BCDI and Healthy Start
BCDI-Wisconsin is committed to building on our communities’ strengths, assets and rich cultural backgrounds to improve and address the range of health issues, disparities and inequalities that have confronted us over the last several decades. Our work includes initiatives to reduce the incidence of SIDS and infant mortality, while increasing access to quality health care, including promoting early health screenings for mothers. Because of these programs, BCDI-Wisconsin is a proud partner of the Milwaukee County Healthy Start Program.
BCDI-Wisconsin, as a part of the Healthy Start Community Action Network, facilitates monthly meetings engaging the community to actively reduce infant mortality. Our partnership recently conducted a community survey to find out the top reasons for premature birth or infant fatality. The top three reasons that community members identified were:
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Lack of Economic Stability
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Lack of Access to quality prenatal education service
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Lack of quality and safe housing.
Race bias and discrimination were not in the top three, but were high on the list. When the question was asked, “Out of the top three reasons, which one do you believe should be addressed?” The first response was Race bias and Discrimination, indicating that this is a problem that is a priority in the minds of community members and should be our immediate focus.
BCDI-Wisconsin is a part of the “Welcome to Milwaukee” project that provides parents with a variety of resources to support their newborns during the early childhood development years.
Being concerned about the entire family, BCDI-Wisconsin also takes part in Fatherhood Resource Fairs and engages in other activities to promote paternal involvement. Some of the topics included in the resource fairs for fathers include workshops on:
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Reckless Driving and Domestic Violence
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Job Readiness and Opportunities
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Understanding Child Support
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Housing Resources
BCDI-Wisconsin has also worked with a national program called “Good For Me” to promote healthy eating habits in the community. This initiative has been successful in changing the knowledge and behavior around healthy nutrition and physical activity with over 10,000 children, parents and caregivers around the nation.
