Women’s Health Literacy Project Takes Root

The IRC in Miami has been awarded a one-year $5,000 grant from Florida Blue and the Florida Literacy Coalition. The grant will support the IRC in Miami to implement a health literacy program to benefit Haitian women in South Florida through a series of classes and lectures.  The purpose of the project is to provide basic health navigation tools and to empower recently arrived Haitian women to become knowledgeable about wellness and health topics.   

During this 30-week, 2-hour course, up to 24 students will be taught about nutrition, preventative medicine, and wellness from the Staying Healthy: An English Learner’s Guide to Health Care and Healthy Living curriculum.  The Florida Literacy Coalition’s Women’s Health guidebook will also be used to provide supplementary information.  

The program will also include guest lecturers from practitioners in the field who will provide culturally-appropriate and community relevant information.    Understanding that recently arrived women might encounter difficulties in finding transportation, the workshops will be held at Community Medical Group, a longtime partner of the IRC in Miami that is close to where a large concentration of Haitian nationals live.