Black Women’s Health Imperative Strives to Educate DC Communities- By Angela Richardson
For the last 25 years, the Black Women’s Health Imperative (the Imperative) and its staff have devoted its work to black women and broadening their awareness to health issues in their communities.
Founded by Byllye Y. Avery as the Black Women’s Health Project (the Project), the Imperative has been “in the forefront of women’s health issues, promoting responsible and healthy sexual behavior through comprehensive public education initiatives that promote overall wellness of Black women.”
The Imperative, located on 1420 K St. NW, is headed by President and CEO
Eleanor Hinton Hoytt. According to the Imperative’s website, Hoytt, former university professor and Spelman College alumna, brings more than a “quarter century of experience of managing programs and advocating for policies resulting in the elimination of health and educational disparities among women, girls and communities of color to her post.”
She specializes in developing and managing women’s health programs and is an advocate for the elimination of health disparities in the communities of color.
“Good health is simply not the absence of illness; it’s the active promotion of a healthy lifestyle – emotionally, physically, and spiritually,” said Hoytt.
In addition to holding the position of president and CEO of the Imperative, Hoytt heads her own management consultant firm which produced an innovative book on the well being of African American Women in midlife. The book, titled Tomorrow Begins Today: African American Women as We Age by the National Council of Negro Women, aims to reach over 6 million black women between the ages 35 to 59.
“From juggling careers and managing households, Black women whether single or married with children, must begin [the journey of health] by loving themselves and believing that they are worthy of good health.”
Recently, the Imperative has done more than educate black women across the nation about their health; it has strived to change other health related issues in DC communities, particularly Southeast DC.
On August 16, Shavon Arline, program manager at the Imperative, hosted a Back to School event in Ward 8. The program focused on bringing the youth’s attention to learn about their health and wellness, especially the effect of HIV/AIDS on them and their community.
With incentives to engage the youth, the event certainly kicked off the school year for many of the students involved. Not only did the event get the students “geared up” for classes with needed school supplies, it educated them about the health issues going on in their communities and within themselves.
Arline, a native of New Jersey and a graduate Tulane University in New Orleans, La., oversees health outreach and program implementation for healthy lifestyle programs implemented across the country for African American women and their families. She is considered a strong asset to the Imperative family.
Arline, along with the rest of the Imperative staff, plans to continue to provide black women with a wide-range of health-related information as well as “promote optimum health for black women across the life span – physically, mentally, and spiritually.”
Founded by Byllye Y. Avery as the Black Women’s Health Project (the Project), the Imperative has been “in the forefront of women’s health issues, promoting responsible and healthy sexual behavior through comprehensive public education initiatives that promote overall wellness of Black women.”
The Imperative, located on 1420 K St. NW, is headed by President and CEO
Eleanor Hinton Hoytt. According to the Imperative’s website, Hoytt, former university professor and Spelman College alumna, brings more than a “quarter century of experience of managing programs and advocating for policies resulting in the elimination of health and educational disparities among women, girls and communities of color to her post.”
She specializes in developing and managing women’s health programs and is an advocate for the elimination of health disparities in the communities of color.
“Good health is simply not the absence of illness; it’s the active promotion of a healthy lifestyle – emotionally, physically, and spiritually,” said Hoytt.
In addition to holding the position of president and CEO of the Imperative, Hoytt heads her own management consultant firm which produced an innovative book on the well being of African American Women in midlife. The book, titled Tomorrow Begins Today: African American Women as We Age by the National Council of Negro Women, aims to reach over 6 million black women between the ages 35 to 59.
“From juggling careers and managing households, Black women whether single or married with children, must begin [the journey of health] by loving themselves and believing that they are worthy of good health.”
Recently, the Imperative has done more than educate black women across the nation about their health; it has strived to change other health related issues in DC communities, particularly Southeast DC.
On August 16, Shavon Arline, program manager at the Imperative, hosted a Back to School event in Ward 8. The program focused on bringing the youth’s attention to learn about their health and wellness, especially the effect of HIV/AIDS on them and their community.
With incentives to engage the youth, the event certainly kicked off the school year for many of the students involved. Not only did the event get the students “geared up” for classes with needed school supplies, it educated them about the health issues going on in their communities and within themselves.
Arline, a native of New Jersey and a graduate Tulane University in New Orleans, La., oversees health outreach and program implementation for healthy lifestyle programs implemented across the country for African American women and their families. She is considered a strong asset to the Imperative family.
Arline, along with the rest of the Imperative staff, plans to continue to provide black women with a wide-range of health-related information as well as “promote optimum health for black women across the life span – physically, mentally, and spiritually.”