Updated: March 2019
The following network activities, most of which are signature community-wide annual events, are critical to the Genesis fabric as indicated by measurable and meaningful outcomes noted:
12-Week Healthy Living Program
A three-month summer fitness course, now in its twelfth year, is held for 12 weeks during the summer, on Saturday mornings at church sites. The program provides health and preventive education, nutrition education, physical activity and faith motivational/support sessions for participants. The goals of the program are to reduce obesity and related health risks and to promote healthier lifestyles among African American families (ages 7-79). Each three-hour session includes nutrition education; 30 minutes of physical activity; interactive learning strategies; group discussions; and ‘Share ‘N Praise to celebrate successes. Parents, grandparents and children work together to modify their eating habits and physical activity patterns. Pre- and post-surveys and health assessments evaluate program outcomes.
Outcomes: Findings suggest participants have made positive behavioral changes and enhanced family relationships. Reductions in blood pressure, cholesterol, medications and clothing sizes along with increased physical activity and energy levels have been reported. Approximately 500 church congregants to date have participated in Genesis summer programs.
Fry-Free Zones
Effective January 2008, all ten pastors pledged to instruct “church food preparers” to avoid fried foods within the church environment including all church fellowship events. Pastors also continue pulpit messages about alternative cooking methods.
Outcomes: Church food preparers are role-modeling alternative cooking methods. Congregants are adopting new cooking behaviors for themselves and their families. The traditional menu for church-sponsored events has undergone a significant revamping. For decades as long as most congregants can remember summer picnics and year-round fellowship programs typically offered such items as fried chicken, potato salad, white bread, pastries, Kool-Aid and soda. Now these church kitchens are serving baked chicken, tossed salad, whole wheat bread, fruit, 1% milk, water, juice, coffee, and tea. Most of the cars are now parked in outer spaces of the church lots, with parishioners opting to walk farther to get to the building.
Men’s Health Seminars
The Pastors’ Health Council, in partnership with the Prostate Cancer Education Council and SUNY Upstate Medical University, host sessions entitled, ‘Take Charge of Your Health.” These four-hour men’s health educational sessions are held at inner-city churches and present such topics as prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, hypertension, stress reduction and male health advocacy.
Outcomes: Written evaluations and focus groups suggest a heightened awareness and increased knowledge of prostate cancer, colorectal cancer and related chronic diseases as well as the importance of taking charge of one’s health and becoming an informed healthcare consumer. Four community-wide seminars have been held. Nearly 40 men attended each seminar.
Women’s Health Seminars
Four-hour educational sessions on topics of interest to women are held at inner-city churches, targeting diverse groups of women on issues such as HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, health literacy and stress management. In September 2008, Dr. Sandra Millon-Underwood, Professor of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a health disparities researcher, provided the keynote presentation for the inaugural seminar focused on health advocacy and women’s roles in promoting men’s health in families and communities.
Outcomes: Written surveys indicated an increased awareness about health and well being and the need to advocate for family health. This inaugural event was well received by the Syracuse community, with approximately 55 women attending.
Tennis Shoes’ Sunday
Annually in June, congregants and pastors from ten churches wear tennis shoes to church and participate in a two- to three-mile walk following Sunday morning services. Tennis Shoes’ Sunday provides a forum to promote social-capital among churches and the community. Pastors lead their congregations as they engage in role-modeling behaviors. We have formulated a competition within the program to produce an incentive to the church with the highest number of program participants. This added feature has been well received and has increased program participation.
Outcomes: Approximately 250-400 congregants participate each year (400 congregants in 2009). Pastors lead the event and role model healthy behaviors.
Youth Health Literacy Book Program
Effective September 2008, Genesis Health Project program participants are asked to bring a book for children of color (ages 5-17) concerning health and well-being.
Outcomes: During the pilot, 40 new books were collected for community-based agencies in underserved areas in Syracuse. These books facilitate early youth engagement to promote healthier lifestyles among young adults.
Barbershop Education Program
The program provides culturally sensitive information about prostate cancer and related chronic diseases to African Americans and other men of color at black inner-city barbershops (i.e., risk factors, symptoms, prevention, screenings/exams, the importance of early detection, treatment options and referral information) and issues facing the non-insured or under-insured. Sessions educate at-risk men in a familiar location with culturally sensitive material, including a brochure specifically designed for men of color. This nationally and internationally recognized pamphlet entitled, “Prostate Cancer…It’s a Matter of Color” incorporates principles of cultural competence and health literacy, easy-to-read guidelines, and simple diagrams.While many men avoid doctors’ offices, they need to make regular trips to the barbershop. An integral part of this program is the Prostate Cancer Education Council, which is
an interdisciplinary advisory group of physicians, educators, government officials, prostate cancer survivors and lay persons that meets to discuss prostate cancer issues and men’s health concerns. Other community partners involved in this program have included The Nation of Islam, Firefighters of Color United in Syracuse, the Central New York Association of Minority Police and campus fraternities and other student organizations.
