The Health and Mental Health Education and Awareness for Africans in Lowell (HEAAL) Project was developed in partnership with Christ Jubilee International Ministries - a nondenominational Christian church in Lowell, Massachusetts whose congregants are primarily immigrants and refugees of African and Caribbean descent - to determine how to best meet the physical health and mental health needs of the diverse community in Lowell.

The first phase of the HEAAL project took place in the fall of 2014 and included a mixed-methods needs assessment to develop a more robust understanding of the culturally-specific physical health and mental health needs of the Lowell community (Oppenheim et al., 2019). The needs assessment was led by a community advisory board of primarily first-generation African immigrants who were members of the congregation at Christ Jubilee church. Findings from the community needs assessment highlighted Christ Jubilee church as an ideal environment to expand access to behavioral health services and strengthen existing resiliency and coping skills within a highly engaged faith-based community.

Phase two of the HEAAL project took place in 2018 and 2019 when the BMC/BUSM Dept. of Psychiatry and Christ Jubilee church partnered to organize two health fairs that offered health promotion and prevention programming, including physical and mental health screenings, as well as information on a wide variety of local community resources. The 2019 health fair included a mental health forum led by a clinically trained member of the Christ Jubilee church community advisory board, which created space for health fair attendees to actively participate in an engaging exchange of mental health experiences and resources.

Phase three of the HEAAL project will focus on developing and implementing an intensive education and skills training curriculum for church leaders and congregants on the signs and symptoms of mental and physical health conditions and the spectrum of treatment options. Through intensive training and education, church leaders and community members will be equipped with the skills to act as resources for mental health screenings and referrals to community services.

Partner: Christ Jubilee International Ministries

• Oppenheim CE, Axelrod K, Menyongai J, Chukwuezi B, Tam A, Henderson DC, Borba CPC. The HEAAL project: Applying Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methodology in a health and mental health needs assessment with an African immigrant and refugee faith community in Lowell, Massachusetts. Journal of public health management and practice: JPHMP. 2019 Jan;25(1):E1.