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Black Equity Coalition Honored as a CDC 2024 REACH Lark Galloway-Gilliam Award Winner
Pittsburgh, PA — The Black Equity Coalition (BEC) is proud to announce its recognition as a 2024 recipient of the prestigious Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Lark Galloway-Gilliam Award for Advancing Health Equity. The 2024 REACH Lark Award celebrates individuals and organizations implementing transformative public health strategies to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities. This biennial award, presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), honors the remarkable legacy of Lark Galloway-Gilliam and her contributions to advancing health equity.
“The Black Equity Coalition is honored to be chosen as a recipient of the 2024 Lark Award. The funding that we receive from the CDC allows us to provide vaccination education and clinics in our REACH communities serving the Black and Brown populations in the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County,”said Shemariah Waggoner, Managing Director, Black Equity Coalition. “The REACH program is vital to mitigating vaccine hesitancy and ensuring healthier communities for the residents of Allegheny County.
About the Black Equity Coalition
As a partner of Allegheny County REACH, the Black Equity Coalition has made significant strides in improving health outcomes in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and surrounding communities. Collectively, in 2024 the Black Equity Coalition through the REACH program served 6,250 people and administered 946 vaccinations in REACH communities throughout Allegheny County.
By fostering relationships between health care providers, institutions, and community leaders, the Black Equity Coalition ensures its work remains culturally responsive and community-driven. This approach empowers residents and promotes equitable access to vital health resources. The BEC’s impactful efforts have been instrumental in enhancing communication and building trust between health care systems, institutions, organizations and the BIPOC populations they serve.
About REACH
The CDC’s REACH program funds and highlights innovative community-based public health strategies that address racial and ethnic disparities. The work of REACH communities, like the Black Equity Coalition, exemplifies how partnerships, culturally relevant approaches, and proven.
For more information about the REACH program and the Lark Galloway-Gilliam Award, visit CDC REACH Lark Award.
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For more information, contact:
Prince Matthews
Communications Manager
Black Equity Coalition (BEC)
Email Address: pmatthews@poisefdn.org
Pitt’s IMPACCT Program Partners with the Black Equity Coalition (BEC) to Improve Long COVID Care and Access
The UPMC Post-COVID Recovery Clinic and University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Family and Community Medicine has partnered with the Black Equity Coalition (BEC) to establish Pitt’s Improving Access to Culturally Relevant Long COVID Care and Treatment (IMPACCT) Program. This program was made possible by a grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services through the Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ).
The goal of the IMPACCT program is to expand care for people with Long COVID. The program will also teach the next generation of community health care providers — especially family practice doctors and trainees in Family Medicine — about Long COVID care and will improve access to primary and specialty care for Long COVID patients from underserved and rural populations.
BEC’s Black-led group of physicians and community health engagement experts will provide input on culturally relevant care and social determinants of health to ensure an equitable approach.
There are several efforts as a part of this 5-year project that are underway. Currently, UPMC health care providers are working with BEC Community Health Ambassadors on creating patient education materials that will be available to community members. The goal of these patient education materials is to help improve awareness of Long COVID and to provide information about Long COVID care options. These materials will be distributed at BEC events including upcoming vaccine clinics.
Reference article: Pitt is part of a national effort to advance long COVID treatments | University of Pittsburgh
Black Equity Coalition Featured in Social Mission Alliance’s Champion Spotlight!
We are thrilled to share some exciting news! The Black Equity Coalition (BEC) has been featured in the latest Champion Spotlight by the Social Mission Alliance. This special feature is a testament to our ongoing commitment to uplift, advocate for, and empower Black communities in Pennsylvania and beyond.
In this spotlight, the Social Mission Alliance highlights the impact of BEC’s work in promoting racial equity, especially in addressing the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) that disproportionately affect Black and Brown communities. We’re honored to have this opportunity to share our journey, our mission, and the progress we’ve made toward building a more just and equitable future. You can read the full interview here.
A huge thank you to the Social Mission Alliance for this incredible honor! Together, we are making strides toward a more equitable and just society. We remain dedicated to this journey, and we couldn’t do it without the support of our community and partners.
Stay tuned for more updates on our work, and thank you for being part of our mission!
The Black Equity Coalition (BEC) was created by community leaders in Pittsburgh in 2020 to address racial disparities in the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. This work originated in data justice and advocacy around the needs of the Black community in Allegheny County during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we are excited to announce the Data Justice in Pittsburgh’s Black Neighborhoods initiative, which expands upon the data to action model of the BEC to build decision-making power for Black Pittsburghers and those that have not been included in decisions made about data in the City of Pittsburgh. This project is being carried out in partnership between the BEC and the City of Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh is one of four communities in the United States supported by the de Beaumont Foundation in the Modernizing Anti-Racist Data Ecosystems (MADE) for Health Justice funding program.
There are two initiatives to the Data Justice in Pittsburgh’s Black Neighborhoods Project. The community governance of data takes place of course at the city level, while we are additionally engaging one neighborhood in data advocacy and building health.
CREATING COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE
Data Justice for Pittsburgh’s Black Neighborhoods is a project led by the Black Equity Coalition (BEC), in partnership with the City of Pittsburgh, that aims
