COLORADO — The Colorado Black Health Collaborative (CBHC), partnered with Connect for Health Colorado, has released the 5th Edition of the Black Health Resources Directory.
The directory is a one-stop guide for people in the Black community to find resources they need to maintain their health.
Since the release of the first edition in 2010, CBHC has worked tirelessly to update the resource guide as often as possible.
“The Directory serves as a self-advocacy tool for individuals and families in Colorado who often face notable disparities in the healthcare system and who are at greater risk for certain health conditions."
“Many individuals feel more at ease and trustful when working with a provider who understands their background and lived experiences.”
To celebrate the release of the 5th Edition, I sat down with Dr. Terri Richardson, CO-Founder of the CBHC, and Kevin Patterson, CEO of Connect for Health Colorado to talk about how this resource guide started, and what it has done for the community.
Both Patterson and Dr. Richardson tell me that this guide has been an ongoing collaboration between the organization and community members.
While it has an extensive list of traditional physicians and dentists, the directory also includes resources for mental health, faith, dance, and veteran support, ensuring every individual's needs can be met.
"For me, it's really about a community resource, and I think there's so much overlap between the community resource and the health and wellness side to it," says Patterson.
He emphasizes the importance of someone having good physical health, but also good mental and emotional health as well.
"There wasn't a reason to exclude anyone from it," he says when talking about the addition of cultural resources into the directory. "It actually makes the breath and the reach of the resource directory just broader and wider."
WATCH: Kevin Patterson, CEO of Connect for Health Colorado, on how the resource directory has impacted the community
Dr. Richardson recounts when the Colorado Black Health Collaborative was first founded in 2008.
After hosting what she called a "family reunion," she mentions not realizing how important this would become for the community.
"We thought that this was just a one-time meeting, an event."
The event from 2008 was a meeting for the community to discuss health disparities without it being a "sterile presentation." Dr. Richardson says it was just like any other family reunion with food, music, and dancing.
When Dr. Richardson had gained the community's support, the organization hosted the first CBHC meeting in November 2008.
WATCH: Dr. Terri Richardson, CO-Founder of the Colorado Black Health Collaborative, on how this initiative began
Although there is an electronic version of the guide, both Patterson and Dr. Richardson assure me that they will continue to offer the printed version to medical practices and organizations that request it.
To learn more about the Colorado Black Health Collaborative, visit their website.
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