people in need that truly just need someone to listen. I have grown to love and appreciate my community, placing a focus on what I can do to help push the envelope and hopefully get individuals the help they deserve and the support they crave. This was an amazing experience, and I couldn’t have asked for a better or more impactful opportunity to give my people the love they deserve.
Aaron Bayard