Outcomes: Since its inception, the Genesis Project has reached nearly 1,800 men through six inner-city barbershops. One owner explained he knows of several customers who have had operations because of the program’s advocacy for screening. A prostate cancer survivor explained that men feel comfortable there (the barbershop) and they’ll talk about topics they might not address in other places. This program is a model and consultative resource for a barbershop education program under development in India through the Shri Ramachandra Bhanj Medical College. The nationally recognized brochure “Prostate Cancer, It’s a Matter of Color” has been updated, with 4,000 new copies printed for public distribution.
Breast Cancer Awareness and Education Program
Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer deaths among African American women, who have the highest death rates from breast cancer of all racial and ethnic groups in the United States. The Breast Cancer Awareness and Education Program (BCAEP) was funded in 2013 by the Central New York affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The goals of BCAEP were to provide education about breast cancer, breast cancer warning signs and risk factors, ways to lower breast cancer risk, ways to improve chances of early detection and survival, and where to access low-cost or no-cost mammography screenings. BCAEP provided this education through the 12-Week Healthy Living program and a series of church-based educational seminars. Pre- and post-surveys evaluated program outcomes.
Outcomes: Written surveys indicated increases in knowledge about breast cancer and breast cancer mortality among African American women, ways to address these risks, ways to increase the likelihood of surviving breast cancer, and where to access low-cost or no-cost mammography services.
Campus-Community Social Entrepreneurship Program
This program partners Syracuse University with churches to provide six two-hour workshops to help congregants develop leadership skills to create and strengthen their church health ministries and sustain health promotion planning. As part of the Genesis Project, the Bridging the Gap: Community-Based Learning Practicum partners SU Health and Wellness students with Genesis Project programs through 25-hour internships. The students, as future healthcare leaders and policy makers, learn to address health disparities and major public health concerns that plague poor and underserved populations.
Outcomes: Congregants has acquired leadership skills to strengthen church health ministries and sustain health promotion programs across the lifespan.
Bridging The Gap: Community-Based Learning Practicum
Syracuse University’s students enrolled in undergraduate courses HTW 307 Culturally Competent Healthcare and HTW 311 Health Literacy are required to complete a 25-hour internship in a community-based environment working with vulnerable populations. Many students are placed in programs within the Genesis Health Project.
Outcomes: These students, as future healthcare leaders, policy makers and practitioners, are prepared and equipped to address health disparities and other major public health concerns that plague the poor and underserved populations.
Sunday Health Education Initiative
Genesis provides a listing of health information to all ten churches to be read during the Sunday morning church services weekly. This consistent “health voice” reaches more than 2,000 congregants every week. These brief messages focus on nutrition, physical activity, healthy lifestyles and disease prevention.
Outcomes: Increased health awareness and knowledge are evident among congregants through their conversations, attitudes and behaviors.
Caregiver Respite
Beginning in 2016, the Genesis Health Project’s African American Dementia Caregiver Support Program pays trained caregivers to provide companion care to individuals with memory loss if their usual caregiver wants to attend Genesis programs but is uncomfortable leaving them at home alone. This free service, which we call respite, is available to any caregiver who wishes to participate in our programs. If you would like to use this free service, please call Genesis at 315-876-2338 at least one week in advance of the program you wish to attend.
Outcomes: Caregivers who use the respite service are pleased with the freedom that respite affords them to learn more about dementia and caregiving, and report finding comfort in knowing that they can focus on their own care and not worry about leaving their loved one alone at home.
Elder Law Clinic
Research estimates that only one in three Americans has an advance directive, a number that is substantially lower among communities of color, those of lower socio-economic status, and those with lower levels of education. In 2018, College of Law students from the Syracuse University School of Law’s Advance Directives in the Community course and the Elder and Health Law Clinic provided free education to local residents about the importance of planning for end-of-life care, and free consultations to help them prepare advance directives.
Outcomes: More than 20 participants completed advance directives during the clinic, and expressed appreciation for the knowledge gained and the learning experience. Several participants explained the importance of having the seminars held in the community, making them available to everyone. Students reported that their involvement in the clinic made them feel “re-energized, humbled, and grateful for having had this opportunity, even for a brief moment, to share in this heart-warming and uplifting community.”