Received: (from news@localhost) by literacy (8.7.5/8.7.3) id TAA13527 for nifl-health@novel.nifl.gov; Fri, 20 Sep 1996 19:52:29 -0400 (EDT) Path: literacy.nifl.gov!nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov From: Elizabeth Morrish <elizabeth_morrish@jsi.com> Newsgroups: nifl.health Subject: introduction Date: 20 Sep 1996 19:52:24 -0400 Organization: National Institute for Literacy Lines: 42 Sender: listproc@literacy.nifl.gov Distribution: nifl Message-ID: <s242f503.054@jsi.com> Reply-To: nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov NNTP-Posting-Host: literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise 4.1 Status: O X-Status: I want to introduce myself and the Massachusetts Health Team. First myself. Some of you know me by name, others in person. Sabrina and I work in partnership at World Education on what we call the Health and Literacy Initiative. I'm Literacy, Sabrina is Health! Of course we also overlap (isn't that what this is all about?). I come from a background of working in non-profit community agencies-as an ESOL teacher and working with pregnant and parenting teenagers. The nature of the work MADE health an issue. Post-traumatic stress for many of the SE Asian refugees I worked with, and issues of poverty and violence with the young women. In health I am trained as a Hospice volunteer. I was involved with a small group of people in the founding stages of the AIDS Action Committee (AAC) in Boston and have cared for friends dying of AIDS in their homes. I have been at World Ed. for over a year working with adult education programs to incorporate "participatory" health education into the classroom and beyond to action in the community. There is more I want to say about these projects (the learner/teacher partnerships have done some great work) but another time. Now the Health Team. In 1992 the Massachusetts Health Team was begun as a place for adult literacy practitioners and health educators to come together. In monthly meetings people share perspectives, exchange ideas, support one another's efforts, connect to resources, encourage a participatory approach to health education, and share specific materials, methods and techniques. Loren McGrail has facilitated the continuation of these meetings until now. (She has left Massachusetts and is now executive director of Literacy South.) I am the "Head of Facilitation" for the Health Team though the group will be facilitated by many from the Team this year. We are in the process of reviewing our mission, writing our goals and objectives for the year and outlining an agenda. I will keep everyone posted on Health Team work, and will gladly accept input from you all. (Through e-mail or by writing to me at World Education, 44 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210.) I feel honored to be part of the work in Massachusetts where health and literacy are connecting in the field (I see mostly adult education classes but more and more links are being made to health providers). People are doing the collaborative work and now we need better recognition (from ourselves and outside), documentation and funding. I look forward to the exchange of ideas and energy in this new (to me) way that can reach across the world. WOW! Elizabeth Morrish
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